Development of Operational Tools for Monitoring, Laboratory and Information Management - Objective 3
The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) expects Member States to define type-specific water quality standards for quality elements like nutrients. An inventory of the current state in a number of Member States as well as in international initiatives like REBECCA showed that no ‘ready and easily applicable’ methods for doing so are available yet, maybe with exception of a 1st draft method developed in Austria in 2005. This Austrian proposed 1st draft method essentially uses the following approach. The physicochemical monitoring data of (different types of) water bodies are combined with their (WFDcompatible) quality status according to the Saprobic Index of the benthic invertebrate fauna. By pooling the actual physico-chemical monitoring data per (type of) water body and quality class (‘high’, ‘good’, ‘moderate’), the resulting 90th percentile statistical values are proposed to represent the boundaries between high/good either good/moderate status. Therewith serving the purpose of providing WFD-compliant type-specific water quality standards.
Development of Operational Tools for Monitoring, Laboratory and Information Management - Objective 3.pdf
