The article aims to substantiate the methodological approaches to assessing the effectiveness of environmental management of freshwater resources in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Methodological approaches to assess the effectiveness of environmental management of the regions’ freshwater resources are suggested. The ecological and economic model designated to reveal the best options for the development of the water basin is offered. Methodological approaches are formed from the following stages of assessing the efficiency of the environmental potential of freshwater resources: the formation of indicators and indices of the environmental potential of freshwater resources; calculation of efficiency indices of the environmental potential management of freshwater resources of Ukraine and the Black Sea region; calculation of the average value of indices and standardized indicators; calculation of the integrated indicator of the environmental potential of freshwater resources, weighting standardized indicators; implementation of the ecological and economic model for the development of the water basin. The offered approaches help assessing the management of freshwater resources of a particular region and Ukraine as a whole. The model suggested in the article will specify the most negative impact factors while complying with the basin management principle in terms of sustainable development.