Concentrations of nitrates of agricultural origin - 2012/2013 - Groundwater - whole France

Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991, known as the Nitrates Directive, aims to protect water quality by preventing pollution of groundwater and surface water by nitrates of agricultural origin, in particular by promoting the use of good agricultural practices for the management of nitrogen. Its guidance is largely reflected in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC of 23 October 2000. It requires Member States to: réaliser des campagnes de surveillance des concentrations en nitrates dans les milieux aquatiques (eaux superficielles et souterraines) au moins tous les quatre ans ; désigner des zones de protection spécifiques, atteintes ou menacées par la pollution par les nitrates d’origine agricole, dites zones vulnérables ; élaborer des programmes d’actions dont les mesures doivent être obligatoirement appliquées par les agriculteurs qui exercent leurs activités en zones vulnérables ; établir des bonnes pratiques agricoles (fertilisation azotée, gestion des terres) à mettre en œuvre volontairement par les agriculteurs. In France, the implementation of the Nitrates Directive began in 1992 with the first monitoring campaign: nitrate concentrations are then measured at approximately 3,000 sites (so-called "measuring stations") located in or near agricultural areas. The results make it possible to establish the first delimitation of vulnerable zones in 1997. Four other campaigns followed (1997-1998, 2000-2001, 2004-2005 and 2010-2011). In addition to these specific campaigns carried out under the Nitrates Directive, and in order to better monitor the development of water quality in relation to this parameter, the Ministry responsible for the environment, the National Office for Water and Aquatic Environments (Onema) and the International Office for Water (IOWater) have been producing a summary document each year since 2006 on the results of nitrate concentration measurements produced under the national monitoring programme for aquatic environments (monitoring, operational monitoring, complementary networks), in application of the WFD. The measuring stations selected to study the evolution of concentrations in areas under agricultural pressure are then those that are common to the last campaign carried out under the Nitrates Directive. This dataset corresponds to the results of the national monitoring programme, carried out under the WFD, of the stations selected during the 2010-11 nitrate monitoring campaign, over the period from 01/10/2012 to 30/09/2013, for groundwater.