Abstract
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a new legislative framework to
manage, use, protect, and restore surface and ground waters resources and
coastal waters in the European Union (EU). The aim is to ensure sustainable
water management and to reach good water quality by 2015. The assessment of
the ecological status and setting of the practical management goals require
several steps. The process has started with the characterisation of the
river basins including identification of surface water bodies and types, and
identification of significant anthropogenic pressures and impacts. The
water bodies will be classified in five quality classes (high, good,
moderate, poor, bad) based on Ecological Quality Ratio which is a ratio
between reference conditions and current status of the biological quality
elements. The current descriptive criteria for high, good and moderate
ecological status need to be made operational by the Member States, thus
setting the practical quality targets for surface water management.
National assessment systems will be harmonised through the WFD
intercalibration exercise in order to ensure an equal level of ambition in
achieving good surface waters status all over Europe.
