More than half of EU's waters in poor ecological state – EEA report

Published on 29/09/2025 - 17:36 GMT+2

Water contamination is worsening successful the EU with 62% of rivers, lakes and coastal sites presently successful a bad ecological state, a important summation from the 40% registered successful 2020, according to a study from the EU situation bureau (EEA) presented connected Monday. 

Published each 5 years, the EEA study provides a ‘health-check’ for Europe’s environment, clime and sustainability with this year’s study raising the alarm connected the deteriorating authorities of its waters.

Only 37% of Europe's rivers and lakes had a 'good' oregon 'high' ecological status, according to EEA’s report, which urges policymakers to instrumentality enactment to curb the precocious level of micro-pollutants successful bodies of water. Used successful pesticides, PFAS, known arsenic “forever chemicals” owed to their inability to interruption down successful the environment, are wide contiguous successful rivers and lakes, according to a 2024 study from the EU situation agency.

The study besides recovered that 30% of Europe’s onshore is astatine hazard of drought and 34% of the bloc’s colonisation risks lacking h2o astatine immoderate point, the EEA study said.

Growing and harvesting cultivation crops and forestry were identified arsenic the cardinal culprits for h2o accent and biodiversity loss, the study found, claiming that costs of nonaccomplishment to instrumentality EU biology laws done aerial and h2o pollution, quality degradation and discarded are estimated astatine €180bn per twelvemonth for the EU.

“We cannot spend to little our climate, situation and sustainability ambitions. Our authorities of situation report, co-created with 38 countries, intelligibly sets retired the science-based cognition and demonstrates wherefore we request to act,” said Leena Ylä-Mononen, EEA enforcement director.

Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said extortion of quality needs urgently to beryllium treated arsenic an concern alternatively than a cost.

“Healthy quality is the ground for a steadfast society, a competitory system and a resilient world, which is wherefore the EU is committed to enactment the people connected our biology commitments,” said Roswall.

Roswall said the EU instrumentality dealing with urban wastewater treatment, wherever producers of pharmaceuticals and chemicals are present liable to screen astatine slightest 80% of their waste, nether the polluter pays rule is different measurement guardant to tackle micropollutants and summation h2o quality. However, the latest revision of the EU’s h2o rules adopted past week by EU ambassadors, has been criticised by greenish campaigners for its deficiency of ambition.

“Europe is sawing disconnected the subdivision it is sitting on: dismantling the precise laws that safeguard our people, our nutrient and h2o security, and our system puts the aboriginal of our continent astatine risk,” said MEP Lena Schilling (Austria/Greens), referring to the roll-back of adopted EU biology laws, specified arsenic the EU anti-deforestation law.

Lucille Labayle, advocacy serviceman for Surfrider Foundation Europe said the EU situation agency's study was a "wake-up call". 

“Europe’s caller and marine waters stay successful a degraded state. While the findings travel arsenic nary surprise, our acceptable nonaccomplishment to execute astir 2030 and 2050 targets connected h2o quality, the study exposes that contamination indispensable beryllium tackled astatine root urgently. The wide connection is that steadfast waters are a substance of nationalist wellness arsenic overmuch arsenic it is of biology extortion — and Europe cannot spend much delay,” said Labayle.