CHAP. 4 ORGANIC POLLUTION IN RIVERS

The European Environment Agency (EEA), in the Dobris Report and in the Report on European Rivers and Lakes (EEA 1991, 1994), underlined the importance of organic pollution in European rivers. Although, more recently, the EEA has stated (EEA, 2003a and 2003b) that the amount of degradable organic matter (OM) discharged with wastewaters has been significantly reduced in Europe since the 1990s. The objective of this chapter is to review the existing knowledge on the relationships between the content of organic matter in rivers and the WFD relevant biological quality elements, mainly focusing on the impacts of OM discharged with wastewaters, one of the main causes of pollution in rivers.