This RIWA-Rijn annual report provides an overview of the water quality of the Dutch part of the Rhine river basin in 2020.
In Chapters 1 and 2 of this annual report, the parameters and their concentrations measured at Lobith, Nieuwegein, Nieuwersluis and Andijk are presented and compared with the target values of the European River Memorandum (ERM). This year, exceedances of the target values have again been observed. In addition, we provide an update on the development of the required level of water treatment (WFD Article 7.3) for Rhine water at Lobith since the introduction of the Water Framework Directive in 2000.
In Chapter 3, in cooperation with Vewin, we present a framework for the protection of drinking water sources and the achievement of the WFD objectives for PMT and vPvM micropollutants by combining existing ideas and legislation. A complete and coherent registration of pollutant emissions (E-PRTR) and increased transparency on industrial emissions will help reduce current water quality problems affecting drinking water sources.
On 15 June 1951, RIWA was founded with the aim “to jointly study the problem of pollution of the Rhine and to collectively advise the Government on further steps to counteract this problem as effectively as possible.” On the occasion of our 70th anniversary, Chapter 4 looks back at the early years of the Rhine Waterworks Association (RIWA), based on archival research conducted by Utrecht University.
The picture that emerges from this research is that of an organization that was among the first to advocate positions on water quality that later became common practice at the European level and that have remained at the core of RIWA’s work ever since.