EU needs groundwater ecosystems guidelines | Science

Negotiations are underway on the new European Union (EU) Water Directive (1), which will regulate the protection and sustainable use of Europe’s water resources. However, the proposal foregoes environmental quality standards specifically tailored to sensitive groundwater species and fails to require biomonitoring for groundwater ecosystems. Despite repeated calls for consideration (2, 3) since the first Water Framework Directive in 2000 (4), groundwater ecosystems are at risk of being overlooked yet again.