1 European Topic Centre on Water Workshop on: Identification of surface water bodies under the Pilot River Basin Initiative Monitoring Water Bodies Steve Nixon, European Environment Agency, European Topic Centre on Water

2 European Topic Centre on Water Structure of presentation - Monitoring Scope and types Objectives Where –Small water bodies –Grouping What When –Confidence and precision

3 European Topic Centre on Water SCG WG2.7: Develop Guidance on Monitoring Working group co-led by Italy and EEA Final version of guidance approved by Water Directors in November 2002 Close links with guidance on Water Bodies, REFCOND, COAST and Intercalibration Proposes a pragmatic and flexible approach to monitoring reflecting the diversity of circumstances within Europe However, adaptations must be justified and transparent

4 European Topic Centre on Water Article 8 – Monitoring for surface water status, groundwater status and protected areas. to establish a coherent and comprehensive overview of water status within each river basin district (and permit classification of all surface water bodies) operational by 22 December 2006, and in accordance with the requirements of Annex V

5 European Topic Centre on Water Monitoring – general principles Does not mean that monitoring stations will be needed in each and every water body However Member States will have to ensure that enough individual water bodies of each water body type are monitored to obtain an overview of status Also have to determine how many stations are required in each individual water body to determine its water status Overview of water status should have acceptable level of confidence and precision

6 European Topic Centre on Water Monitoring – general principles The individual water bodies selected may vary according to the objectives of the monitoring programme More water bodies might have to be monitored in a heterogeneous River Basin District in terms of water body types and pressures than in more homogeneous River Basin District

7 European Topic Centre on Water Types of surface water monitoring defined in Annex V Surveillance Operational Investigative Protected Areas

8 European Topic Centre on Water Surveillance monitoring of surface waters - objectives Supplementing and validating the impact assessment procedure detailed in Annex II The efficient and effective design of future monitoring programmes The assessment of long term changes in natural conditions and those resulting from widespread anthropogenic activity Undertaken for at least a period of one year during the period of a RBMP

9 European Topic Centre on Water Surveillance monitoring of surface waters - timing Operational by 22 December 2006 First results for first draft RBMP - end 2008 RBMP finalised by end of 2009 Article 5/Annex II characterisation/risk assessment by 22 December 2004 Thus no surveillance data will be available for first risk assessment Existing data should be used in first risk assessment

10 European Topic Centre on Water Operational monitoring of surface waters - objectives Establish the status of those bodies identified as being at risk of failing to meet their environmental objectives Assess any changes in the status of such bodies resulting from the programmes of measures Will produce EQRs for status classification of water bodies included in operational monitoring For those water bodies not included in operational monitoring - EQRs based on surveillance monitoring

11 European Topic Centre on Water Investigative monitoring of surface waters - objectives to ascertain the causes of a water body or water bodies failing to achieve the environmental objectives; or to ascertain the magnitude and impacts of accidental pollution.

12 European Topic Centre on Water Monitoring information also required for: Estimating pollutants loads - transboundary and into seas Intercalibration exercise Assessing compliance with standards and objectives of Protected Areas Quantifying reference conditions where they exist

13 European Topic Centre on Water Where to monitor - surface water surveillance monitoring In sufficient water bodies to provide an assessment of the overall surface water status within each catchment and sub-catchment within the river basin district Also dependent on confidence in Annex II risk assessments –High confidence, less monitoring –Low confidence, more monitoring

14 European Topic Centre on Water Where to monitor - surface water surveillance monitoring May initially need to be more extensive in terms of: numbers of water bodies included, monitoring stations within bodies and indicators of the quality elements because of –probable lack of appropriate existing monitoring data –different/new range of elements/pressures to be monitored

15 European Topic Centre on Water Monitoring should also be carried out at points where: Volume and rate of water flow is significant within RBD including large rivers (>2500 km 2 catchment area) and large lakes and reservoirs Significant national transboundary water Exchange of Information Decision sites

16 European Topic Centre on Water Where to monitor - surface water operational monitoring For all water bodies identified as being at risk of failing EOs For all water bodies into which priority substances are discharged Not necessarily in ALL such bodies as grouping of water bodies allowed

17 European Topic Centre on Water Where to monitor - surface water operational monitoring Number of monitoring stations needs to be sufficient to assess the magnitude and impact of significant point source, diffuse source and hydromorphological pressures More than one station per water body may be required to do this

18 European Topic Centre on Water Where to monitor - surface water monitoring Covers all waters up to one sea mile – ecological and chemical status (chemical status also territorial waters) System A typology (rivers with catchment areas of ~ 10 km 2 and lakes with surface areas of ~ 0.5 km 2 ) should not be seen as a size threshold for management and monitoring Smaller water bodies can be included (e.g. Odense PRB)

19 European Topic Centre on Water Water Body guidance Member States have flexibility to decide whether the purposes of the Directive, which apply to all surface waters, can be achieved without the identification of every minor but discrete and significant element of surface water as a water body.

20 European Topic Centre on Water Why it is important to monitor/assess small water bodies Ecologically important – e.g. fish spawning in river headwaters Important in terms of biodiversity Will monitoring/assessing just the most downstream points of a large river (e.g. where catchments >2500 km 2 ) ensure that upstream parts of the river catchment are of the same (good) status? Anthropogenic impacts can be greater in small water bodies

21 European Topic Centre on Water Water Body guidance A discrete element of surface water should not contain significant elements of different status. A “water body” must be capable of being assigned to a single ecological status class with sufficient confidence and precision through the Directive’s monitoring programmes.

22 European Topic Centre on Water Identification of water bodies according to differences in status

23 European Topic Centre on Water Orthophosphate concentrations in different sized rivers Catchment area (km 2 )

24 European Topic Centre on Water Size of water body In practice MSs will determine size of water body included in monitoring programmes Depend on natural and anthropogenic characteristics of each RBD And attainment of objective to obtain a coherent and comprehensive over of water status in each RBD

25 European Topic Centre on Water Estimated number of lakes in Europe Surface area (km 2 ) Total in Europe FinlandSweden > ,00056,03283,244 >0.1100,00015,72323,744 >116,0002,6094,370 >102, >

26 European Topic Centre on Water Number of monitored river catchments in England and Wales ~ 1 station per 5km river length

27 European Topic Centre on Water Key Principle Grouping water bodies Surface water bodies may be grouped for monitoring purposes where monitoring sufficient indicative or representative water bodies in the sub-groups of surface water bodies provides for an acceptable level of confidence and precision in the results of monitoring, and in particular the classification of water body status. Same type (sensitivity), subject to same type and magnitude of pressure(s) (implies same status) Grouping must be technically or scientifically justifiable

28 European Topic Centre on Water Grouping water bodies A (statistically) representative sub sample to provide an accurate assessment of status for that group Example, Nordic lake acidification status survey Results from a few lakes extrapolated to the total population of lakes

29 European Topic Centre on Water What to monitor - surface water Surveillance Parameters indicative of all biological, hydromorphological and general physico- chemical quality elements Priority List substances if discharged in RB Other pollutants if discharged in significant quantities Operational Parameters indicative of those biological and hydromorphological quality elements most sensitive to the pressures to which the body(ies) are subject Only priority substances and other pollutants (including nutrients) that might cause failure of EOs

30 European Topic Centre on Water Frequency of monitoring surface waters Member States can tailor monitoring frequencies according to conditions and variability within their own waters Frequencies shall be chosen so as to achieve an acceptable level of confidence and precision in assessing a water body’s status.

31 European Topic Centre on Water Frequency of monitoring surface waters Annex V provides tabulated guidelines in terms of the minimum monitoring frequencies for all the quality elements Minimum frequencies may not be adequate to achieve an acceptable level of confidence and precision in detecting long term changes Greater intervals may be justifiable on the basis of technical knowledge and expert judgement.

32 European Topic Centre on Water Key Principle “The actual precision and confidence levels achieved should enable meaningful assessments of status in time and space to be made. Member States will have to quote these levels in RBMPs and will thus be open to scrutiny and comment by others. This should serve to highlight any obvious deficiencies or inadequacies in the future.” Thus classification, assessments and decisions should be transparent to all stakeholders in RBD

33 European Topic Centre on Water Thank you for your attention