River monitoring in the EU Water Resources Framework Directive WFD by Prof Maria LazaridouDimitriado

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River monitoring in the EU Water Resources
Framework Directive (WFD) by Prof Maria
Lazaridou-DimitriadouEmail mlazarid_at_bio.auth.gr
Department of Zoology, AUTH, 54006 Thessaloniki,
GREECE
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How the WFD will work?

• The new Directive represents an ambitious and
  innovative approach to water management. Key
  elements of the legislation include
• The protection of all waters - rivers, lakes,
  coastal waters and groundwaters.
• The setting of ambitious objectives to ensure
  that all waters meet good status by 2015.
• The requirement for cross border co-operation
  between countries and all involved parties.
• Ensuring the active participation of all
  stakeholders, including NGOs and local
  communities, in water management activities.
• Requiring water pricing policies and ensuring
  that the polluter pays.
• Balancing the interests of the environment with
  those who depend on it. So

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Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)

• Protects all waters groundwater and surface
  waters, including coastal waters
• Good water status (environmental objective) by
  December 2015 and effective river basin
  management plans (RBMP)
• The Ecological status of aquatic ecosystems is
  emphasised
• Quality is measured in ecological terms

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Ecological quality elements

• MS must monitor parameters indicative of the
  status of
• each of the following relevant river quality
  elements
• Biological fish, benthic invertebrate fauna,
  aquatic flora
• Hydromorphological hydrological regime
  (quantity dynamics of water flow, connection to
  groundwater), river continuity, depth and width,
  river bed structure, riparian zone structure
• Physico-chemical thermal oxygenation
  conditions, salinity, acidification status,
  nutrients, priority substances, other pollutants
  discharged in significant quantities

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Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)

• Water pricing as an incentive for the wise use of
  water
• Getting citizens more closely involved into
  planning and decision taking processes
• Streamlining legislation

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River monitoring in the WFD

• It covers volume and rate of flow, chemical
  status and ecological status/potential
• Preliminary assessment of human impacts (end
  2004)
• Accomodate monitoring programmes according to WFD
  (by end 2006)
• Maps produced and first results presented (by end
  2009, publication of RBMP)
• Presentation of monitoring results in the first
  RBMP update (by end of 2015 and every 6 yr. after
  that)
• WFD Art.8 and Annex V (section 1.3 and 1.1, 1.2)

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Deadlines

• December 2003. National and regional laws to be
  adapted to the WFD. River Basin co-operation to
  be made operational.
• December 2004. An analysis of pressures and
  impacts on our waters has to be completed
  including an economic analysis.
• December 2006. Monitoring programmes have to be
  operational as a basis for the water management.
• December 2008. River Basin Management plans
  presented to the public.
• December 2009. Publishing first River Basin
  Management Plans.
• December 2015. Water to meet good status.

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WFD River typology
Bes. pol. Kontrolle/Regulierung von Marktgeschehen

• WFD monitoring methodologies and measures apply
  to all
• types of rivers
• WFD classifies rivers into different types
  according to ecoregions (25) and ecotypes (System
  A and B, Annex II)
• System A classifies rivers according to altitude,
  catchment size and geology
• System B uses obligatory (altitude, size,
  geology, latitude, longitude) and optional factors

Ziele mit Rückwirkung auf Struktur Regulierung
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System A
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Ecoregions for rivers and lakes
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System B
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Monitoring types

• 3 types surveillance, operational and
  investigative
• Intensity of river monitoring is risk and
  pressure proportional
• General set of rules on frequency for
  surveillance monitoring are biological
  parameters every 3y. (phytoplankton every 6 m.),
  hydromorphological every 6y. (hydrology
  continuously), physico-chemical every 3 m.
  (priority substances every 1m.)
• BUT countries can adjust frequency and timing
  according to specific conditions and needs
• Rivers providing drinking water monitored 4-12x a
  year

Europäische Benchmarking aufbauen
Umweltindikatoren im Benchmarking
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Surveillance monitoring network

• Why - validate the impact assessment procedure
• serve as basis for future monitoring programmes,
• assess long-term changes in natural conditions
  and changes resulting from widespread
  anthropogenic activity
• Where at points of significant water flow (gt 2
  500 km² catchment area)
• at rivers crossing a Member State boundary,
• at sampling sites identified under the
  Information Exchange Decision 77/795/EEC
• How often - Physicochemical parameters every 3m.
  (priority substances every 1m) for a period of
  one year,
• biological and hydromorphological once in the 6
  years of the RBMP

einmaliger Wettbewerb
Marktmacht über mehrere Stufen
Systemwettbewerb
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Operational monitoring network

• Why establish and monitor the status of rivers
  being at risk to fail the environmental
  objectives
• Monitor rivers that receive priority list
  substances
• Where At sufficient points according to the
  sources of pollution/disturbance (hot spots)
• How often frequency chosen by MS on a
  case-by-case basis. General set of rules for
  frequency should be used as a guideline

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Investigative Monitoring
Why - where reasons for any exceedances are
unknown - ascertain causes of failure of
environmental objectives - ascertain
magnitude and impact of accidental
pollution Where and how often
Case-specific Sampling points and frequencies
shall be set according to the problem identified
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Methods of river monitoring

• For sampling, sample handling, identification etc
  
• ISO and EN international standards
• such already exist for macroinvertebrate
  sampling, physicochemical and hydromorphological
  parameters
• for the other quality elements, such standards
  will be developed under the supervision of the
  WFD Committee
• or equivalent national or international methods

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Standards for monitoring of quality elements

• Macroinvertebrate sampling
• ISO 5667-3 1995 Water Quality - Sampling - Part
  3 Guidance on the preservation and handling of
  samples
• EN 27828 1994 Water Quality Methods for
  biological sampling Guidance on hand net
  sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates
• EN 28265 1994 Water Quality Methods of
  biological sampling Guidance on the design and
  use of quantitative samplers for benthic
  macroinvertebrates on stony substrata in shallow
  waters
• EN ISO 9381 1995 Water Quality Sampling in
  deep waters for macroinvertebrates Guidance on
  the use of colonisation, qualitative and
  quantitative samplers.
• EN ISO 8689 - 11999 Biological Classification of
  Rivers PART I Guidance on the Interpretation of
  Biological Quality Data from Surveys of Benthic
  Macroinvertebrates in Running Waters
• EN ISO 8689 - 21999 Biological Classification of
  Rivers PART II Guidance on the Presentation of
  Biological Quality Data from Surveys of Benthic
  Macroinvertebrates in Running Waters
• Macrophyte sampling
• Relevant CEN / ISO Standards when developed
• Fish sampling
• Relevant CEN / ISO Standards when developed
• Diatom sampling
• Relevant CEN/IISO Standards when developed
• Standards for physicochemical parameters
• Any Relevant CEN / ISO Standards
• Standards for hydromorphological parameters
• Any Relevant CEN / ISO Standards

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Classification of ecological status

• Rivers classified into 5 categories high, good,
  moderate, poor,bad
• The undisturbed (natural) status serves as
  reference
• (identification of reference biological
  communities for each type of water body)
• Ecological Quality Ratios These consist of the
  Observed value divided by the Expected value as
  derived from reference conditions (0bad, 1high
  ecological status)

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Result presentation

• Results presented in maps for each River Basin
  District
• Colour-coded for the five ecological status
  levels

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Chemical status classification and presentation

• Two categories
• Good when a river complies with all
  environmental quality standards of Annex IX,
  Art.16 and other relevant legislation
• Failing to achieve good chemical status when it
  does not comply with the above

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Classification of ecological status

• The ecological status will be represented by the
  lower of the EQR-values for the biological and
  physicochemical monitoring results for the
  relevant quality elements (principle
  One-out-All-out)
• Intercalibration network to ensure comparability
  (by 2004). Resulting values for each Member State
  classification by 2006
• Important to select indicators for the biological
  quality elements (practicability and
  cost-effectiveness of monitoring)

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Classification of ecological statusexample for
the element Benthic macroinvertebrates
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Current River monitoring

• Different methodologies and systems in the
  various EU countries
• Most usual problem is lack of coverage of
  biological parameters
• WWF Water and Wetland Index report (rough
  estimate)
• Good SF, S, B (Flanders), DK, CH, EST
• With significant gaps UK, B (Wallonia), A, D,
  HU, F, SK
• Moderate GR, E, Bulgaria, Turkey

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Challenges

• Assess existent information, resources and tools
• Remodel of existing networks
• Decide on most
• cost-effective
• practicable
• best environmental solutions

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On-going projects

• Individual country pilot projects, e.g. Germany
  and Finland
• Project AQEM running at a European level
• - www.aqem.de
• Pan-European Working Group on Guidance to WFD
  Monitoring
• It will assist MS in their interpretation of the
  general monitoring criteria and methods provided
  by the WFD (duration 2001-2006)

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Pan-European Working Group

• Expected Outcome
• Recognise and describe the present monitoring
  network and organisation in each Member State
• Prepare informal guidance documents on
• the design of a monitoring network (selection of
  monitoring sites, GIS representation etc)
• Monitoring procedures/protocols in accordance to
  Annex V
• Criteria for the assessment of ecological,
  chemical, quantitative status and ecological
  potential
• Monitoring data management