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Significant pressures and impacts
Europe's waters are affected by several pressures, including water pollution, water scarcity, droughts and floods. Major physical modifications to water bodies also affect morphology and water flow.
The WFD requires the identification of significant pressures from point sources of pollution, diffuse sources of pollution, modifications of flow regimes through abstractions or regulation and morphological alterations, as well as any other pressures. ‘Significant’ is interpreted as meaning that the pressure contributes to an impact that may result in the failing of Article 4(1) Environmental Objectives (of not having at least good status or potential).
The identification of significant pressures and their resulting impacts (which in turn lead to a reduced status) can involve different approaches: field surveys, inventories, numerical tools (e.g. modelling), expert judgement or a combination of tools.
Figure 1.2. For water bodies in less than good status the significant pressures and pollutants should be identified.
By now, many of the several thousand individual measures in the first RBMPs are completed. However, some measures are not fully completed yet mainly due to funding constraints, while other measures have been difficult to implement.
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Further and detailed information on WFD and second RBMPs · European Commissions homepage on WFD Link · Main reports on progress in the implementation of the WFD since the adoption of the first River Basin Management Plans <a web page with overview of relevant Commission, JRC and EEA reports on implementation of WFD> Commissions WFD reports Link; JRC and EEA · Overview of RBMPs Link – Link2. Further and detailed information on assessing status of waters is available in · Commissions Water Notes Link · CIS guidance documents Link · WFD reporting guidance CIS Guidance No. 21; EC, 2009; and 2016 see http://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/help/WFD/WFD_521_2016 |
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Sentence 3:
The bit in brackets "(of not having at least good status or potential)" suggests that significant pressures only refer to ecological status, what about chemical status?
Please change.
Figure 1.2: Please add an arrow in figure 1.2: from the green box to the red box.
BE-FLA (RV): p. 14, §3 Significant pressure
To be included: explanation on combined pressures (in the case each pressure in itself is not a significant pressure)
BE-FLA (RV): p. 14, §6 Individual measures
"many" should be quantified, as measures are an important element of the RBMPs
"Europe's waters are affected by several pressures, including water pollution, water scarcity, droughts and floods. Major physical modifications to water bodies also affect morphology and water flow."
Physical modifications are necessary, otherwise there would be no flood security. They also enable agriculture, energy, transport, etc. Additionally, there are strict laws and counter-measures to keep impacts at a minimum.
"The WFD requires the identification of significant pressures from point sources of pollution, diffuse sources of pollution, modifications of flow regimes through abstractions or regulation."
Which kind of regulation? Flood protection measures?
Figures 1.1 and 1.2 are both misleading. Fig. 1.1. implies that supporting elements have the same status as classifying elements
Fig. 1.2. gives a wrong message, which is also seen in the text: If the status is less than a good status, then the next step is to check if this is due to physical alteration needed for specific use etc.
Both figures should be modified in order to better reflect the WFD
Stakeholders must not be blamed for not implementing mitigation measures in case MS fail to provide funding. A clear sharing of responsibilities is needed. Further, it should be pointed out that some stakeholders at least try to do their best (hydro) while others have not even started to set any measures.
(AT) Figure 1.2
The graph does not really reflect the DPSIR approach!
The analysis of significant pressures and the risk assessment is the basis for monitoring and status assessment (not only needed for WB failing good status)
It would be better to include the DPSIR-circle!
SK: The title of Figure 1.2 has a form of sentence. The correct title is missing.