According to the European Environment Agency, more than 20% of groundwater across the block is in poor chemical condition. This means that the content of harmful substances such as mercury, cadmium and others exceeds the levels set by the EU Water Framework Directive.
An additional burden is created by the huge social and environmental costs of treating water for drinking and sanitation.
It is estimated that only the treatment of nitrates, which are often contained in fertilizers, costs the EU 320 billion euros a year.The EU limit fornitrates is 50 mg per liter, but according to the European Commission, this level has been exceeded in 14% of European groundwater measuring stations.
Which European countries have the healthiest tap water?
However, Europe’s huge investment in groundwater treatment is really effective.
According to the Environmental Performance Index, which cited by Euronews, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK each scored 100 points.
The worst scores on the continent were recorded in Moldova (50 points), Georgia (51.7) and Albania (54.1). Three EU countries also ranked low in Europe. They are Latvia (59.10), Lithuania (58.40) and Romania (56). The sanitary indexes of Belarus are slightly higher (60.5), and Armenia – 57.3 points. In Russia, the index amounted to 55.5 points, and in Ukraine – 55.2 points.
