Deterioration of water quality in Europe is caused by pollution from the three main sectors: agriculture, industry and households. Contamination arises from both point and diffuse sources: from accidents such as chemical spills, from storm run-off and from natural events such as volcanic eruptions. Water is also polluted by deposition from the long-range transboundary transportation of pollutants, often across national boundaries. The impacts of pollution are many and diverse but the general picture
is one of deterioration in the ecological quality of aquatic systems, such
as phosphorus induced eutrophication (which threatens biodiversity and
tourism), and threats to human health and
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