The Dutch climate organisation, Milieudefensie Eindhoven, is concerned about the quality of the surface water here. That is why the group has written an open letter to the chair of the water board, Erik de Ridder.
According to Milieudefensie, the surface water in the Netherlands is the dirtiest in all of Europe, with only 1 per cent of the water meeting the standard ‘good’. Key areas of focus include chemical contamination from industry and agriculture and unacceptable levels of nitrogen and phosphorus present in the water.
Water is also discharged too quickly and too much used in situations such as spraying crops.
Fail
According to Milieudefensie, little has been done in recent years to make the surface water in the area cleaner. In addition, the environmental group commented that the new water management programme for 2022 – 2027, announced last year by the water board, was seriously insufficient in terms of water quality.
In the open letter, the climate group wants to encourage the water board to come up with a new plan before October this year to make the water in the area cleaner.
Fines
Clean surface value is important for people and nature, and should therefore have a higher priority than the interests of agriculture and industry. Moreover, lagging surface water quality can result in huge fines from Europe.
In 2021, the water board conducted another test with the surface water in Eindhoven . Slightly less than half of the water samples taken turned out to be of good quality, while slightly more than half showed ‘moderate’ quality.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Yawar Abbas
