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Pesticides can contaminate surface waters and groundwater and if their concentrations are above critical thresholds, they can be harmful to the environment.

The European Green Deal (EC 2019) sets targets to reduce the use of and risks from chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030 in the zero pollution action plan (EC 2021), farm to fork strategy (EC, 2020b) and biodiversity strategy (EC, 2020a), with a focus on protecting ecosystems and improving biodiversity.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) (EU 2000) sets environmental quality standards for pesticides in surface water. To assess the chemical status of groundwater, a precautionary quality standard of 0.1µg/L is set for pesticides according to the Groundwater Directive (EU 2006), reflecting the desire to keep pesticide concentrations in groundwater at low levels.