The Water Framework Directive is the most significant piece of European water legislation for over twenty years. It will update most of the existing water legislation in Europe and was a feature of the key water initiative at the World Summit in Johannesburg in August. The concepts of river basin management have been central to the approach taken by the UK Government, the Environment Agency, the UK water industry and its predecessors. The paper will review the key principles of the Directive, its implementation in the UK and its applicability to other international river basins.