Water quality management
6 important questions on Water quality management
What are the 6 main objectives of the EU Water framework directive (WFD)?
- Expanding the scope of water protection
- Achieving "good status" for all waters
- Water management based on river basins
- Getting the prices for water right (polluter pays principle)
- Pubic participation
- Streamlining legislation
What is the water quality goal of the WFD and what does this entail?
(delay till 2027 possible).
This is about the chemical as well as the physical & ecological quality of water.
Chemical: Maximum concentrations of pollutants.
Physical & ecological: Flora & Fauna, pH, temperature, oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, chloride.
What is the first step of the WFD?
Asses current status of the waterbody and analyze preliminary gaps
- Identify its borders (so what area s part of that waterbody)
- Identify if the waterbody is natural, artificial or heavily modified (Natural is the river as it is, artificial is human created like a ditch or canal and heavily modified is making strong physical alterations by humans)
- Identify the reference of the waterbodies (proxies of the water orginal water quality without any human interference)
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What is step 2 in the WFD?
Set up environmental objectives
- Maintain high quality of waterbodies where it exists.
- Achieve a good status by 2015 (provision for exemptions).
- Prevent deterioration in water status.
What is step 3 in the WFD?
Establish monitoring programmes:
- Surveillance monitoring (effects of human activities)
- Operational monitoring (assessment and changes in status)
- Investigate monitoring (urgent matters)
What is step 5 of the WFD?
Establish a pogramme of measures and develop a river basin development plan (RBMP).
Examples of measures:
- Remove obstacles for migrating fish (sluice, dam, ...)
- Stop or decrease emissions
- Restore meandering of a river
- Create nature friendly shores / banks
- Make water deeper
Change flow rate of the river - Create by-pass channels
- Remove contaminated sediments
The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:
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