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2.1.         Introduction
Under the WFD, surface water assessment is separated into chemical and ecological status. Such separation may reflect a practical solution for water regulation but it is artificial for the environment. This chapter considers ways to gain evidence for better linking chemical and ecological status of surface waters in future.

Following the reduction of gross pollution, considerable effort in recent years has been put into developing ways to assess the impact of chemicals from an organism’s perspective i.e. “what concentrations of which substances affect the healthy functioning of an ecosystem?” A better understanding could allow improved targeting of measures to reduce harmful concentrations of pollutants. Alongside this, concerns have grown about the “cocktail effect” – mixtures of low concentration chemicals which in combination may cause harm. Some of the challenges and proposed solutions towards improving assessment of chemical risks in water are considered below.