Almost no progress in removing harmful substances from Dutch surface water in 12 years

The Netherlands has made almost no progress in removing 15 very harmful industrial substances from our surface water in the past 12 years, the Court of Audit determined. In 2000, the Netherlands agreed within the European Union to reduce the presence of these substances by 2027. “It is unlikely that this will be achieved,” the Court of Audit said.

The Court of Audit examined the concentration of the 15 most harmful substances from the total list of 122 harmful substanceslisted in the Water Framework Directive (WFD). These include carcinogenic PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), PFOS, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and dioxins - all substances that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

The researchers measured the concentration of these 15 substances at all 61 monitoring points in national waters in the Netherlands. They found that the concentration of one substance decreased, three increased, and nine remained about the same as 12 years ago. For two substances, there were not enough measurements to be definitive.

According to the WDF, the concentration of all harmful 122 substances must be decreased to a certain level by 2027. If one substance does not meet the standard, the chemical quality of the water is deemed insufficient. According to the Court of Audit, almost all measurement points exceed at least one value.

Industrial pollution is costing the Netherlands at least €7 billion per year, according to a 2025 estimate, and that amount will only increase, the Court of Audit said. “Surface water pollution can impact the health of people, animals, and plants, and puts pressure on the availability of drinking water,” said Barbara Joziasse, executive board member of the Court of Audit.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to clean surface water to a usable standard. “Water purification costs are also increasing, potentially running into billions. In recent years, for example, water intake from the Maas River had to be suspended several times due to poor water quality,” Joziasse said.

On top of these costs, the Netherlands will soon also face fines and subsidy cuts when it fails to meet the European standards it committed to in 2000.

The Court of Audit urged the Ministry of Infrastructure to get more insight into and control over which companies are discharging what into the surface water. The Court of Audit acknowledged that pollution can also come from companies abroad, but the Dutch government can and must do more.

The Rijkswaterstaat, which carries out the monitoring for the Ministry, has no central data system that tracks companies, permits, the quantities of substances permitted to discharge, and the actual discharges.

“This makes it impossible to obtain a national overview of which companies discharge what into national waters, and whether this is allowed under the issued permits,” the Court of Audit said.