1. Improving the transmission of data according to the requirements of the Joint Questionnaire (“Inland Waters”) from official statistics and additional data sources, combined with an improvement in cooperation and data flows between the national statistical and environmental authorities. EU-Project: ESTAT
Dr. Thomas Grundmann
Presentation held at the Eurostat Water Statistics Meeting
25 September 2006, Luxembourg

2. Objectives of the project (theoretically):
• „To increase the amount and quality of data transmittet to the JQ“
Filling the gap:
JQ data needed at 2 year intervals vs national federal statistics data available at 3 year periodicity
Examination:
are there data outside the statistical system usable for the JQ?
• „Improving cooperation between the national statistical and environmental authorities“

3. Objectives of the project (practically):
• Make further official statistical data from existing surveys useable for the JQ
• Examine the quality of the available data with regard to the definitions and categories of the JQ and adapt them if necessary.
• Usage of the manual developed by Eurostat as the basis. We focused on tables 3.2, 5, 6 and 7.
• Examination of data outside the official statistical system: there are many data on water and wastewater, but the different national institutions do not have a comprehensive overview of the data availability and data flows.

4. Procedure (3 steps):
1. We first described the actual situation and analyzed the data available for Germany with regard to responsibilities and reporting obligations;
2. then we took detailed stock of the status of data supplied to the JQ and
3. drew up potentials for improvement as well as possibilities for their realization.

5. 28.02.2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Objective of the project
2. Responsibilities, legal and data situation, reporting systems in Germany
2.1. Water management legislation
2.2. Allocation of responsibilities on the national and state levels
2.3. Reporting obligations
2.4. Data situation, data flows
3. Joint Questionnaire: Transmission status and potential for improvement
3.1. Transmission status
3.2. Table 1, 1a – Fresh water resources and actual inflow and outflow
3.3. Table 2.1 – Annual fresh water abstraction by source
3.4. Table 2.2 – Other sources of water
3.5. Table 3.1 – Water use by supply category
3.6. Table 3.2 – Water use by industrial activities
3.7. Summary Table: Water Use Balance
3.8. Table 4 – National population connected to wastewater treatment plants
3.9. Table 5 – Treatment capacity of wastewater treatment plants, in terms of BOD
3.10. Table 6 – Sewage sludge production and disposal
3.11. Table 7 – Generation and discharge of wastewater
4. Cooperation with other institutions
5. Conclusions
List of abbreviations / Explanation of symbols
Bibliography
Appendixes
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
Appendix 5
Appendix 6

6. Contents, addressees and reporting pathways
Intermediate/upper state authorities
Data on status review, economic analysis (hydrological data of the river basin districts, quality, quantity data, economical, sociological data, etc.)
Data on connected population, design capacities, types of treatment (for more than 10,000 p.e. in sensitive areas)
Data on total sewage sludge quantities, those used in agriculture, properties and type of treatment
Data on resources, water, wastewater, sewage sludge, emissions for all sectors based on schemes
Urban Wastewater Directive
Sewage Sludge Directive
IPPC Directive
Plants/enterprises
Lower state authorities /
Technical specialist authorities of the Länder
Federal Environmental Agency / Federal Environment Ministry
Commission
Joint Questionnaire
Data on emissions for IPPC facilities (when limits are exceeded)
Statistical Offices of the Länder
Eurostat / OECD
Federal Statistical Office
Federal Environmental Agency
Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG)

7. List of important water and wastewater data and their sources
Länder authorities
EPER
UBA
BfG / BGR
DWD
BGW
/ DWA
Water
- Location of abstraction plants and type
- Abstraction quantities
- Data from permits
- Quality data
- Lake quality data, groundwater data, quality measuring stations
- Data on water levels, water resources, outflows and inflows,
- River water quality
- Data on precipitation, climate water accounting
- Data on water abstraction according to types, quantities, degrees of connection on company level
Wastewater / emissions
- Plant type, design capacity, connected p.e., size class for public wastewater treatment plants
- Sewage sludge in agriculture (quantities and parameters)
- Gauged values from official monitoring
- Quantities of pollutant emissions for IPPC plants on plant level
(manages EPER)
- Data on plant types, performance of public wastewater treatment plants
- Data on sewage sludge and properties

8. JQ transmission status
JQ tables
Requested variables
Supplied variables
Transmission rate in percent
1. Fresh water resources 12 8 67
2.1 Annual fresh water abstraction by source 28 18 64
2.2 Other sources of water 1 6
3.1 Water use by supply category 14 54
3.2 Water use by industrial activities 20 2 10
- Water Use Balance 13 41
4. National population connected to wastewater treatment plants 11 92
5. Treatment capacity of wastewater treatment plants, in terms of BOD 44
6. Sewage sludge production and disposal 34 39
7. Generation and discharge of wastewater
- Volume 35 57
- Pollutants (total of 13)
only COD[1], N[2], P[3] for urban wastewater treatment plants
[1] COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand.
[2] N: Nitrogen.
[3] P: Phosphorus.

9. Conclusions
We attained the primary objectives of the project: to improve data transmission, to maintain contacts and to harmonize schemes.
We were able to fill in a number of data gaps. Furthermore, we were able to produce important information on improving the manual.
We were not able of using data from outside the official statistics for the JQ, in particular with regard to filling in missing data in the JQ. For one, the external databases contained no information, secondly there were overlaps with statistical data, which often diverged in content and therefore were not useable.

10. Recommendations
• The project revealed that from the German point of view the JQ tables are too complex and oriented more to theory than to practice (good example: table 7). We recommend that the JQ should concentrate on important key data. This would lead to improved quality and a better image.
• Germany further recommends to break up or harmonize the reporting obligations, taking the aspect of double surveys into consideration. The same applies with regard to the WISE database being set up by the European Environmental Agency (EEA). It is essential that all potentially affected parties agree or be involved.

11. Thank You. Are there any questions. Dr. Thomas Grundmann
Thank You ! Are there any questions? Dr. Thomas Grundmann Telefon: +49 (0)1888/ Statistisches Bundesamt Zweigstelle Bonn Telefax: +49 (0)1888/ Gruppe Umwelt Graurheindorfer Straße Bonn, Germany