Water quality; monitoring

Representative and regular monitoring of the condition of water bodies is an essential basis for water management activities and comprehensive water protection.

The monitoring programs are used to obtain a coherent and comprehensive overview of the status of our water bodies. The requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive (EC WFD) must be observed here in particular. For surface waters, a water type-related assessment of the ecological water status is carried out on the basis of a five-stage assessment scale, primarily with the biological components

• Macrozoobenthos (small invertebrates living at the bottom of the water body)
• Macrophytes and phytobenthos (aquatic plants and algae attached to the bottom)
• Phytoplankton (free-floating algae)
• fish

In addition, pollutants are examined and the chemical status of the water bodies is assessed. The level of data obtained is very high thanks to extensive quality assurance systems and national and international comparison of methods.