WRITTEN QUESTION E-0811/01

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(19 March 2001)

Subject: Golf courses and water management in the European Union

In the autonomous community of Catalonia (Spain), a total of 41 of the 55 existing golf courses have been reprimanded for infringing restrictions on the use of water (450 m3 of water per hectare per month is deemed more than sufficient for maintaining the course) and for illegally using water from sites for which they lacked the necessary authorisation. Furthermore, in the autonomous community of Valencia, it is calculated that if the water use of the recently-built theme part Terra Mítica continues at its present rate, by next year it will double the deficit in water of a region that is seriously affected by drought. In addition, the park plans to build several golf courses in the surrounding area, and more courses are planned in other areas of the region, including Peñíscola, Benidorm and Finestrat. In areas with little water and low rainfall, the water used by an average golf course is equivalent to the domestic consumption of a town of 15 000 inhabitants. In order to satisfy such a high demand in this area which is lacking in water resources - for golf courses and similar facilities - the Spanish Government has just adopted a National Hydrological Plan, which will divert 1050 hm3 of water to these areas. The cases of Valencia and Catalonia are just examples of the situation in the Community as a whole, where golf is growing at a rate of 15 % per year. Golf courses have a high environmental impact, since in order to maintain the greens and fairways large quantities of fertilisers, weed-killers and other chemical substances are necessary which, when filtered into the subsoil, pose a pollution risk to aquifers and a considerable threat to flora and fauna.

The new framework directive on water, Directive 2000/60/EC(1) lays down the following key objectives for Community water policy:

- promoting sustainable water use based on long-term protection of available water resources;

- the progressive reduction of pollution of groundwater

- the need to take into account the characteristics of river basin districts, the environmental impact of human activity and economic analysis of water use.

What initiatives does the Commission intend to take to ensure compliance with the above provisions of Directive 2000/60/EC with regard to golf courses, particularly in those areas with low rainfall and problems of drought or desertification?

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(6 June 2001)

Directive 2000/60/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy(1), hereafter Water Framework Directive, entered into force on the 22 of December 2000. The Directive has a timetable for the implementation of the different requirements. For example, an analysis of the conditions in the river basin and the pressures on the waters within the river basin should be performed within four years after the entering into force of the Directive; a monitoring programme according to the Directive should be followed within six years; and, a programme of measures, that will make it possible to reach the objectives of the Directive, should be adopted within nine years. The full implementation of all the requirements of the Directive will therefore take several years. In areas where necessary, the use of water, fertilisers and other chemical substances on golf courses has to be taken into account when the different requirements according to the Directive are performed. It is a challenge to implement the requirements, however they are essential in order to achieve a good status in all waters of the Community.

It is every Member States' obligation to properly implement the different steps of the Directive. The Commission will follow the implementation process in the Member States in order to achieve an efficient and streamlined implementation of the Directive in the whole of the Community. The Commission will follow the timetable of the Directive when examining the Member States' compliance with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.

(1) OJ L 327, 22.12.2000.