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Assessment

The current BOD, averaged for the period 2017-2020, is 3.1 mg O2/l for 24 countries of Europe for which data are available (10 776 sites). Almost two thirds of the river monitoring sites in Europe fall into the three best BOD classes, which is also the recommended water quality for salmonid fish (less than 3 mg/l according to the Fish Directive 2006/44/EC) and recommended water quality for water intended for the abstraction of drinking water (according to the Directive concerning the quality required of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water 75/440/EEC).

Countries with the highest share of river sites in the best quality class (less than 1.4 mg/l) are Slovenia (all sites), Ireland (91 % of sites), and Cyprus (74 %). The share of monitored river sites with BOD not satisfying recommendations for salmonid waters is particularly high (more than 50%) in Albania, Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99, and Portugal. Higher BOD is observed in agriculturally and industrially developed lowlands of Europe, such as the Po valley, and lower BOD in the highlands of Europe such as Scotland, the Alps, and the Dinaric Alps.