Is EU water quality legislation a waste of money?

Researchers have suggested that environmental legislation set out by the EU to boost water quality may not be cost-effective.

The team, who were working on a government commission, have suggested that in some cases the European Water Framework Directive is proving to be an unnecessary drain on public resources, the Yorkshire Post reports.

Members of the group have conducted an environmental analysis on waterways that link to the River Humber and found that improvements were becoming a financial burden to local agricultural workers.

While the notion of having cleaner rivers is a good thing - especially for wildlife and anglers - the researchers felt sometimes the costs outweighed the benefits.

Professor Ian Bateman of East Anglia University told the publication those charged for the clean-up operation may not be the ones who enjoy the end results.

"This legislation was not designed with any thought about pay-offs and costs. It was assumed all improvement would be good," he remarked.

The EU's Water Framework Directive was first introduced in 2000 and a few amendments have been made since.

Posted by Claire Manning