Monitoring of ecological status and chemical status for surface waters

The surface water monitoring network shall be established in accordance with the requirements

of Article 8. The monitoring network shall be designed so as to provide a coherent and comprehensive

overview of ecological and chemical status within each river basin and shall permit

classification of water bodies into five classes consistent with the normative definitions in section

1.2. Member States shall provide a map or maps showing the surface water monitoring network

in the river basin management plan.

On the basis of the characterisation and impact assessment carried out in accordance with Article

5 and Annex II, Member States shall for each period to which a river basin management plan

applies, establish a surveillance monitoring programme and an operational monitoring programme.

Member States may also need in some cases to establish programmes of investigative

monitoring.

Member States shall monitor parameters which are indicative of the status of each relevant quality

element. In selecting parameters for biological quality elements Member States shall identify

the appropriate taxonomic level required to achieve adequate confidence and precision in the

classification of the quality elements. Estimates of the level of confidence and precision of the

results provided by the monitoring programmes shall be given in the plan.

1.3.1. Design of sur veillance monitoring

Objective

Member States shall establish surveillance monitoring programmes to provide information for:

— 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

— the assessment of long-term changes resulting from widespread anthropogenic activity.

The results of such monitoring shall be reviewed and used, in combination with the impact assessment

procedure described in Annex II, to determine requirements for monitoring programmes

in the current and subsequent river basin management plans.

Selection of monitoring points

Surveillance monitoring shall be carried out of sufficient surface water bodies to provide an assessment

of the overall surface water status within each catchment or subcatchments within the

river basin district. In selecting these bodies Member States shall ensure that, where appropriate,

monitoring is carried out at points where:

— the rate of water flow is significant within the river basin district as a whole; including points

on large rivers where the catchment area is greater than 2 500 km,

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— the volume of water present is significant within the river basin district, including large lakes

and reservoirs,

— significant bodies of water cross a Member State boundary,

— sites are identified under the Information Exchange Decision 77/795/EEC, and

at such other sites as are required to estimate the pollutant load which is transferred across

Member State boundaries, and which is transferred into the marine environment.

Selection of quality elements

Surveillance monitoring shall be carried out for each monitoring site for a period of one year

during the period covered by a river basin management plan for:

— parameters indicative of all biological quality elements,

— parameters indicative of all hydromorphological quality elements,

— parameters indicative of all general physico-chemical quality elements,

— priority list pollutants which are discharged into the river basin or sub-basin, and

— other pollutants discharged in significant quantities in the river basin or sub-basin,

unless the previous surveillance monitoring exercise showed that the body concerned reached

good status and there is no evidence from the review of impact of human activity in Annex II that

the impacts on the body have changed. In these cases, surveillance monitoring shall be carried

out once every three river basin management plans.

1.3.2. Design of operational monitoring

Operational monitoring shall be undertaken in order to:

— establish the status of those bodies identified as being at risk of failing to meet their environmental

objectives, and

— assess any changes in the status of such bodies resulting from the programmes of measures.

The programme may be amended during the period of the river basin management plan in the

light of information obtained as part of the requirements of Annex II or as part of this Annex, in

particular to allow a reduction in frequency where an impact is found not to be significant or the

relevant pressure is removed.

Selection of monitoring sites

Operational monitoring shall be carried out for all those bodies of water which on the basis of

either the impact assessment carried out in accordance with Annex II or surveillance monitoring

are identified as being at risk of failing to meet their environmental objectives under Article 4 and

for those bodies of water into which priority list substances are discharged. Monitoring points

shall be selected for priority list substances as specified in the legislation laying down the relevant

environmental quality standard. In all other cases, including for priority list substances where no

specific guidance is given in such legislation, monitoring points shall be selected as follows:

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— for bodies at risk from significant point source pressures, sufficient monitoring points within

each body in order to assess the magnitude and impact of the point source. Where a body is

subject to a number of point source pressures monitoring points may be selected to assess

the magnitude and impact of these pressures as a whole,

— for bodies at risk from significant diffuse source pressures, sufficient monitoring points

within a selection of the bodies in order to assess the magnitude and impact of the diffuse

source pressures. The selection of bodies shall be made such that they are representative of

the relative risks of the occurrence of the diffuse source pressures, and of the relative risks of

the failure to achieve good surface water status,

— for bodies at risk from significant hydromorphological pressure, sufficient monitoring points

within a selection of the bodies in order to assess the magnitude and impact of the hydromorphological

pressures. The selection of bodies shall be indicative of the overall impact of

the hydromorphological pressure to which all the bodies are subject.

Selection of quality elements

In order to assess the magnitude of the pressure to which bodies of surface water are subject

Member States shall monitor for those quality elements which are indicative of the pressures to

which the body or bodies are subject. In order to assess the impact of these pressures, Member

States shall monitor as relevant:

— parameters indicative of the biological quality element, or elements, most sensitive to the

pressures to which the water bodies are subject,

— all priority substances discharged, and other pollutants discharged in significant quantities,

— parameters indicative of the hvdromorphological quality element most sensitive to the pressure

identified.

1.3.3. Design of investigative monitoring

Objective

Investigative monitoring shall be carried out:

— where the reason for any exceedances is unknown,

— where surveillance monitoring indicates that the objectives set out in Article 4 for a body of

water are not likely to be achieved and operational monitoring has not already been established,

in order 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,

and shall inform the establishment of a programme of measures for the achievement of the environmental

objectives and specific measures necessary to remedy the effects of accidental pollution.

1.3.4. Frequenc y of monitoring

For the surveillance monitoring period, the frequencies for monitoring parameters indicative of

physico-chemical quality elements given below should be applied unless greater intervals would

be justified on the basis of technical knowledge and expert judgement. For biological or hydromorphological

quality elements monitoring shall be carried out at least once during the surveillance

monitoring period.

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For operational monitoring, the frequency of monitoring required for any parameter shall be

determined by Member States so as to provide sufficient data for a reliable assessment of the status

of the relevant quality element. As a guideline, monitoring should take place at intervals not

exceeding those shown in the table below unless greater intervals would be justified on the basis

of technical knowledge and expert judgement.

Frequencies shall be chosen so as to achieve an acceptable level of confidence and precision.

Estimates of the confidence and precision attained by the monitoring system used shall be stated

in the river basin management plan.

Monitoring frequencies shall be selected which take account of the variability in parameters

resulting from both natural and anthropogenic conditions. The times at which monitoring is

undertaken shall be selected so as to minimise the impact of seasonal variation on the results,

and thus ensure that the results reflect changes in the water body as a result of changes due to

anthropogenic pressure. Additional monitoring during different seasons of the same year shall be

carried out, where necessary, to achieve this objective.

Quality element Rivers Lakes Transitional Coastal

Biological

Phytoplankton 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

Other aquatic flora 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years

Macro invertebrates 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years

Fish 3 years 3 years 3 years

Hydromorphological

Continuity 6 years

Hydrology continuous 1 month

Morphology 6 years 6 years 6 years 6 years

Physico-chemical

Thermal conditions 3 months 3 months 3 months 3 months

Oxygenation 3 months 3 months 3 months 3 months

Salinity 3 months 3 months 3 months

Nutrient status 3 months 3 months 3 months 3 months

Acidification status 3 months 3 months

Other pollutants 3 months 3 months 3 months 3 months

Priority substances 1 month 1 month 1 month 1 month

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1.3.5. Additional monitoring requirements for protected areas

The monitoring programmes required above shall be supplemented in order to fulfil the following

requirements:

Drinking water abstraction points

Bodies of surface water designated in Article 7 which provide more than 100 m3 a day as an average

shall be designated as monitoring sites and shall be subject to such additional monitoring as

may be necessary to meet the requirements of that Article. Such bodies shall be monitored for all

priority substances discharged and all other substances discharged in significant quantities which

could affect the status of the body of water and which are controlled under the provisions of the

Drinking Water Directive. Monitoring shall be carried out in accordance with the frequencies set

out below:

Community served Frequency

< 10 000 4 per year

10 000 to 30 000 8 per year

> 30 000 12 per year.

Habitat and species protection areas

Bodies of water forming these areas shall be included within the operational monitoring programme

referred to above where, on the basis of the impact assessment and the surveillance

monitoring, they are identified as being at risk of failing to meet their environmental objectives

under Article 4. Monitoring shall be carried out to assess the magnitude and impact of all relevant

significant pressures on these bodies and, where necessary, to assess changes in the status

of such bodies resulting from the programmes of measures. Monitoring shall continue until the

areas satisfy the water-related requirements of the legislation under which they are designated

and meet their objectives under Article 4.

1.3.6. Standards for monitoring of quality elements

Methods used for the monitoring of type parameters shall conform to the international standards

listed below or such other national or international standards which will ensure the provision of

data of an equivalent scientific quality and comparability.

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

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EN ISO 9391:1995 Water quality — Sampling in deep waters for macroinvertebrates —

Guidance on the use of colonisation, qualitative and quantitative samplers

EN ISO 8689-1:1999 Biological classification of rivers PART I: Guidance on the interpretation

of biological quality data from surveys of benthic macroinvertebrates

in running waters

EN ISO 8689-2:1999 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/ISO standards when developed

Standards for physico-chemical parameters

Any relevant CEN/ISO standards

Standards for hydromorphological parameters

Any relevant CEN/ISO standards