As of: March 2011

Water Framework Directive

The way towards healthy waters

Official implementation of the Water Framework Directive on 22 December 2000 marked the beginning of a new era in the annals of water management. The Water Framework Directive sets the ambitious goal of attaining “good status” for Europe’s rivers, lakes, groundwater bodies and coastal waters by 2015 in accordance with a clearly defined timeline.

Strenuous efforts have been made in Germany to comprehensively characterize the status of our water bodies and to plan measures to achieve the objectives in 2015, via a process involving the following activities: countless water samples were analyzed; thousands of kilometres of water bodies were mapped and evaluated.

The focus of the Water Framework Directive lies on quality and biodiversity improvement and maintenance for water bodies. However, the Water Framework Directive is also user-oriented. The programmes of measures ensure the successful coexistence of water uses such as water supply, wastewater treatment, shipping, hydro power or flood protection and the ecological requirements. Both ecological matters and water use will form the basis for river basin management planning in the coming years.