Quality of Groundwater in Europe

1. Quality of Groundwaterin Europe Vienna, 22 June 2005 Andreas ScheidlederUmweltbundesamt, Austria Member of the European Topic Centre on Water(ETC/WTR)

2. Content • EEA mission • Groundwater quality in Europe • Indicator development, underlying data • Dataflow (EIONET, Reportnet) • Outlook - Integration into WISE

3. EEA EEA mission • The European Environment Agency is the EU body dedicated to providing sound, independent information on the environment. • ... timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-makers and the public. http://www.eea.eu.int

4. EEA indicators • 37policy-relevant core indicators = stable and manageable basis for indicatorreporting by EEA • Used for: … State of environment reports every five years,indicator reports focusing upon specific issues • Indicators were discussed by members, approved by EEA management board

5. Indicator profile • Policy question • Policy context and targets • Graphical presentation • Assessment • Methodology of • assessment • data collection and treatment • Uncertainty of • Methodology • Data

6. Quality of Groundwater in Europe(part of ‚CSI 020 - Nutrients in freshwater‘) Key policy question • Are nutrients decreasing in our freshwaters? Specific policy question • Is nitrate concentration in groundwater decreasing?

7. Quality of Groundwater in Europe(part of ‚CSI 020 - Nutrients in freshwater‘) Key message • There is no evidence of a decrease (or increase) of nitrate concentrations in Europe's groundwaters + Detailed assessment … + Description of methodology

8. Nitrate in GW in different EU regions • Methodology • Arithmetic means of:Stations  GW-body  EU region • Consistent time series(no data gaps)

9. PROBLEM: Consistent time series

10. Nitrate trends in countries • Methodology • LOESS smoother • min 8 years, max 15 years • Consistent time series • (with max 1 data gap)

11. Nitrate status in countries • Methodology • Latest year available • Concentrations classes at station level

12. Underlying Groundwater Data What is covered? • All important groundwater bodies Criteria for ‚important‘ • At least 300 km² OR • of regional, socio-economic or environmental importance in terms of quantity and quality OR • exposed to severe or major impacts

13. Information and Data collected • GW-bodies - Location (GIS-data) • GW-bodies - General characterisation • … (hydro-)geology, pressures, etc. • Sampling sites - Location (co-ordinates) and type • Quality data – raw data on: • Nitrate, Ammonium, Dissolved oxygen • Hazardous substances (e.g. pesticides) • Time series as long as possible • Saltwater intrusion - Location + supportive information

14. Data collection • Based on already available data(derived from the policy questions) • Annual data collection … performed via the EIONET … supported by Reportnet • EIONET's integrated data reporting system • Internet based tools • Transparent and tracable data reporting

15. EEA ETC ETC NFP NRC NRC NRC NRC EIONET … is a collaborative network of the EEA 1 Agency 5 Topic Centres 31 + 6 NFPs ~ 300 national institutions

16. 31 6

17. Data Delivery Central datarepository Reportnet • Data Preparation • What to do ? • How to prepare ? • How to deliver ?

18. Key element - Data Dictionary • Precise definition of requested data • Data structure and data elements • Definitions and methodologies (tables, elements) • Format, data type, plausibility limits of elements • Clear preparation & provision guidance • Basis of Data exchange modules (xls, WebForm) • Data is quality checked against Data Dictionary

19. Outlook – Integration into WISE • All future water data collection should fit into one common data stream in a shared information system (WISE). • Shared pool of SOE information for all organisations preparing EU level assessments • Make best use of EIONET developments