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Pesticides are used to prevent or control any pest causing harm for agricultural products (FAO 2002). Pesticide sales data in Europe show, that in the time period 2011 to 2016, pesticide sales had an amount of 400 000 tonnes per year (EEA 2018c). Despite the high amount of pesticide sales, only 0.4 % of all surface water bodies and 6.5 % of groundwater area fail good chemical status based on exceedances of pesticide standards according to the status assessments in the 2^nd RBMP (ETC/ICM 2020). Based on WISE – Waterbase reporting data for European surface water monitoring stations suggest that in the time period 2007 to 2017, 5–15 % showed exceedances by herbicides and 3–8 % by insecticides. For groundwater, the percentages were about 7 % for herbicides and below 1 % for insecticides. Exceedances of fungicides seemed to be less prevalent for both surface waters and groundwater (Mohaupt, et al., 2020). Atmospheric deposition plays a role as a diffuse source for water pollution with chemicals, such as mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). PAH emissions occur during all combustion processes involving organic materials such as wood, coal, or oil. Mercury is released into the atmosphere, mainly by coal combustion, spreading over great distances and wash-out with rain to soil and waters (BMU/UBA, 2016). It can lead to accumulation in biota, especially fish, which is a risk for fish-eating animals and a potential risk for human health, e.g. (Zupo, et al., 2019). In Europe, mercury is the main reason for failing good chemical status in more than 30 % of all surface water bodies (EEA 2018b)).