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River Basin District (RBD)

The main geographic unit for EU water management — typically one or more river catchments grouped together.

River Basin District. The area of land and sea, made up of one or more neighbouring river basins together with their associated groundwaters and coastal waters, as defined under Article 3(1) of the Water Framework Directive. All EU water monitoring and reporting is organised by RBD. Key EU river basin districts include: Rhine, Danube, Elbe, Loire, Rhône, Ebro, Po, Oder, and Vistula.

Legal reference

Directive 2000/60/EC Art 3(1)