An updated EU directive revising the lists of pollutants in surface water and groundwater entered into force on 11 May, bringing monitoring and controls into line with the latest scientific advice.
The changes will be made through updates to three existing laws — the Water Framework Directive, the Environmental Quality Standards Directive and the Groundwater Directive, the European Commission informed on Monday.
The revised pollutant lists add newly identified substances linked to harm to human health and the environment, including certain PFAS “forever chemicals” such as TFA, as well as some pesticides and pharmaceuticals.
Microplastics have been addressed in the rules for the first time, alongside indicators of antimicrobial resistance and “sensitive groundwater ecosystems,” the Commission added.
New monitoring and updated limits
The directive introduces a requirement to test “effect-based monitoring”, a method that assesses the combined risk of pollutants to water quality rather than measuring individual chemicals one by one, the Commission declared.
Limits for some pollutants already on the lists have also been updated, while six substances judged no longer to pose an EU-wide risk have been moved to lists of pollutants of national concern after bans or restrictions on their use.
The revision also changes how the “non-deterioration” principle is applied — a rule intended to prevent water quality from getting worse — allowing some activities to go ahead under “strict safeguards”, including bridge reconstruction or flood-protection works with only temporary impacts, and some construction-related processes such as dewatering or sediment dredging that relocate pollution without increasing it.
Member states must transpose the amendments into national law by 22 December 2027.
EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said the revised law would reduce pollution from PFAS, pesticides and other harmful chemicals.
