State of water quality assessment
reporting at the global level - UNEP
GEMS/Water Programme
Intersecretariat Working Group on Environment
Statistics, International Work Session on Water
Statistics, Vienna, June 20-22, 2005
HOW TO ASSESS GLOBAL WATER
QUALITY?
There are two approaches:
1. Establish monitoring
laboratories and staff
worldwide to operate a
global programme – this
would be exorbitantly
expensive and impossible
at the present time.
5000
0
0
0
Faecal Coliform (No./100
ml MPN)
0
1979 - 2002
Oxygen Dissolved (mg/L O2)
Ahmadabad
1979 - 2002
2. Create a network of
participating countries that
provide data to a central
global database.
60
0Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(mg/L O2)
0
1979 - 2 002
4 Core Activities
1. A global inland water
quality database and
international network.
2. A leading source of data
for global environmental
assessment processes.
3. Technical (QA/QC) tools
and resources.
4. Building the capacity of
developing and
transitional countries to
collect and manage water
quality information.
Who Participates?
Region
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Oceania
138
662
332
318
94
# of Values
206,907
417,994
641,940
823,323
206,650
2,296,814
Date Range
1977-2004
1965-2004
1971-2004
1978-2003
1979-2004
1965-2004
# of Stations
Totals
1544
Global Water Quality Network
Regions
Number of
Stations
Number of Data
Points
Physical /
Chemical
M ajor Ions
M etals
Nutrients
Organic
Contaminants
M icrobiology
Date Range
Africa
138
206907
26712
79889
6439
41289
370
832
1977 - 2004
Americas
662
417994
47198
73210
88124
47284
3593
10401
1965 - 2004
Asia
332
641940
118868
159329
83005
98796
6794
32018
1971 - 2004
Europe
318
823323
146747
136392
154742
108815
14539
27260
1978 - 2003
Oceania
Total
94
1544
206650
2296814
31678
371203
12237
461057
2535
334845
46992
343176
1438
26734
1383
71894
1979 - 2004
1965 - 2004
QA/QC – Quality Assurance and
Quality Control
Analytical Methods
Dictionary
Quality
Assurance
Manual
QA LOOP
Assessment
Programme
Laboratory
Evaluation
Studies
Global Participation in
Interlaboratory Study No. 5 38 countries and 68 labs
Global Runoff Data Centre
Koblenz, Germany
Total stations in 2005 = 7222
Joint GEMS/Water and GRDC Stations (446)
Joint GEMS/Water and GTN-H Stations (100)
Database Access & Data Distribution
New online water quality database GEMStat – official
launch, March 22nd, World Water Day
www.gemstat.org -- searchable
• Station(s) selection
• Time period
• Parameter(s) selection
• Statistical Analysis
 promote access to information worldwide
 promote interoperability and comparability of datasets
 as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible
UNEP GEMS/Water Programme
Aare River at Brugg
Figure 1: Station photograph
Figure 2: Watershed Region
Station Number (Country/Sequent)
200004
Water Type
River
Octant
3
Latitude (Deg. Min. Sec.)
47° 29”02’ N
Longitude (Deg. Min. Sec.)
008° 11” 45’ E
Mean Surface Water Level (m)
332.0
Average Sounding Depth (m)
4.1
Date Station Opened
1978-01-01
Regional Centre
Europe
Sub-regional Centre
Eastern Europe
Geographical Region
EURA
Responsible Collection Agency
Watershed/Basin
Rhine Meuse
Station Type (Baseline, Trend, Global Flux Station)
Trend
GRDC Number
6935301
River Width (m)
56.4
Discharge (m3/sec)
Upstream Basin Area
314
(km2)
Area Upstream of Tidal Limit
Country Name
11750
(km2)
Data not available
Switzerland
Figure 3: Geographical Location
UNEP GEMS/Water Programme
Aare River at Brugg
Station Identifier
Aare River at Brugg
Station Narrative
Measuring station lies before the confluence of the Aare with the Limmat and the Reuss
rivers. Catchment area of over 11, 000 km2 with approximately 2 million inhabitants.
Additional Information
Data Date Range
January 3, 1978 – December 29, 2002
Applicable Parameters
Full method description and codes can be found in
the Analytical Methods for Environmental Water
Quality at
http://www.gemswater.org/quality_assurance/inde
x-e.html
Physical Characteristics:
02041–Elec. Conductance
02062–Temperature
08001– % Do Saturation
08102–Dissolved Oxygen
10101–Alkalinity Total
10301–pH
10401–Suspended Solids
Organic Matter:
06001–Carbon Organic Total
06101–Carbon Organic Dissolved
Nutrients:
07001–Nitrogen Kjeldahl Organic (TKN)
07207–Nitrite
07313–Nitrate
07555–Ammonia
15255–Orthophosphate Dissolved
15405–Phosphorous Total
Related Links
Bundesamt für Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft (BUWAL)
http://www.umwelt-schweiz.ch/buwal/eng/
Bundesamt für Wasser und Geologie (BWG)
http://www.bwg.admin.ch/d/
Eidg. Anstalt für Wasserversorgung, Abwasserreinigung und Gewässerschutz (EAWAG)
http://www.eawag.ch/
Binderheim-Banky, Jakob, Liechti, Schriftenreihe Umwelt Nr. 319, Gewässerschutz,
Messresultate 1977-1998, Nationales Programm für die analytische Daueruntersuchung
der schweizerischen Fliessgewässer
Binderheim-Banky, Jakob, Liechti, Series of environmental publications Nr. 319, Water
Protection, Measuring Results 1977 – 1998, National program for the analytic continuous
investigation of Swiss running waters
Additional Photos
Major Ions:
11105–Sodium Dissolved
12102–Magnesium Dissolved
14101–Silica Reactive
16309–Sulphate
17207–Chloride Dissolved
19105–Potassium Dissolved
20105–Calcium Dissolved
Metals:
24002–Chromium Total
28001–Nickel Total
29005–Copper Total
30005–Zinc Total
48002–Cadmium Total
80011–Mercury Total
82002–Lead Total
Hydrological/Sampling:
97160 – Instantaneous Discharge
PROGRAMME
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL WATER
QUALITY INDICES
(2005-2007)
 FORMATION OF AN EXPERT GROUP TO REGULARLY
REVIEW PROGRESS AND PLAN FUTURE ACTIONS
 PILOT STUDY ON A GLOBAL DRINKING WATER QUALITY
INDEX (2005/2007)
 INDEX TO ASSESS THE STATUS OF COUNTRY WATER
QUALITY MONITORING NETWORKS (2005)
 PILOT STUDY ON A GLOBAL INDEX OF
EUTROPHICATION STATUS (2006/2007)
 GUIDELINE DOCUMENT ON WATER QUALITY
INDICATORS AND INDICES (2006/2007)
UNEP GEMS/Water Programme
Thank You
www.gemswater.org
Canada, UNEP Nairobi