Background

Pesticides used to treat crops enter water courses via surface water run-offs. These can persist in water bodies for long periods and they have a significant impact on water quality and the environment. The legal framework that needs to be fulfilled is set by the EU Water Framework Directive, which limits their single concentrations to 0.1 micrograms per litre and 0.5 micrograms per litre for the sum of all pesticides. Removing Plant Protection Products (PPPs) from water masses is challenging, costly and energy-intensive. Moreover, some are UNTREATABLE and require additional treatments to ameliorate their impact and the problems they cause to the water treatment plants. Also, there is the added problem of historical contamination. Some will not simply disappear