Long-term effects on groundwater quality through agricultural land use and remediation strategies

Groundwater quality in several catchment areas in Germany shows significant negative influences due to agricultural land use. In many cases, limits for pesticides and nitrate are exceeded in drinking water. To prevent discharge of fertilizers and/or pesticides into groundwater, it is not enough to establish water protection zones. In addition, district-specific cooperation arrangements between the public water supplier and farmers in each groundwater catchment area are necessary to reach sustainable management of water resources. Compensation has to be paid for any economic disadvantage due to the higher requirements made in connection with the proper agricultural use of a plot. Based on the experience of several case Studies, the stages of risk assessment, the problems of reduction measures for agricultural pollution and the long-term strategies to solve the problem of agricultural land use in water catchment areas are demonstrated.