The quality of the drinking water in Germany is excellent. Its main source, groundwater, enjoys a high level of protection and should be as free as possible from chemical residues.
Under the current legal situation, pesticides are authorised in Germany even though scientific findings show that they are harmful to the environment. The German authorities are currently unable to effectively protect the environment from harmful pesticides. This should be re-regulated under European law.
The motto for World Water Day 2022 is "Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible". This is why "groundwater" was chosen as the water body type of the year this year. The largest available freshwater resources on earth lie invisibly underground. For many people in the world, groundwater is the only available source of drinking water.
Pesticides can cause damage to the environment. A project coordinated by the German Environment Agency for the European Environment Agency provides the first overview of pesticides in rivers. lakes and groundwater reported by EU Member States. The report confirms that additional measures are necessary to ensure compliance with environmental quality standards in waters.
More than half of Germany's surface area is used for agriculture. Agriculture thus is the largest land user in Germany and a significant contributor to environmental stress. On the other hand, agriculture is also affected, for example, by the effects of climate change. In the flyer "Environment and agriculture 2018" UBA presents key facts about agriculture and environment.
Pharmaceuticals, which have become a lynchpin of our high standard of living, improve our quality of life and palliate and cure human and veterinary diseases. However, pharmaceuticals need to be used sparingly and with due care, for their positive effects also entail human and environmental risks and collateral effects.
