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Agricultural water pollution issues
surfaced in connection
with the 1980 EU directive on
drinking water, which
required
member states to ensure that
certain quality objectives
for drinking water were met by
1985.
But, during the second half of the
1980’s, it became clear that
most member states had not achieved
these quality objectives.
In particular, the maximum
pollutant level for nitrate in drinking
water, set at 50 mg per liter, was
exceeded in many areas.