A new paper by the European Commission on the implementation of EU water legislation says that while progress has been made there is still work to do.

According to the Commission, the two reports published this week on implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive show how water policies can be a source of green and blue economic growth, with water management technologies at the heart of eco-innovation.

The Commission said European water policy has helped develop a dynamic, world-leading water sector that includes 9 000 active SMEs and provides almost 500 000 jobs in Europe. However, this growth needs to be supported by better policy implementation to achieve sustainability and environmental objectives.

Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said:

“In the EU we're fortunate to have in place solid legislation that has steadily contributed to ensure good quality water. But I see no room for complacency: the Communication and reports published today show that Member States need to sustain and enhance action to implement the Water Framework and Floods Directives to benefit people, nature and the environment addressing pollution, excessive abstraction and rivers alterations. To this end, EU funding opportunities should be exploited to the full".

The findings are part of an in-depth look at how Member States are implementing EU water legislation, including a series of recommendations designed to encourage, for example, better water pricing, controls on water abstraction, industrial plants, and action on pollution from agriculture. Greater uptake of under-used EU funds is also recommended.

While EU legislation is seen as having improved water protection with ongoing problems of quantity and quality being addressed,  together with progress on managing flood risks, the Commission says warning lights are also flashing. Decades of degradation and ineffective management mean that good environmental quality for all EU waters is still some way distant. This in turn generates extra costs for water purification, and risks endangering human health.

Particular problems flagged up include excessive abstraction for irrigation around the Mediterranean and Black Sea, widespread nutrient pollution from agriculture, and changes to river flow as a result of poorly planned hydropower or flood protection, or measures to encourage navigation.

On financing, the Commission says that while significant investments are still required in many areas, an overview of the 2007-13 financing period shows that Member States have not exploited available EU funding to support water objectives, for instance to treat waste water or to reduce flood risks by restoring flood plains and wetlands.

Despite some good progress, nearly half of EU surface waters are unlikely to reach good ecological status in 2015 –a central objective of EU water legislation. Gaps in monitoring the chemical status of surface waters are particularly significant, with the status of over 40 % of water bodies unknown.

In addition to the two reports analysing the implementation of the EU Water Framework and Floods Directives around the EU and provide specific recommendations to all Member States, a further five reports assess the River Basin Management Plans of Member States (Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Croatia) which were not part of the Commission assessment conducted in 2012.

The Commission recommendations to improve Member states implementation of water policies will be presented by Commissioner Karmenu Vella on 23-24 March in Brussels, at the 4th European Water Conference. The conference is part of the Commission's contribution to World Water Day which is devoted to water and sustainable development.

Click here to download the European Commission paper analysing progress to date

Click here to download the report on Water Framework Directive implementation

Click here to download the report on Floods Directive implementation