How the EU will reduce water pollution
PFAS, pharmaceuticals, industrial substances, and pesticide metabolites are polluting groundwater and surface water, with serious consequences for human health, biodiversity, ecosystems, and food chains. Despite extensive scientific evidence, the EU has only reached a provisional agreement that is unlikely to change the situation. Facts and insights
On September 23, 2025, the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement to update and strengthen standards for groundwater and surface water quality. The agreement, the result of years of negotiations, aims to improve the protection of rivers, lakes, and aquifers from toxic and persistent substances, many of which have already been linked to significant risks to public health and ecosystems. The agreement updates three key directives—the Water Framework Directive, the Environmental Quality Standards Directive, and the Groundwater Directive—and is part of the broader European Green Deal, aiming to achieve zero pollution in the coming decades.
PFAS, DRUGS AND MICROPLASTICS
One of the agreement's main innovations, Repubblica reports, is the expansion of the list of pollutants to be monitored. For groundwater, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), some pharmaceuticals, industrial substances, and pesticide metabolites are now officially included within the regulatory limits. For surface waters, such as rivers and lakes, new limits are introduced for PFAS (including trifluoroacetic acid), widely used drugs such as ibuprofen and diclofenac, bisphenol A, and glyphosate . Indicators of antimicrobial resistance and microplastics will also be included in a watchlist as soon as effective and cost-effective monitoring methods become available.
This update was necessitated by increasingly worrying scientific data. Studies by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have highlighted how many of these substances can have negative effects not only on human health —including liver damage, hormonal changes, infertility, and cancer—but also on aquatic biodiversity , interfering with the metabolism, reproduction, and development of species.
THE ALARM OF THE FOSSA MONSELESANA
The severity of the emergency is further confirmed by the most recent data. According to a new report from the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), one of the highest levels of PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) contamination ever recorded in Italy was detected in the Fossa Monselesana canal, a few kilometers from Padua: 69.1 micrograms per kilogram of fish, nearly 900 times higher than the EU limit of 77 nanograms per kilogram. Similar levels were also found in Campagna Lupia, in the southern Venice lagoon, with 68.5 micrograms per kilogram.
The report, which analyzes data collected between 2009 and 2023 in seven European countries, highlights that all Italian samples exceed the safety limit. This warning concerns just one of the approximately 10,000 known PFAS molecules, but the implications are serious: according to the EFSA, fish consumption can account for up to 90% of dietary exposure to PFOS. The most common freshwater species in Italian rivers—such as carp, trout, perch, and eels—are particularly vulnerable to the accumulation of these substances.
KNOCK-UP EFFECTS ON ECOSYSTEMS AND FOOD CHAINS
PFAS pollution, the EEB report explains, isn't limited to human health: it also severely impacts biodiversity. Perfluorinated chemicals compromise the health of aquatic ecosystems, negatively impacting the metabolism, growth, and reproduction of species. In particular, contaminated migratory fish, such as eels and salmon, can transport PFAS from one ecosystem to another, contributing to the spread of contamination into marine environments and new food chains.
MONITORING, ACCOUNTABILITY AND JUSTICE
The agreement reached on September 23 also includes a revision of the monitoring mechanisms. Member States will be required to report data on the biological quality of surface waters every three years and on the chemical quality every two years, with the option of submitting annual data on a voluntary basis. The requirement for comprehensive reporting on the status of water bodies every six years remains unchanged.
To ease the administrative burden, the Commission will consider establishing a joint monitoring mechanism at the European level. Furthermore, within three years of the directive's entry into force, the Commission will have to evaluate the introduction of the principle of extended producer responsibility, under which manufacturers of polluting substances will be required to contribute to the costs of environmental controls.
Furthermore, Member States are required to ensure that citizens and NGOs have access to administrative and judicial proceedings to challenge environmental violations, in line with the Aarhus Convention.
ACTIVISTS' ANGER AT POLITICAL DELAYS
Despite the legislative changes, environmental organizations criticize the excessively long timeframe for implementing the new measures. Member states will have until 2039 to comply with the new standards, with the possibility of extensions until 2045. For Sara Johansson and Athénaïs Georges of the EEB, this slow pace risks undermining the efforts made so far. "PFAS pollution of EU waters and wildlife is widespread, but severely underestimated," they state, calling for binding obligations and concrete measures in the next River Basin Management Plans.
THE MITENI TRIAL: A GROUND-UP STRUGGLE THAT BECOMES A EUROPEAN EXAMPLE
In June 2025, the Vicenza Criminal Court issued a landmark sentence against 11 former executives of the chemical company Miteni, sentencing them to a total of 141 years in prison for water poisoning and environmental disaster related to PFAS contamination in the provinces of Vicenza, Verona, and Padua.
The trial, which involved approximately 300 civil parties, established that the managers acted knowingly, worsening already serious environmental damage. Leading the legal battle were the Mamme No Pfas (No Pfas Moms), a group of Veneto mothers who, after discovering extremely high levels of PFAS contamination in their children's blood, mobilized, becoming a symbol of grassroots action. Their determination, visible in court with T-shirts displaying their child's name and the PFAS levels in their children's blood, attracted attention across Europe.
The verdict has been described as “historic” by numerous NGOs, and could set a legal precedent for similar cases internationally.
THE NEXT CHALLENGES FOR EUROPE
Despite the historic condemnation of Miteni's executives, the cleanup of PFAS-contaminated land remains an ongoing and complex challenge: companies will have to submit a remediation plan by the end of 2025, but the estimated costs—up to €2 trillion over twenty years for the whole of Europe—and the technical difficulties in destroying these molecules make the process extremely onerous, Euronews notes. Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Brussels to pass a law by the end of the year banning the production and use of PFAS, with rare exceptions.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/come-lue-ridurra-linquinamento-idrico/ on Fri, 26 Sep 2025 07:35:53 +0000.