Water is an essential resource for life, and its quality has a direct impact on both human health and the environment. Contamination from industrial waste, sewage and pesticides can lead to disease and compromise entire ecosystems. Ensuring clean water today is an investment in the future of the next generations.
On 1 January 2025, the new European Directive on Urban Wastewater Treatment came into force, introducing significant changes in environmental regulation. For the first time, the directive sets limits on the discharge of emerging contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals, which had not previously been regulated. This revision marks an important step in the protection of water resources, updating legislation that had remained unchanged for over 30 years.
Urban wastewater is one of the main sources of contamination of surface and groundwater bodies. The introduction of restrictions on compounds previously disregarded reflects growing concern over environmental and public health impacts. However, despite this progress, some aspects of the directive have been the subject of debate, with experts questioning the feasibility and effectiveness of certain measures.
The implementation of this directive represents a crucial first step in reducing the pressure of microcontaminants on aquatic ecosystems. Nonetheless, it will be essential to continue evaluating and refining the adopted strategies to ensure effective and sustainable water quality management across Europe.
In this context, CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), through its Thematic Line on Environmental Management, Pollution and Modelling, which focuses on investigating the sources, pathways and impacts of environmental pollution, has played a key role in advancing R&D projects aimed at the integrated and sustainable management of these systems. The line develops innovative strategies for monitoring, modelling and risk mitigation to protect environmental and public health, with significant contributions from Research Cluster 4 – Ecosystem Management and Conservation.
The LED project investigates the effects of light pollution, in combination with the presence of pharmaceuticals, as a potential endocrine disruptor in urban aquatic ecosystems, assessing impacts at both physiological and ecological levels. The BMRex project, funded by the European Union, is developing innovative biocatalytic membranes for the degradation of micro- and nanoplastics in wastewater effluents, offering sustainable solutions for tackling plastic pollution. Both projects involve CESAM research teams and address emerging challenges associated with environmental contamination in urban and industrial settings.
CESAM is the only Portuguese institution to sign the “Statement of support for updated EU water pollution standards”, in which 28 institutions from 14 countries and around 500 scientists from 38 countries call for the swift adoption of stricter rules to tackle chemical pollution in European waters. The document reinforces the need to update the EU Water Framework Directive, advocating for stronger monitoring and regulation to better reflect the actual impacts of chemical pollution on aquatic ecosystems—particularly by including new pollutants that pose significant risks to human health and the environment.
This position reaffirms CESAM’s commitment to science and environmental protection, contributing actively to the development of more effective public policies for the preservation of water quality and biodiversity.
Video: In this mesocosm system, which simulates river stretches, CESAM researchers test the effects of stressors, physical or chemical, on aquatic organisms.