Europe is one of the best water-supplied regions in the world. In the European Union, between 2011 and 2013, 36% of drinking water came from surface water, 50% from groundwater, and 14% from other sources [149]. Water scarcity affected 11% of Europeans. Water scarcity is when there are not enough water sources to meet the long-term average water demand. Water scarcity can also be interpreted from a health perspective: It is a condition in which the human body loses more fluid than it can replace, resulting in dehydration. Water replacement for the human body can only be provided by fresh water. Only 3% of the Earth’s water supply is freshwater, including glaciers and polar ice caps, so the actual usable freshwater supply is 0.5%, of which 96% is below the surface. A large part of the European continent has very rich underground water resources. 70% of the European Union’s freshwater needs are met by underground resources. Groundwater comes directly (shallow groundwater) or indirectly (deep groundwater) from surface water and precipitation.

All these data show the importance of protecting water resources. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is drawing attention to environmental and human health concerns from widely used man-made substances and is taking effective action [20]. However, legal steps are necessary to maintain the purity of water bodies, and the binding nature of legal sources is also important. Most of the secondary legal sources for water protection – that is, created by the various EU institutions – were created as directives. The framework of the current EU water protection law was created in about four steps. The first step can be dated from the adoption of Directive 75/440/EEC on surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water in 1975 to the entry into force of Directive 80/68/EEC on the protection of groundwater against dangerous substances in 1980. The latter was supplemented by an action program for groundwater in 1996. In a second step, Directive 91/271/EEC on urban wastewater treatment and Directive 91/676/EEC on the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates of agricultural origin were adopted in 1991. The adoption of Directive 2000/60/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, EU Water Framework Directive, Water Framework Directive, WFD) in 2000 represents the third stage in the development of EU water protection legislation. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/ EC can be considered as the fourth stage [150].

Figure 7 shows the impact of the water consumption habits of the European population on the economy and the environment [149]. The high consumption of the popular bottled water is a burden on the expenditure of European households and the distribution in plastic bottles leads to a lot of plastic waste.

 

Already in the Directive on Environmental Regulations 2008/105/EC, the requirement for a new mechanism for high level continuous monitoring of concentration levels of primary pollutants in the water environment in the EU was formulated [152]. In 2015, the first dynamic watch list (EU Priority Substances Watchlist) [153] was finally developed, in which 17 of the 43 proposed pollutants were eventually included. The list was updated in 2018 and 2020 and currently includes the following substances: amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, venlafaxine, desvenlafaxine, azole antifungals (clotrimazole, fluconazole, miconazole); methiocarb; neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, acetamiprid); metaflumizone; azole pesticides (imazalil, iconazole, metconazole, penconazole, prochloraz, tebuconazole, tetraconazole); famoxadone and dimoxystrobin. Microplastics are not included in the above lists. For the active substances on the list, all member states are required to collect concentration levels that can be measured in the environment in order to identify the primary pollutants as regulated by WFD. Data collection will continue until the pollutants are removed from the watch list, when sufficient data are available for an environmental impact assessment. In this regard, WFD is supported by other EU legislation, such as the REACH Chemicals Regulation [154], the Industrial Emissions Directive [155], and the EU Plant Protection Products Regulations [156]. In addition, several other provisions complement the WFD, such as the Drinking Water Directive (1998), the Groundwater Directive (2006), the Bathing Water Directive (2006), the Floods Directive (2007), the Urban Wastewater Directive (1991). Directive EU/2020/2184 on the quality of water intended for human consumption was introduced to replace Directive 98/83/EC, which has been amended several times, and is the first to regulate the study of microplastics in drinking water [157]. This directive addresses the drinking water issue in great detail and clearly describes the knowledge required. For example, the parameters, their monitoring and analytical methods can also be found in the annexes: Annex I: Minimum requirements for parameter values to assess the quality of water intended for human consumption (A - microbiological, B - chemical and C - indicator parameters), Annex II: Monitoring (parameters, sampling frequency, sampling methods and locations, etc.), and Annex III: Rules for the analysis of parameters (standards, limits). By January 12, 2024, they will legally secure the acceptance of the measurement method for microplastics so that they can be included in the watch list along with substances of health concern (e.g. drugs, endocrine disrupting compounds). However, by January 12, 2026, member states are required to measure several risk substances (bisphenol A, chlorate, chlorite, haloacetic acids, microcystin- LR, “all PFA compounds,” “sum of PFA compounds,” and uranium) and bring them below the limit value.