Exploring the ‘solution space’ is key: SOLUTIONS recommends an early-stage assessment of options to protect and restore water quality against chemical pollution

Abstract

Present evaluations of chemical pollution in European surface and groundwater bodies focus on problem description and chemical classification of water quality. Surprisingly, relatively low attention has been paid to solutions of chemical pollution problems when those are encountered. Based on evaluations of current practices and available approaches, we suggest that water quality protection, monitoring, assessment and management of chemical pollution can be improved by implementing an early-stage exploration of the 'solution space'. This follows from the innovative paradigm of solution-focused risk assessment, which was developed to improve the utility of risk assessments. The 'solution space' is defined as the set of potential activities that can be considered to protect or restore the water quality against hazards posed by chemical pollution. When using the paradigm, upfront exploration of solution options and selecting options that would be feasible given the local pollution context would result in comparative risk assessment outcomes. The comparative outcomes are useful for selecting optimal measures against chemical pollution for management prioritization and planning. It is recommended to apply the solution-focused risk assessment paradigm to improve the chemical pollution information for river basin management planning. To operationalize this, the present paper describes a still-growing database and strategy to find and select technical abatement and/ or non-technical solution options for chemical pollution of surface waters. The solutions database and strategy can be applied to help prevent and reduce water quality problems. Various case studies show that implementing these can be effective, and how solution scenarios can be evaluated for their efficacy by comparative exposure and effect assessment.

A holistic approach is key to protect water quality and monitor, assess and manage chemical pollution of European surface waters

“…The research resulted in an intervention database and -strategy to help assessors to solve chemical pollution problems [18]. The strategy to identify options to derive programs of measures and thus to explore the 'solution space' is a key part of the conceptual framework (Fig.…”

Strengthen the European collaborative environmental research to meet European policy goals for achieving a sustainable, non-toxic environment

“…While current evaluations of chemical pollution in European surface waters focus on problem description and water quality classification, the projects SOLUTIONS, MARS and GLOBAQUA put emphasis on early exploration of prevention and abatement options considering the remedial space within the Drivers-Pressure-State-Impacts-Response (DPSIR) causal approach [32]. To facilitate solution-focused risk assessment [37], a conceptual framework has been developed [16].…”

“…Chemical footprints as applied in SOLU-TIONS were likewise developed as an indicator of the cumulative impacts of chemical mixtures on biodiversity and represent the approximation or exceedance of a contamination level considered as safe [48]. They are recommended to be used to evaluate trends in chemical contamination and may help selecting best options for abatement scenarios, as well as to communicate complex data sets on mixture exposures and effects [32]. To anticipate the effectiveness of interventions, the perspectives of the water cycle and the chemical life cycle were connected by providing a mitigation database coupled to hydrological models [44].…”

“…It has been written on the basis of the experience of the large EU-funded projects SOLUTIONS, MARS and GLOBA-QUA. The extensive scientific results of the three projects are documented in about 200 publications each, accessible via the websites https ://www.solut ions-proje ct.eu/, http://www.mars-proje ct.eu/, http://www.globa quaproje ct.eu/en/home/, and have been exploited to derive a series of policy briefs published in this journal [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. We made no attempts to summarize these results here but drew conclusions for the requirement of future European research under systematic involvement of major stakeholders using a small selection of general achievements of the projects to underline these conclusions.…”

Increase coherence, cooperation and cross-compliance of regulations on chemicals and water quality

“…It also ensures that adequate measures can be taken when need arises or when feasible to gradually reduce risks for exposures in a stepwise manner. The solutionfocused approach and the knowledge gained by applying it, can also provide a basis for a long-term shift towards risk reduction via 'safe by design' approaches [7].…”