1 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,880 Crops need nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. 2 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,880 Nutrients that they don’t take up are retained in the soil. 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,0 Or they end up in the groundwater and surface waters. 4 00:00:15,0 --> 00:00:19,80 If this happens too much, biodiversity is reduced... 5 00:00:19,80 --> 00:00:22,0 ...blue-green algae affect swimming areas... 6 00:00:22,0 --> 00:00:26,120 and too much nitrate (a highly soluble form of nitrogen)... 7 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:28,120 makes the groundwater and surface water... 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,160 less easy to use as drinking water. 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,560 The European Nitrates Directive aims to prevent this... 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,320 by getting all EU member states to create policies... 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,720 for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions... 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,280 from agriculture into groundwater and surface waters. 13 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,880 The groundwater and surface water quality... 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,320 are measured every year in the Netherlands.. 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:58,240 and a Nitrate Report is sent to the European Commission every four years... 16 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,120 to keep them up to date. 17 00:01:01,80 --> 00:01:04,560 The quality of regional and national waters in the Netherlands... 18 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,160 has been improving since the early 1990s. 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,40 There are concerns, though... 20 00:01:10,40 --> 00:01:14,160 as nitrate concentrations in groundwater and in ditches near farms... 21 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,0 have been increasing over recent years. 22 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,760 The recent dry summers are the key cause of this. 23 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,280 There are three reasons why. 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,40 Plants grow less well... 25 00:01:27,40 --> 00:01:29,920 which means that they take up less nitrate. 26 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:35,160 On top of that, bacteria normally break down some of the nitrate in the ground... 27 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:39,40 but they are less active in dry conditions. 28 00:01:39,40 --> 00:01:42,200 The final reason why nitrate concentrations are rising... 29 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,680 is that drought means there is less water to leach the nitrate away. 30 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,760 The risk of droughts and other extreme weather conditions is increasing... 31 00:01:53,0 --> 00:01:55,280 which may mean in future that... 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,960 it will be even harder to achieve the water quality targets. 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,960 Policymakers will use the findings from the Nitrate Report... 34 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,920 when defining new fertiliser policy... 35 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:09,640 and so the Nitrate Report is helping... 36 00:02:09,640 --> 00:02:15,680 maintain the quality of our drinking water, groundwater and surface waters.