Emissions to water in the Netherlands

1. Emissions to water in the Netherlands Richard van Hoorn, Centre for Watermanagement Joost van den Roovaart, Deltares 11-12 September 2008

2. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Content • 1 The Dutch Pollutant Release and Transfer Register • 2 Presentation of the Dutch SoE data • 3 Specific problems concerning the SoE data request • 4 Some general dilemma’s concerning gathering data of emissions and discharges to water

3. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - 1. The Dutch Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

4. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Dutch PRTR (1) • Started in 1978 • A lot of organisations closely work together • Covering the large watersystems, rivers, coastal waters and the waterboards • Data is used for national, international and regional reports • Updates every year: 1 new year added + standard 1990/1995/2000/2005 • Releases of 350 pollutants to air, water and soil • Both point sources: UWWTP (400) and industry (600) and diffuse sources (60) • Covering emissions from the source, loads to the sewer system and discharges to the surface water

5. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Dutch PRTR (2) • Spatial allocation of the emissions, different regional reports possible • Information is stored in a central database • Consistent: corrections of old years • Transparant: description of quantification methods (fact sheets) • Free accesible on internet: www.prtr.nl • Short presentation today/tomorrow?

6. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Industry Refineries Energysector Traffic and Transport Consumers Construction Waste disposal Trade, services and government Agriculture Nature Discharged load to surface waters Surface waters Sewage systems Sewage sludges UWWTP Effluents Load to sewers Stormwater overflows Rainwater drains Sewers Discharge to air Deposition on sewers Untreated sewage Air Transboundary transfers Deposition on surface waters Agricultural soils Natural soils Discharge to soil Run-off and leaching Transboundary rivers Legend Sources Compartment Discharges Transfers Transboundary transfers and rivers Main schedule

7. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - 2. Presentation of the Dutch SoE data

8. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Information reported • Selection of 12 substances: • total P, total N, COD, BOD • Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Ni, Zn • fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene • Only one year: 2005 • No river loads • Reported loads are discharges to water, no retention and other processes • Sources on aggregated level as requested: • diffuse sources: 7 groups • point sources: 4 groups UWWTP • point sources: 2 groups industry (IPPC, non-IPPC)

9. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - 3. Specific problems concerning the SoE data request

10. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Specific problems on SoE request • Legislative requirements or voluntary reports • Selection of the data available • Quality of the data • Source categories, esp. diffuse sources • system or schedule of the emission sources • sources don’t exclude each other: atmosferic deposition/urban diffuse • agriculture and background • definitions not quite clear • why not use the NACE-code (for industry) and the NOSE-P or SNAP-code for diffuse sources? • a well-defined standard source-codelist combined with a schedule with relations, compartments and pathways is an essential basis we need

11. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - 4. Some dilemma’s concerning gathering data of emissions and discharges to water

12. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Diffuse sources become relatively more important

13. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Diffuse sources are not easy to handle • monitoring diffuse sources in general is not easy • often a mix of measurements, estimations and model calculations • esp. the remaining diffuse key sources are difficult to monitor • often connected to different compartments • other parties involved (institutes, ministries) • the need for harmonization is obvious

14. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Focussing or not? • focus on the major problem substances • ..on the key sources of those substances.. • ..and to reduce the largest uncertainties in quantification methods • on the other hand: we don’t want to focus too narrow • new substances, problems change, new WQ targets • try to find a balance

15. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Transparancy of the data and quantification methods • we have to because of the Aarhus-protocol and E-PRTR • we need to within the River Basins • transparancy improves the quality of the methods • communication, exchange information, review • in the Netherlands finalized detailed descriptions of the quantification methodes of diffuse (and point) sources: 50 “fact sheets” with a lot of information

16. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Fact sheets • description of the source (or group of sources) • explanation of the estimation method • emission factors • statistical information used • measures and effects • calculated emissions at the source • distribution to different compartments and pathways • spatial allocation • changes compared to previous methods • quality of the method and suggestions for improvement • contact person • references

17. Positionering, branding en huisstijl Deltares - Quality • classification in 5 categories: A-E • A: based on a lot of measurements on representative locations • E: based on a technical calculation based on assumptions • based on the CORINAIR methods (CORe emission INventories AIR) • classification of: the emission factors, the statistical data, distribution to the compartments and pathways, spatial allocation • gives indication what are the weakest parts in the method and gives direction for improvements in the methods • fact sheets may be usefull for others: we try to find money for translation in English