The objective of the Action was to improve the science underpinning the development of integrated indicators of the environmental risks created by pollutants in water. The emphasis was emphasis on water bodies on natural porous media. Natural porous media include soils, subsoil vadose zones, and aquifer systems. The pollutants considered were substances of anthropogenic origin such as nutrients, pesticides, hazardous substances, organic chemicals and solvents, organometalic, radionucleic and organic waste. Where these substances occurred in concentration considered toxic to living organisms, pollution was deemed to exist. Under this COST Action an effort was made to address both the “known” and the “unknown” fraction. A set of integrated indicators to evaluate pollution status and risk of toxicity for European water resources will aid environmental agencies, administrators and regulators and benefit society as a whole. The developed tools will facilitate implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).
