Towards the review of the European Union Water Framework Directive: Recommendations for more efficient assessment and management of chemical contamination in European surface water resources.
Water is a vital resource for natural ecosystems and human life, and assuring a high quality of water and protecting it from chemical contamination is a major societal goal in the European Union. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) and its daughter directives are the major body of legislation for the protection and sustainable use of European freshwater resources. The practical implementation of the WFD with regard to chemical pollution has faced some challenges. In support of the upcoming WFD review in 2019 the research project SOLUTIONS and the European monitoring network NORMAN has analyzed these challenges, evaluated the state-of-the-art of the science and suggested possible solutions. We give 10 recommendations to improve monitoring and to strengthen comprehensive prioritization, to foster consistent assessment and to support solution-oriented management of surface waters. The integration of effect-based tools, the application of passive sampling for bioaccumulative chemicals and an integrated strategy for prioritization of contaminants, accounting for knowledge gaps, are seen as important approaches to advance monitoring. Including all relevant chemical contaminants in more holistic "chemical status" assessment, using effect-based trigger values to address priority mixtures of chemicals, to better consider historical burdens accumulated in sediments and to use models to fill data gaps are recommended for a consistent assessment of contamination. Solution-oriented management should apply a tiered approach in investigative monitoring to identify toxicity drivers, strengthen consistent legislative frameworks and apply solutions-oriented approaches that explore risk reduction scenarios before and along with risk assessment.
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: werner.brack@ufz.de.
Werner
W
Brack
Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques INERIS, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France.
Valeria
V
Dulio
ACES - Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Marlene
M
Ågerstrand
Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Oslo, Norway.
Ian
I
Allan
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Rolf
R
Altenburger
RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Markus
M
Brinkmann
Oeko-Institut e.V. - Institute for Applied Ecology, Freiburg, Germany.
Dirk
D
Bunke
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ORD, NHEERL, Atlantic Ecology Division, Narrangansett, RI, USA.
Robert M
RM
Burgess
ACES - Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Ian
I
Cousins
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Beate I
BI
Escher
Jaume I University, Castellón, Spain.
Félix J
FJ
Hernández
Aquatic Ecosystem Protection Research Division, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
L Mark
LM
Hewitt
Masaryk University, Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Brno, Czech Republic.
Klára
K
Hilscherová
EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Juliane
J
Hollender
RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Henner
H
Hollert
Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology, Eawag-EPFL, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Robert
R
Kase
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
Bernd
B
Klauer
ACES - Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Claudia
C
Lindim
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.
David López
DL
Herráez
IRSTEA - UR MALY, Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
Cécil
C
Miège
IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Gothenburg, Sweden.
John
J
Munthe
Environmental Protection Agency, Dublin, Ireland.
Simon
S
O'Toole
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands; Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Leo
L
Posthuma
Fraunhofer Inst Mol Biol & Appl Ecol IME, Aberg 1, D-57392 Schmallenberg, Germany.
Heinz
H
Rüdel
University Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany.
Ralf B
RB
Schäfer
Bavarian Environmental Agency, D-86179 Augsburg, Germany.
Manfred
M
Sengl
Masaryk University, Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Brno, Czech Republic.
Foppe
F
Smedes
MERMAYDE, Groet, The Netherlands.
Dik
D
van de Meent
Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Paul J
PJ
van den Brink
Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands.
Jos
J
van Gils
KWR Watercycle Research Institute, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands; Copernicus Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Annemarie P
AP
van Wezel
Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands; VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
A Dick
AD
Vethaak
EAWAG, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Etienne
E
Vermeirssen
Amalex Environmental Solutions, Leipzig, Germany.
Peter C
PC
von der Ohe
Masaryk University, Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX), Brno, Czech Republic.
Branislav
B
Vrana
Chemical legislation; Effect-based tools; Passive sampling; Prioritization of contaminants; Solution-oriented management; Water Framework Directive review