Water Quality and Agricultural Diffuse Pollution in Light of the EU Water Framework Directive

Dear Colleagues,

With the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the European Union has set ambitious targets to get its water bodies in a good ecological status. With the final 2027 deadline approaching, less than half of European surface water bodies meet their goals, while progress is slow (EEA 2018).

While environmental or water agencies take hydro-morphological measures to restore habitat conditions, from fish traps to re-meandering, many emissions are regulated under other directives. While progress in water quality is being reported for point sources, diffuse pollution remains problematic. For control of sources of diffuse pollution originating from agriculture, i.e. fertilizers and pesticides, the WFD is, largely dependent on agricultural policy, e.g. developed under the Common Agricultural Policy, the Nitrates Directive or Directives with regard to pesticides.

This Special Issue aims to assess current progress and practices in aligning water quality management, especially the WFD, with agricultural policies across EU member states, stimulating the debate on the future of the WFD and the challenge of creating clean and healthy waters.

We welcome contributions engaging with the following topics:

• How are implementing agencies dealing with this problem of not being able to directly intervene in diffuse pollution stemming from agricultural sources? Did they find good alternative ways to cope?
• How are WFD related policies and practices connected to other policies on diffuse pollution, like the Nitrates Directive? Or remains diffuse pollution one of the major key problems inhibiting successful WFD implementation?

We welcome contributions on:

• Innovative approaches in sector-integration in light of above alignments;
• Comparative cases of implementing the WFD or Nitrate Directive in light of these issues or

Other reflections on sector integration of water and agriculture.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mark Wiering
Dr. Ann Crabbé
Dr. Daan Boezeman
Guest Editors

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