EN
Urbanization is the cause of many changes which are taking place in the environment, including those found in the catchment. With this in mind, it is an important issue to properly protect water reservoirs and also take action to counter the adverse effects of human activities on the natural environment, including water bodies. To address the increasing degradation of surface waters in the European Union, the approach to the evaluation and protection of water resources was changed. This approach was formulated in the European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which calls for the protection of water, as well as an environment-friendly and comprehensive approach to water assessment. Herein, the ecological status of surface waters and groundwater is assessed on the basis of the ecological potential of the biological, physico-chemical and hydromorphological indicators.