Strategic monitoring for the European Water Framework Directive

I Allan (1) , B Vrana (1) , R Greenwood (1) , G Mills (1) , J Knutsson (2) , A Holmberg (3) , Nathalie Guigues (4) , Anne-Marie Fouillac (4) , S Laschi (5)

1 University of Portsmouth
2 Chalmers University of Technology [Göteborg]
3 ALcontrol AB
4 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)
5 UniFI - Università degli Studi di Firenze = University of Florence

This article first reviews the principal monitoring requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Union (EU) and assesses how contaminant monitoring may fit into a risk-assessment approach. In this context, we show the limited ability of conventional trace-contaminant-monitoring methods to fulfil all of the WFD requirements. We then clearly define and exemplify the roles and the functions of a new set of monitoring tools, using three case studies based on datasets that we obtained during a field trial in the River Meuse as part of the Screening methods for Water data InFormaTion (SWIFT-WFD) project in support of implementing the WFD.

Keywords: Environmental monitoring; Passive sampling; Screen-printed electrode; Sensor; Water Framework Directive; Water quality; WFD

Domains: Earth Sciences

I Allan, B Vrana, R Greenwood, G Mills, J Knutsson, et al.. Strategic monitoring for the European Water Framework Directive. Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 2006, 25 (7), pp.704-715. ⟨10.1016/j.trac.2006.05.009⟩. ⟨hal-03752373⟩