Application of the Water Framework Directive in practice

With the adoption of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) in 2000, the European Parliament created the central and binding legal basis for modern water policy within the EU. Since 2002, the EC Water Framework Directive (EC WFD) has been successively transposed into national law through the Water Resources Act (WHG) and supplementary directives for the protection of the groundwater and watercourse compartments via the Groundwater Ordinance (GrwV) and the Surface Waters Ordinance (OGewV). With regard to natural waters, the EC Water Framework Directive stipulates a target of "good or very good ecological and chemical status", which must be achieved and maintained for all surface waters in all member states by 2027 at the latest. In addition, the EC WFD defines a ban on deterioration of the existing ecological and chemical status for all water bodies.

The discharge of water into a water body is a fundamental component of planning, design and implementation, particularly for projects in urban water management, water management and construction dewatering. The prerequisite for discharging into natural watercourses such as streams, rivers or rivulets is their compatibility with the prohibition of deterioration of the ecological and chemical status firmly anchored in the EC WFD. As part of a technical contribution to the Water Framework Directive, a multi-stage procedure - schematically visualised in Figure 1 - is used to assess the compatibility of your planned discharge project with the provisions of the prohibition of deterioration for short to long-term periods. In the future, it is foreseeable that numerous cities and municipalities will massively tighten their requirements and that even small discharge volumes in relation to the predicted total flow will require a specialised contribution under water law.

As MuP, we support you with the technical contribution under water law and provide you with competent advice. With over 30 years of expertise in the fields of pollutant remediation, groundwater modelling and the preparation of hydrogeological and hydrological reports, M&P Ingenieurgesellschaft is looking forward to being your competent partner in this field in the future.