Groundwater: Nitrate pollution will continue to be an issue across generations
As reported by euractiv, the groundwater in Germany is expected to remain contaminated for many more years despite the fact that the EU Commission has warned Germany about illegally high levels of nitrate in groundwater for years.
The complete press report can be found following the link below. Read an abstract here:
For years, the EU Commission has warned Germany about illegally high levels of nitrate in groundwater. The European Court of Justice even ruled on the issue in June. Now, the German government is working on a new Fertiliser Regulation. However, the groundwater is expected to remain contaminated for many more years. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Clean groundwater is an invaluable commodity, as it covers close to 70% of our drinking water. Germany’s groundwater has been evaluated as being poor for many years because it contains too much nitrate.
The reason for this is that agricultural fertilisation is being administered via liquid manure – the nitrate can only be taken off the ground for a limited amount of time, the rest seeps into the groundwater. Even the German Environment Ministry could not confirm any improvement of the situation in its 2016 Nitrate Report.
Further Information
complete press report