This section introduces to specific assessments, following the same structure and order of the other WISE Freshwater sections, the content is organised by main legislative framework (which is structured according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and its daughter Directives.
Water Framework Directive
This section is dedicated to the Water Framework Directive and presents the results on the status and pressures on groundwater and surface waters in Europe, based on data reported electronically to EEA for River Basin Management Plans. The results provide an overview at EU, Member State and River Basin District level.
Freshwater themes
On this page, you will find a variety of popular water related themes and topics of your interest. The pages are updated from time to time so we invite you to explore them. They will give you easy access to general, as well as more detailed information and provide you with references to further information.
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) requires Member States to ensure that urban areas collect and treat waste water which would otherwise pollute rivers, lakes and seas. By doing so, urban waste water treatment (UWWT) plays a key role in supporting the EU towards the zero pollution ambition set out in the European Green Deal, protecting human health and aquatic ecosystems. UWWT also has an important role to play in the circular economy, enabling the reuse of treated waste water and sewage sludge, the production of renewable energy, and the recycling of nutrients. The importance of access to clean water and sanitation is embedded in Goal 6 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals . Supplying clean water and collecting waste water has required huge investment across Europe in recent decades.
Floods Directive
Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) on the assessment and management of flood risks requires Member States to assess if all water courses and coast lines are at risk from flooding, to map the flood extent and assets and humans at risk in these areas and to take adequate and coordinated measures to reduce this flood risk.
Water reuse
As a response to increasing evidence that there is less rain in many parts of Europe, the Union is now equipped with a new piece of legislation that will make the use of treated wastewater to irrigate crops safe, transparent and accessible to farmers: the Regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse for agricultural irrigation (the Water Reuse Regulation (Regulation (EU)2020/741) ).
Area for pesticides products, including files
Webinar for WFD CIS WGs-MS members Draft WISE Freshwater - Session Recording
Webinar for WFD CIS WGs-MS members Draft WISE Freshwater – WFD dashboards-9.4.2024 to demonstrate the draft data in WISE Freshwater - WFD from 3 rd RBMP reporting to Member States .The aims are that Member State experts will be able to review the data and check the dashboards, as well as give feedback on what is useful in the draft website.
Webinar for Eionet TG Water members Draft WISE Freshwater – WFD dashboards - 15.4.2024 to demonstrate the draft data in WISE Freshwater - WFD from 3 rd RBMP reporting to Member States .The aim is that TG water experts will give feedback on what is useful in the draft website.
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WFD-Art.18 context and methodology
The Water Framework Directive required EU Member States to achieve good status in all bodies of surface water and groundwater by 2015, unless there are grounds for exemption. Achieving good status involves meeting certain standards for the ecology, chemistry and quantity of waters.
Water savings
WISE Marine and WISE Freshwater, managed by the European Commission – DG Environment and the EEA, are information systems providing public access to data and information mainly reported under EU marine and water directives, supporting environmental assessment and policy implementation. In 2025, WISE Marine tasks are focusing on the finalisation and release of additional expert dashboards on the Pressures affecting Europe seas and on Environmental Targets achievements, based on MSFD 2018 reporting data. However the main effort is advancing in the design and automation of data harvesting for the upcoming “State of Seas” web section and related data visualization products, planned in 2026. A new area dedicated to the EU Mission “Restore our Oceans and Waters” has been just published.
Nitrates
Landing page to present products and information on the Nitrates
