Pharmaceutical substances are biologically highly active chemicals which can unintentionally but regularly be released into the environment. More than 600 different pharmaceuticals can be found worldwide in soils, sediments, surface waters and some of them even in groundwater. To protect human health and the environment it is urgent to implement strong and effective measures to reduce emissions of pharmaceuticals. Respective measures have already been defined by various stakeholders. These measures should be merged now in order to work out an EU strategy. In this position paper UBA proposes six key measures which should be taken into account to promote the best protection of our water from pollution of pharmaceuticals.