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This special issue of the journal Sustainability focuses on the role of law in sustainable water governance. The question is if, and how, legislation is able to deal with the inherent social–ecological complexity and uncertainty of sustainable water management. The papers mainly deal with the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) established in 2000. The goal of this directive was to reach Good Ecological Status of surface waters in the EU by 2015, but today only forty percent of rivers, lakes, and transitional and coastal waters in the EU are in good condition. What goes wrong? Should 'adaptive governance' as a method be supplemented or replaced by a more classic, regulatory approach?

The role of law in solving complex water problems is by no means unproblematic, and challenges concerning the implementation of the Water Framework Directive are perhaps illustrative of more general global challenges. While the law has been remarkably effective in resolving simple environmental problems, such as point-source pollution, it has proved much harder to deal with diffuse water pollution and cumulative human impacts on waters. Besides, the law is also commonly criticized for creating barriers to bottom–up experimentation and learning. These are crucial  in dealing with complex social–ecological problems, that are surrounded by uncertainty about the effectiveness of different measures.  

The seven papers address different aspects of the problem. Professor Marleen van Rijswick collaborated on two papers herself. One compares differences in implementation of the WFD in Lower Saxony and The Netherlands. Another analyses how governance approaches support the attainment of water quality ambitions set out in the European Water Framework Directive and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

The of the journal Sustainability on Water law and sustainability is open access via the journal's website