11. inland and coastal waters - european … · 11. inland and coastal waters ... encourage...

Environmental signals 200286

11. Inland and coastal waters

policy issue indicator assessment

encourage sustainable water use water use versus resources

reduce water pollution from organic matter organic pollution in rivers

reduce water pollution wastewater treatment

reduce eutrophication nutrients in riversnutrients in coastal waterschlorophyll-a in coastal waters

preserve amenities bathing water quality

reduce oil pollution at sea oil pollution from offshoreinstallations and illegal discharges

The overall extraction of water resources in theEU is currently sustainable in the long-term.However, extraction rates in some areas maybe approaching unsustainable levels especiallyin southern Europe where improved efficiencyof water use, mostly in agriculture, is neededto prevent seasonal water shortages. Apartfrom causing problems providing water tousers, over-exploitation of water has lead tothe drying-out of natural areas in westernand southern Europe, and to salt-waterintrusion in aquifers.

Progress continues in reducing discharges oforganic matter and phosphorus to Europeanrivers, mainly as a result of improvedwastewater treatment, but concentrations ofnutrients still remain well above backgroundlevels. Nitrate pollution, mainly fromagriculture, remained high during the 1990s.The effects of eutrophication, for examplephytoplankton blooms, measured aschlorophyll-a in coastal waters, have notchanged during this period.

Despite the improvement in the quality ofbathing waters, 30 % of inland bathing watersand 12 % of coastal bathing waters do not meetoptimum (guideline) values even thoughlegislation has been in place for almost 25 years.

Although oil production increased, oildischarges from offshore installations andcoastal refineries generally decreased duringthe 1990s, except for Norwegian offshoreinstallations. This improvement resulted fromthe application of cleaning technologies and

wastewater treatment. Illegal oil dischargesfrom ships, as observed by aerial surveillance,decreased during the 1990s in the North Sea,but remained unchanged in the Baltic Sea.

There has been considerable progressover the last two decades in reducingdischarges from point sources, such aswastewater treatment plants andindustrial sites. However, there has beenfar less success in controlling dischargesfrom diffuse sources, in particularagriculture. Implementation of theNitrates Directive has been unsatisfactoryin most Member States and furtherchanges are required in agriculturalpractices to reduce nutrient pollution(see Chapter 6). Proper and fullimplementation of the Urban WasteWater and of the Nitrates Directives willbe an important positive factor inreducing eutrophication.

Most EU water legislation dates from the1970s and early 1980s, includingDirectives on the quality of water forspecific purposes, the control ofdischarges, and the protection of watersfrom specific sources of pollution. In theearly 1990s, Directives were adopted onurban wastewater treatment and theprotection of waters against nitrate fromagriculture. The recently adopted WaterFramework Directive rationalises EUwater legislation, and its implementationover the coming years is a major policychallenge. Its key features include:

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• the aim of achieving ‘good’ surfacewater and groundwater status by2015;

• prevention of further deteriorationand protection and enhancement ofthe status of aquatic ecosystems;

• promotion of sustainable water usebased on long-term protection ofavailable resources;

• support of the protection oftransboundary, territorial and marinewaters;

• stimulation of the progressivereduction of pollution by hazardoussubstances;

• the principle of recovery of the costsof water services, includingenvironmental and resource costs.

The Directive introduces a requirementto manage surface and ground waters atRiver Basin or River Basin District level.It also introduces for all surface waters ageneral requirement for ecologicalprotection and aims at ‘good ecologicalstatus’ for all surface water. Goodecological status is defined in terms ofthe quality of the biological communitybased on quality elements such asinvertebrate and fish fauna andcomposition and abundance of aquaticflora, the hydrological characteristicsand the chemical characteristics; and arespecified as allowing only a slightdeparture from the biologicalcommunity, which would be expected inconditions of minimal anthropogenicimpact.

Inland and coastal waters

The sixth environmental actionprogramme (6EAP) includes anobjective ‘to achieve levels of waterquality that do not give rise tounacceptable impacts on, and risks to,human health and the environment andto ensure the rates of extraction fromour water resources are sustainable overthe long term’.

In relation to the marine ecosystem, the6EAP includes an objective to develop ‘athematic strategy for the protection andconservation of the marine environmenttaking into account the need to reduceemissions and impacts of sea transportand other sea and land-based activitiesand to promote integrated managementof coastal zones’.

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1980

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1997

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5

10

15

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25

southern Europe

%

northern Europe

central Europe

accession countries 6

11.1. Water use versus resources

The highest water exploitation index isfound in Spain were more than one thirdof the water resource is exploited everyyear. In some countries (e.g. TheNetherlands and Denmark) the waterexploitation index has been nearly halvedduring the last 20 years (i.e. in Denmarkfrom around 20 % to 12 % and in TheNetherlands from 10 % to 5 %).

Although water exploitation was relativelyconstant in southern and northernEurope between 1980 and 1995, itdecreased in central Europe, mainly dueto a reduction in use by industry, publicwater supply and energy production. Italso decreased in the Accession Countriesdue to a reduction in use by industry andin public water supply. On average, 35 %of total freshwater abstraction in Europeis used for agriculture (irrigation), 19 %for urban use, 11 % for industry(excluding cooling), and 29 % for energyproduction.

Water use varies from less than 200 m3/inhabitant/year in countries with publicwater supply being the dominant use tomore than 500 m3/inhabitant/year incountries with high industrial, coolingwater or agricultural water use. Thenorthern countries have high water usefor water-intensive industries such aspulp and paper and for energyproduction. For many countries incentral Europe, the dominant water useis cooling water for power plants. In thesouthern countries the high water use(more than 70 %) is for agriculture.

Exploited water is typically returned to apoint different from the abstractionpoint, so there may be significantimpacts, for example dried up rivers, atabstraction points. Water consumptionlevels (i.e. water abstracted which is nolonger available for use) are muchhigher when the water is used forirrigation than when used for urban orindustrial uses and least when used forenergy production. Measures to improvethe efficiency of water use in theagricultural sector are needed to preventwater shortages in dry years.

Figure 11.1. Water exploitation index

Notes: The water exploitation index in a country is defined as the mean annual totalabstraction of freshwater divided by the long-term average freshwater resources. Countrygroupings: accession countries 6: Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, SlovakRepublic, Slovenia; central Europe: includes Switzerland but not Liechtenstein; northernEurope: includes Nordic countries apart from Denmark.Sources: Eurostat; OECD; EEA

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_media/water/indicatorshttp://www.europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/Public/datashop/print-catalogue/EN?catalogue=Eurostat&collection=02-Statistics %20in %20Focus&product=KS-NQ-01-006-__-I-EN

Quality of information

The exploitation of water resources has remained reasonably constantduring the past 20 years. Some reductions have occurred in centralEurope and the accession countries in the 1990s. In southern Europearound one quarter of the available water resource is exploited, around12 % in central Europe and 1 % in the northern countries.

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Building reservoirs and transferringwater from areas of high to lowavailability can increase water availability.Such infrastructure measures can,however, have negative effects on aquaticecology and water quality. In contrast,demand-side management by watersaving and more efficient use of water donot have such negative environmentalconsequences. One of the focuses of the6EAP is to provide products and servicesusing fewer resources, including water,and encouraging resource efficiencythrough more sustainable consumptionpatterns. The Water FrameworkDirective obliges Member States to usepricing for water-related services as aneffective tool for promoting waterconservation. This would also allow theenvironmental costs of water to bereflected in the price of water.

Other significant impacts from waterabstraction include overexploitation ofaquifers, a particular problem inMediterranean countries where itcommonly arises from excessiveabstraction for irrigation. Wetlands orwet ecosystems are also damaged whenthe aquifer water level drops. It isestimated (EEA, 1999) that about 50 %of major wetlands in Europe have‘endangered status’ due to groundwateroverexploitation. Salt water intrusioninto aquifers can result fromgroundwater exploitation along thecoast, where urban, tourist and industrialcentres are commonly located. Theintrusion of salt water is a problem inmany coastal European regions, butespecially along the Mediterranean andBaltic coasts (EEA, 1999).

0 200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400

MaltaLatvia

LuxembourgSlovenia

DenmarkCzech Republic

Slovakia

NorwaySwedenFinlandIceland

England and WalesPoland

NetherlandsIreland

SwitzerlandRomaniaBulgariaAustriaFrance

GermanyHungaryBelgiumEstonia

Lithuania

CyprusTurkey

GreeceItaly

SpainPortugal

public water supplyagricultureindustryenergyother/unknown

predominantly energy and

industry

predominantly industryand public water supply

predominantly public water

supply

predominantly agriculture

m³/capita/year

Figure 11.2.Water use by sector

Notes: data refers to 1999 or the latest year available.Sources: Eurostat; OECD; EEA


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0100200300400500600700800900

1 000

Estonia

(18)

Lithu

ania

(23)

United

Kingdom

(97)

Latv

ia (2

8)

Denm

ark (

26)

Fran

ce (2

85)

Slo

venia

(9)

Germ

any (

93)

Hungar

y (42

)

Poland (1

17)

Bulgar

ia (5

1)

µg N/I

early 1990smid 1990slate 1990s

11.2. Organic pollution in rivers

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) andammonium are key indicators of theoxygen content of water bodies. Highvalues are usually a result of organicpollution, caused by discharges fromwastewater treatment plants, industrialeffluents and agricultural runoff. Theeffects on the aquatic environmentinclude reduced chemical and biologicalquality, as well as impaired biodiversity ofaquatic communities.

Increased industrial and agriculturalproduction, coupled with more of thepopulation being connected to sewers,has resulted in increases in discharges oforganic waste into surface water in mostEuropean countries since the 1940s.Over the past 15 to 30 years, however,biological treatment of wastewater hasincreased (see Section 11.3), andorganic discharges have consequentlydecreased across most of Europe. Theresult is that many rivers are now welloxygenated.

During the 1990s BOD levels fell byaround 20–30 % in both EU andAccession Country rivers. Theimprovement in EU countries was largelydue to the Urban Wastewater TreatmentDirective, which increased the level oftreatment of wastewater.

The reduction in ammoniumconcentrations in the 1990s was evengreater than that in BOD, with a 40 %decrease in EU rivers and a nearly 60 %decrease in the Accession countries. Thelowest levels of ammonium are found inFinland, with the new Baltic States, UKand Denmark also having ammoniumconcentrations generally below 100 µN/l,close to natural levels. The highestammonium concentrations are found inPoland, Germany, Hungary andBulgaria, in which countries significantimprovements were made during the1990s with ammonium levels being morethan halved.

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_media/water/indicators/bod/index_html

BOD and ammonium levels generally decreased in the 1990s, by 20-30 %and 40-60 % respectively; they are lower in the EU countries than in theaccession countries. The largest decreases in ammonium were observedin those countries with highest concentrations at the beginning of the1990s.


Figure 11.3. BOD and ammonium in European rivers, EU andaccession countries

Note: Average of annual median concentrations. Number of monitoring stations in brackets.Source: EEA

Figure 11.4. Ammonium concentrations in European rivers, bycountry

Note: Number of monitoring stations in brackets.Source: EEA

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6biological oxygen demand

accession countries (236)

ammonium EU (501)

ammonium accession countries (205)

biological oxygen demand EU (224)

µg N/I mg O /I2

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11.3. Wastewater treatment

There are some key differences inwastewater treatment between thedifferent regions of Europe. Most of thepopulation in northern countries arenow connected to tertiary wastewatertreatment plants, which efficientlyremove nutrients and organic matterfrom the wastewater.

In the central EEA countries, more thanhalf of the wastewater is treated bytertiary treatment and a quarter bysecondary biological treatment onlywhich removes most of the organicmatter and the ammonia. In Denmark,The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerlandand Germany more than two thirds ofthe population is connected to tertiarytreatment, while in the UK andLuxembourg most have secondary(biological treatment). In Belgium andIreland, wastewater treatment iscomparable to that in southern Europeand the accession countries in that theycurrently have around half of thepopulation connected to wastewatertreatment plants, with 30–40 % of thepopulation connected to secondary ortertiary treatment plants.

The percentage of the populationconnected to tertiary treatment plantshas increased since 1980 in all Europeanregions. In northern countries such asFinland and Sweden, this level oftreatment was introduced earliest, in theearly 1980s, while many of the westerncountries constructed treatment plantswith nutrient removal in the late 1980sand 1990s; this explains the markedincrease in tertiary treatment in thecentral region.

Figure 11.5.Wastewater treatment in regions of Europe

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_media/water/indicators/wastewater/index_htmlhttp://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/Public/datashop/print-catalogue/EN?catalogue=Eurostat&collection=02-Statistics%20in%20Focus&product=KS-NQ-01-014-__-I-EN


The northern and western European countries have a high proportion oftreated wastewater, with continual improvements in treatment level.Southern countries and the accession countries have only around half ofthe population connected to wastewater treatment plants; the level oftreatment has also improved during the past 15 years.

0

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% of population

tertiarysecondaryprimary

northern Europe central Europe southern Europe accession countries

1980

(4)

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(4)

1995

(4)

late

1990

s (4)

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(8)

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(8)

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(8)

late

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s (8)

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(2)

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(2)

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(2)

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(4)

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(4)

late

1990

s (4)

Notes: Only countries with data from all periods included, the number of countries inparentheses. Northern: Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Central: Austria; Ireland; theUK; Luxembourg; The Netherlands; Germany; Denmark; and Switzerland. Southern: Greece;and Spain. Accession Countries: Bulgaria; Estonia; Hungary; and Poland. Primary treatment(mechanical treatment technology) removes part of the suspended solids, while secondarytreatment (biological treatment) uses aerobic or anaerobic micro-organisms to decomposemost of the organic matter and retain some of the nutrients (around 20-30 %). Tertiarytreatment (or advanced treatment technology) generally includes phosphorus retention and insome cases nitrogen removal. Primary treatment alone will remove no ammonium whereassecondary (biological) treatment will remove around 75 %.Source: EEA; OECD; Eurostat

The Urban Wastewater TreatmentDirective requires Member States toprovide different minimum levels oftreatment depending on the size of theurban population and the sensitivity ofthe receiving waters. The implementationof this Directive will lead to a reduction ofnutrient discharge from point sources; ithas been estimated that phosphorusdischarges will be reduced by about 30 %.However, implementation of the Directivehas been delayed, although considerableinvestment programmes are in place in allMember States to comply with theDirective’s objectives.


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11.4. Nutrients in rivers

Excessive inputs of nitrogen andphosphorus is an issue for rivers as wellas coastal waters (see Section 11.5).Eutrophication can lead to the loss offlora and fauna and reduce the quality ofwater for human consumption. In manycatchments, runoff from agriculturalland is the principal source of nitrogenpollution. For phosphorus, householdsand industry tend to be the mostsignificant sources although withreduced point source dischargesagriculture runoff can also be significant.

The average phosphorus concentrationin rivers per country varied from lessthan 25 µg P/l in the sparsely populated

Sweden and Finland to around 50 µg P/lin the Baltic states and to more than 100µg P/l in the more densely populatedcountries. Phosphorus concentrations inEU and Accession Country riversgenerally declined by 30-40 % during the1990s, especially in the countries withaverage concentrations higher than 200(µ P/l at the beginning of the 1990s.The large reductions in areas withformerly high phosphorusconcentrations indicate that upgradingof wastewater treatment plants has beensuccessful. Phosphorus load fromindustries has also been reduced due tothe use of cleaner technology.

Although concentrations of phosphorus decreased in both the EU and theaccession countries during the 1990s, nitrate concentrations remainedrelatively unchanged. The decline in phosphorus concentrations can beattributed to improvements in wastewater treatment. Overall,concentrations of phosphorus and nitrates are much greater than naturalor ‘background levels’.

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_media/water/indicators


Figure 11.6. Total phosphorus concentrations in rivers, selected EU and accession countries

050

100150200250300350400450µg P/I


Poland (9

9)

Hun

gary (

49)

Fran

ce (1

98)

Nethe

rland

s (17

)

SIove

nia (1

8)

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any (

73)

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ark (

35)

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King

dom (5

2)*

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ania

(25)

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ia (3

9)

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(45)

Swed

en (8

0)

Finlan

d (120

)

Notes: Average of annual median concentrations. Number of stations in brackets;* UK figures for orthophosphate-P.Source: EEA

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EU (386)

µg P/I

phosphorus

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Nitrate concentration is highest in thecountries with highly intensiveagricultural production, average in theaccession countries and lowest inNordic countries like Finland. Incontrast to phosphorus, no clear trendsfor nitrates are evident althoughconcentrations are lower in theaccession countries due to the lowerintensity of agriculture. A few countries,Latvia, Germany and Denmark, hadindications of reduced river nitrateconcentrations in the late 1990s. Overall,current concentrations of phosphorusand nitrate are still well above whatmight be considered natural or‘background’ levels.

Figure 11.7.Nitrate concentrations in rivers, selected EU and accession countries

Notes: Average of annual median concentrations. Number of stations in brackets.Source: EEA

µg N/I

0

1

2

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7


Denm

ark (

32)

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man

y (10

4)

Hun

gary (

42)

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ce (3

23)

Nethe

rland

s (17

)

Poland (1

14)

Belgium

(26)

SIove

nia (9

)

Lithu

ania

(23)

Esto

nia (2

1)

Latv

ia (2

8)

Finlan

d (60)

United

Kingdom

(48)

0020

0019

9019

95

0

1

2

3

4

EU (505)


mg N/I

nitrate


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11.5. Nutrients in coastal waters

The long-term development of nutrientconcentrations in the Baltic is probablyrepresentative of the development ofnutrients elsewhere in European seas.Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrationsin the Baltic Sea area and the southernand eastern North Sea more thandoubled between the 1960s and the1980s. Since the mid-1980s, phosphateconcentrations have declined in manyestuaries and coastal areas while nitrateconcentrations have remained relativelyconstant. In some areas, phosphorusconcentrations have fallen by up to 50 %as a result of improved wastewatertreatment and use of phosphate-freedetergents. Nitrogen inputs from pointsources have also been reduced, butdiffuse inputs from agriculture remainhigh.

The more recent years of the long-termdevelopment for a selection of other seasshow that winter surface phosphateconcentrations were constant in theNorthern Baltic Sea area and the coastalwaters of the eastern and southernNorth Sea. Decreasing concentrationswere, however, observed in Dutch coastalwaters and a tendency towards declinewas seen in Belgian coastal waters,Danish estuaries, Kattegat, the Belt Seaand the southern Baltic Proper. With theexception of a few sampling points, nogeneral trend in winter surface nitrateconcentrations can be detected. Thisreflects continuing high nutrient inputsfrom diffuse agricultural sources. Arecent Finnish report shows decreasingnitrate concentrations in the Gulf ofBothnia and Finland.

Figure 11.9. Trends in nutrients in the Baltic Sea and coastalNorth Sea waters, 1985–1997/2000

Notes: For each station or sampling point in the sub-regions of the Baltic and North Sea, atrend analysis of winter nutrient concentrations in water from 1985 to 1997/2000 was carriedout. The bars in the graph show, at how many sampling points (as %) a decrease or anincrease in nutrient concentrations at the 5 % significance level is observed.Source: HELCOM, OSPAR, NRCs via ICES, data manipulation by EEA

0

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no trend

increasing

stations % nitrate

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coas

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an W

est c

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t coas

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a

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decreasing

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stations % phosphate

Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in coastal waters of the BalticSea and southern North Sea more than doubled between the 1960s and1980s. Since the mid-1980s, phosphate concentrations have generallydeclined as a result of less discharge from point sources, while nitrateconcentrations have remained fairly constant as a result of increasednutrient runoff from agricultural land, compensating for any reductions ininput from point sources.

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_areas/coast_sea/indicatorshttp://reports.eea.eu.int/topic_report_2001_7/en


Figure 11.8. Winter concentrations of nutrients in the openBaltic Proper (East-Gotland Basin)

Notes: Winter covers mid-January to mid-April. The surface layer is 0-10 m.Source: HELCOM; ICES

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6 µMol µMol nitrate plus nitritephosphate

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11.6. Chlorophyll-a in marine and coastal waters

The eutrophication of coastal watersremains a significant problem in manycoastal areas of Europe. It results fromthe excessive input of nitrogen andphosphorus generated through humanactivity: runoff from agricultural landbrought to the sea via rivers (see Sections11.4 and 11.5), atmospheric depositionand nitrogen fixation from theatmosphere, especially in the Baltic Sea,and fish farming.

The concentration of chlorophyll-a incoastal waters provides an indication ofeutrophication levels. No trend at orabove the significance level of 5 % wasapparent between 1985 and 1997/2000in the summer surface concentrations ofchlorophyll-a, either in the coastal watersof the eastern and southern North Seaor in the Baltic Sea. Exceptions includedseveral sampling points in Danishestuaries and the Danish North Sea,which recorded a decrease and a fewmonitoring stations in the Bothnian Seaand in Belgian coastal waters whichwitnessed an increase.

Table 11.1.Coastal areas with potentially enhanced chlorophyll levels

Baltic Sea North-eastern part and eastern coast of Bothnian Bay; the Quark area; Coastal areas ofBothnian Sea; Gulf of Finland; Gulf of Riga; Coastal areas off Kaliningrad and Lithuania; Gulfof Gdansk; Pomeranian Bight; Swedish Baltic Proper coast

Belt Sea Especially coastal and shallow areas of the Belt Sea and Kattegatand Kattegat

Skagerrak North-eastern and south-western parts and coastal areas of Skagerrak

North Sea Eastern North Sea; German Bight; Wadden Sea; Southern Bight; UK coast and estuaries

The Channel Coastal areas, especially Baie de Somme, Baie de Seine and Baie du Mont St. Michel

Celtic Seas Bristol Channel; Liverpool Bay with associated estuaries; Solway Firth; Firth of Clyde; Ireland’scoast to the Irish Sea

Bay of Biscay French coastal areas and estuaries in Bay of Biscay, especially in the vicinity of the Loire andand Iberian Coast Gironde estuaries; Spanish and Portuguese Atlantic coasts

Mediterranean Costa del Sol; Vicinity of the Ebro delta; Gulf of Lyon; Italian west coast, especially Gulf ofSea Gaeta, Napoli Bay and in the vicinity of the rivers Tiber and Arno; Northern Adriatic Sea,

especially Gulf of Venice and the areas influenced by the river Po; Northern Aegean Sea,especially Bights of Thessaloniki and Thermaikos and in the Limnos area with inflow from theBlack Sea through the Marmara Sea. Outside EU-countries, enhanced chlorophyllconcentrations are found along the south-east coast of Tunisia and the Egyptian coast fromAlexandria to Gaza

Notes: compared to neighbouring seas from the satellite spring-summer mean chlorophyll imagesSource: EEA

http://reports.eea.eu.int/topic_report_2001_7/en


No trend is generally apparent in summer surface concentrations ofchlorophyll-a in either the coastal waters of the eastern and southernNorth Sea or the Baltic Sea. Symptoms of eutrophication such asphytoplankton blooms (revealed by satellite images) occur in severalcoastal areas of Europe.


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Map 11.1.Mean spring-summer concentrations of chlorophyll-like pigments in European seas determined fromsatellite observations

Notes: ‘spring-summer’ covers April to September.Observations are from SeaWiFS satellite. The concentrationscale (µg/l) is valid only for oceanic waters and over-estimates the chlorophyll concentrations in coastal seas andthe entire Baltic Sea to a large and variable degree, as aresult of high concentrations of coloured dissolved organicmaterial (yellow substance).Source: EEA

Recent observations in Baltic watersshow decreasing chlorophyll-aconcentrations in the MecklenburgBight, but increasing concentrations inthe Arkona Basin, both in the periodsince 1979.

Satellite imagery provides a means ofcomparing relative concentrations ofchlorophyll-a in European coastal areas.The maps indicate differences particularlyin the eastern and southern North Seaand the Baltic Sea. In the latter case, theconcentrations appeared to increasebetween 1998 and 2000 but the resultsare affected by external factors such asmeteorological conditions.

Various initiatives have been taken at theEuropean level to reduce nutrientsurpluses on agricultural land andsubsequently in water, and thus protectthe marine environment fromeutrophication. The Nitrates Directiveand the Urban wastewater TreatmentDirective, for example, aim to reducenutrient inputs from agricultural runoffand point sources, respectively. The aimsof the Water Framework Directiveinclude securing a good ecologicalquality of coastal waters andimplementing this objective is now a keyissue for Member States.

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11.7. Bathing water quality

The proportion of bathing areas inEurope that meet the mandatory andguideline values of Directive 76/160/EECon Bathing Water Quality increasedbetween 1992 and 2000 for both coastaland inland waters. However, despite thelegislation having been in place foralmost 25 years, only one country(Belgium) achieved 100 % compliancewith the minimum mandatory standardsin 2000 (note that Belgium only has ashort coastline with only 39 sites out of atotal of more than 110 000). Withrespect to the guideline values, 20 % ofEurope’s coastal bathing waters and 36 %of its inland bathing beaches do notreach these standards. The Netherlands,Greece and Spain had the highestpercentage of coastal waters achievingthe guideline standards with Belgiumand the UK having the lowest.

While the Directive lists a range ofparameters to be monitored, robustanalytical methodologies have yet to bedeveloped for some of these. Forexample, human enteric viruses are themost likely pathogens responsible forwaterborne diseases from recreationalwater use but detection methods are toocomplex and costly to be used in routinemonitoring. Instead, the main parametersanalysed for the purposes of complianceare the presence of indicator organisms(total and faecal coliforms). Compliancewith the mandatory standards for theseorganisms does not therefore provide aguarantee of no risk to human health.The degree of compliance provides anindication of general pollution levelsfrom effluent discharge.

The revision process of Bathing WaterDirective 76/160/EEC started at thebeginning of the 1990s. There is ageneral preference for a totally newDirective. It is the Commission’s intentionto take the time needed for an in-depthreview and to provide a text for a broaderconsultation. A communication from theCommission to the European Parliamentand the Council, Developing a NewBathing Water Policy, was adopted in2000 (COM(2000) 860 final).

The quality of designated coastal and inland bathing waters in Europeimproved throughout the 1990s. In 2000, 97 % of coastal bathing watersand 91 % of inland bathing waters complied with the minimum(mandatory) standards. However, 12 % of Europe’s coastal bathing watersand 30 % of Europe’s inland bathing waters failed to meet optimum(guideline) standards.

http://www.europa.eu.int/water/cgi-bin/bw.pl


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Figure 11.11.Compliance of EU bathing beaches with theBathing Water Directive by country, 2000

Notes: For compliance with the Directive, 95 % of the samples must comply with themandatory standards. To be classified as achieving guideline values, 80 % of the samplesmust comply with the total and faecal coliform standards and 90 % with the standards for theother parameters.Source: The European Commission from annual reports by EU Member States

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0

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mandatory

guideline guideline

mandatory

coastal waters inland waters

Figure 11.10.Compliance of EU bathing waterswith the Bathing Water Directive

Note: The Directive requires Member States to designate coastal and inland bathing watersand to monitor the quality of these waters throughout the bathing season (May to Septemberin most European countries). The Directive sets both minimum standards (mandatory) andoptimum standards (guideline). The indicator has to be considered with some caution, as itreflects water quality at only a limited number of specific locations, against selectedparameters and for a limited number of samples.Source: The European Commission from annual reports by EU Member States


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number of spills per flight hournumber of spills

11.8. Oil pollution from offshore installations and illegal discharges

Despite increased oil production, oildischarges from coastal refineries andoffshore installations are decreasing. Forexample, in 1990 offshore installations ofDenmark, The Netherlands and theUnited Kingdom discharged 17 700tonnes of oil while producing 102 milliontonnes, while in 1999 those installationsdischarged less than 13 700 tonnes of oilwhile producing 154 million tonnes.Norway, where oil production doubledover the same period (70 to 145 milliontonnes) has not succeeded in reducingdischarges, and is responsible for theincrease of the total discharges since1994. Indeed, between 1990 and 1998 thetotal refinery output across the EUincreased by 15 % while dischargesdecreased by 70 %. Decreases fromcoastal refineries and offshoreinstallations have resulted from anincrease in the use of cleaningtechnologies and improved wastewatertreatment prior to discharge. Furtherimprovements are also anticipatedfollowing new OSPAR regulations on drillcuttings that entered into force in 2000.

Illegal oil discharges from ships andoffshore platforms are regularly observedat sea. Discharges are prohibited in theNorth Sea, the Baltic Sea and theMediterranean and aerial surveillance isundertaken in order to prevent andrecord any violations. Directive 2000/59/EC aims to ensure a major reduction inmarine pollution through the provisionof adequate waste reception facilities inall EU ports. While the number of oilspills witnessed in the North Sea declined,the number of oil spills witnessed in theBaltic Sea remained relatively constant inthe decade to 2000. Oil spills are largelyconfined to navigation corridors and maypollute beaches and harm fish, shellfishand bird populations.

http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_areas/coast_sea/indicators


Oil discharges from coastal refineries and offshore installations havegenerally decreased, except for Norwegian offshore installations, whileproduction has increased and further improvements are anticipated nownew OSPAR regulations have entered into force. The number of illegal oilspills per flight hour in the North Sea declined in the decade to 2000although numbers in the Baltic Sea remained relatively constant.

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offshore installationsrefineries

Figure 11.12. Total discharges of oil from refineries and offshoreinstallations in EU

Notes: Offshore installation is defined by OSPAR as ‘any man-made structure, plant or vesselor parts thereof, whether floating or fixed to the seabed, placed within the maritime area forthe purpose of offshore activities‘. It includes for example oil and gas exploration andproduction platforms or ships. Discharges from refineries (1991–1992, and 1994–1999) arebased on emission coefficients developed by DHI.Source: OSPAR; Eurostat; DHI; Concave

Figure 11.13. Illegal oil discharges from shipping: observed oilslicks from aerial surveillance

Note: Illegal oil discharges from ships and offshore platforms are regularly observed at sea.Specific aerial surveillance by planes is conducted over ‘special areas’ defined byinternational conventions in order to detect oil slicks on the sea surface. No aerialsurveillance is conducted over The Mediterranean and the Black Sea.Source: Bonn Agreement; HELCOM

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99

Map 11.2.Locations of major offshore installations

Notes: Locations asmentioned in notices tomariners.Source: UKHO and SHOM

Helcom Clean Sea Guide

ÔAny discharge of oil or oily mixtures into the BalticSea Area is prohibited. Oil means petroleum in anyform including crude oil, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuseand refined products. The prohibition applies notonly to discharges from the cargo tanks of oiltankers but equally to discharges from themachinery spaces of any ship. Only if the oilcontent in the effluent does not exceed 15 partsper million can a discharge be permitted. The oilfiltering equipment must be provided witharrangements that ensure that any discharge of oilor oily mixtures is automatically stopped when theoil content in the effluent exceeds 15 parts permillion. By 1 January 2002 ships of less than 400tons gross tonnage, flying the flag of a Baltic SeaState, should also comply with adopted guidelines

concerning holding tanks/oily water separating orfiltering equipmentÔ.

Given the sensitivity of the Baltic Sea Area, it is ofutmost importance that illegal discharges fromships are eliminated. Therefore, the Baltic SeaStates have agreed that from 1 July 2000 all ships,with some exceptions, are under an obligation todeliver to a port reception facility, before leavingthe port, their ship-generated wastes and cargoresidues that cannot be legally discharged underthe global International Convention for thePrevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, asmodified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto(MARPOL 73/78), or under the Helsinki Convention.

Source: http://www.helcom.fi/a/publications/Clean %20Seas %20Guide.pdf


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