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1.1 Introduction 19

y
,
and Hungary, Poland, German and Ireland, more than 80%. Hoin man v er , we y European
countries, groundwater is the main source for public water supply. In Belgium, less than
40% of the total supply is from surface waters and in Denmark, less than 5%.
We will look into the second leg of the water issue, namely the problems, sources, and
pollutants associated with the pollution and contamination of the aquatic en vironment.
Before moving on, it would be useful to examine the current situation in various re gions
of the world as concerns fresh water pollution (Kraemer et al ., 2001).

Europe
In Europe, eutrophication is one of the main water pollution problems, which originates
partially from the past European common agricultural policThe intensie cultiation . y v v
of land demanded the use of large amounts of fertilizers in a relatiely small total land v
v
area. Although the situation has improed in the last few years with the phosphorus le v-
els in water being decreased, the presence of nitrates in the aquatic environment is still
a problem.
Despite the fact that organic pollution still remains a problem, the steps taken to improve
v
erlook
v
the situation cannot be oed. Specif the improement in both w ater aste w
,
ically
treatment and emission controls has led to a significant decrease in the percentage of heav-
ers,
ily polluted ri from 24% in the late 1970s to 6% in the 1990s in Western Europe. In
v
contrast, the situation is not exactly the same in the southern member states, since 50% of
the population is not yet connected to seage treatment operations. w
Another problem in relation to aquatic receivers in northern and eastern Europe is acidi-
fication, whereas ele ated concentrations of POPs are found near large European cities and v
industrialized areas.
olv Eastern European countries ined in the accession process during the last few years v
have a lot to achieve in meeting the established water quality criteria set in EU legislation.
In the Czech Republic and Slo 57% of the drinking water in 1990 did not meet the
akia,
v
quality criteria, whereas 70% of all water may be unacceptable for drinking in Poland. In
the Russian Federation, industry agriculture, and municipal landfills hae contributed to v
,
the pollution of groundwater in 1400 areas. Moreover, high PCB concentrations hae been v
detected in rivers and the levels of POPs draining into the Arctic may be higher than those
W America or found in urban estern Europe, in some cases.
North America
Agrochemical run-off is the main source of water pollution in the agricultural re gions and
ater in man has deteriorated the quality of groundwy areas. Over the past decade, ho , er v we
there has been an improement in the drinking water quality especially in the United
v
,
States, due to stricter water protection regulations in force. Ne industrialization v ertheless,
and economic growth have resulted in new pollutants being introduced into water supplies.
The case of the pollution of groundwater with MTBE (methyl tert -butyl ether) in man y
areas across the United States is characteristic. MTBE was used eely in the 1990s v xtensi
,
v
as a gasoline additie instead of lead. Its properties (e.g. mobility in the w lo ater w
biodegradability) combined with its unsafe storage resulted in serious problems in the
, quality of drinking w especially in the State of California. ater