ABSTRACT
Water pollution is a major problem in the French West Indies, notably caused by chlordecone, although it has not been used for 30 years. Then, according to the Water Ofce of Martinique (2013), most rivers are polluted over the regulation thresholds imposed by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD-2000/60/EC). Three limits are set by EU regulation: (1) A river is considered to be in a “good chemical status” if pesticide concentration is not more than 0.1 µg L−1; (2) a river is considered to be in a “poor chemical status” when the sum of pesticide concentrations exceeds 0.5 µg L−1; and (3) a river is considered untreatable for water consumption if pesticide concentration exceeds 2 µg L−1.
