it easy to implement that part of the directive. Other countries that have historically managed their water resources through institutions whose geographical limits were determined by administrative boundaries, such as in the case of Germany where the states (Laender) manage water resources, are in the process of setting up co-ordinating mechanisms for each river basin. Other elements of the directive, such as the protection of groundwater and cost recovery rules, may be more difficult to implement, especially in Southern member countries that have extensive irrigated agriculture. In March 2007 the EU commission published its first progress report on the implementation of the EU Framework Directive. The report notes mixed results. Almost all member countries have transposed the directive into national law, but the report notes that "the legal transposition of the Directive in national law is poor and in many cases inadequate". Indeed, the report finds that only in three countries the national law (Austria, Malta and Portugal) is in conformity with the Directive. Furthermore, there have been significant delays in the analysis of the characteristics of each river basin. Since the establishment of this knowledge base is a precondition for Basin Plans, this delay jeopardises progress of the implementation of the entire Directive. Water Supply and Sanitation Access Average connection rates to sanitation systems between 80%–90% are reported for Northern, Southern and Central Europe. Eastern Europe still copes with much lower rates of 40%–65% of the population connected to primary wastewater treatment at least. Europe in general is improving: Over the last decade more households accessed public treatment plants or even upgraded their treatment system (e.g. from secondary to tertiary treatment). Service quality As access is dependent on each member state so is service quality. It ranges from very good service quality in Northern and Southern States of the European Union for example in Spain or Germany to insufficient or poor services especially in Eastern European states. The history of WSS within the member states and different states in development can partly explain the heterogeneous state of the supply and treatment systems. History of WSS sector The supply of water and its disposal has been managed in Europe for many centuries. Centralised water supply and sanitation started with the Romans who were responsible for the construction of aqueducts and systems to collect and distribute water. During the Middle Ages water was distributed through private carriers or/and organised through local