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COMMISSION NOTICE Guidelines providing a common understanding of the term ‘environmental damage’ as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage · European Union

| 164. | Furthermore, coverage of impairment of services may not depend on the definition of ‘damage’ alone. Specific objectives set for protected areas featuring in the register of protected areas under the Water Framework may be important. The definitions of good groundwater quantitative status and good groundwater chemical status under the Water Framework Directive include a clear reference to conditions aimed at avoiding failure to achieve the environmental objectives specified under Article 4 of that directive for associated surface waters. These objectives include objectives for protected areas under Article 4(1)(c) of the Water Framework Directive. For groundwater contamination possibly affecting the quality of drinking water, the Groundwater Directive furthermore sets an obligation to assess groundwater chemical status by taking into account the risk from pollutants to the quality of the water abstracted for human consumption (155). In addition, Article 7(3) of the Water Framework Directive provides that Member States shall ensure the necessary protection for the bodies of water used for the abstraction of drinking water, with the aim of avoiding deterioration in their quality in order to reduce the level of purification treatment required in the production of drinking water. In the light of this, taking into account the definition of ‘damage’ and the specific objectives and additional requirements set under the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive for ensuring the good status of ground water bodies used for the abstraction of drinking water, it can be concluded that damaging occurrences resulting in the need for a higher level of purification to comply with the requirements of the Drinking Water Directive, may come within the scope of water damage under the Environmental Liability directive (156).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.