BERLIN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Rivers and water quality in Germany are in a "precarious" condition, a study published here by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) environmental organization showed on Monday.
According to the study, only eight percent of German streams and rivers could be described as ecologically intact. High nitrate and mercury concentrations from agriculture was one of the main reasons for the "poor chemical condition" of over one third of Germany's groundwater resources.
"In general, the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is not being implemented well in Germany," said Beatrice Claus, an environmental expert at WWF and author of the study, when speaking to Xinhua on Monday. The WFD obliges European Union (EU) member states to ensure that all water bodies are in a "good ecological" state by 2015. In exceptional cases, the time limit can be extended to 2027.
Claus said that the fertilizer ordinance of the German government, which regulates the use of fertilizers in agriculture, would not be sufficient. "From our point of view, nothing is being done about the high nitrate pollution in the water effectively."
In June, Germany was sued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for infringing the European Nitrates Directive. According to the CJEU, Germany should have taken additional or stronger measures to protect its waters. The lawsuit was filed in 2016.
On the occasion of a conference of environmental ministers of the federal German states on Wednesday, WWF chairman Christoph Heinrich demanded to "finally take water protection seriously" during the presentation of the WWF findings.
