Lakes and Watercourses

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Environmental Quality Criteria for Lakes and Watercourses Choice of parameters Environmental Quality Criteria for Lakes and Watercourses should be used to evaluate the results of environmental monitoring and other studies. The parameters and methods to be used for this purpose are largely determined using the Swedish EPA Environmental Monitoring Handbook. Similarly, studies commenced before publication of the handbook are governed by the Agency’s General Guidelines for Coordinated Monitoring of Receiving Bodies. The Swedish EPA method instructions contain a large number of parameters. It is hardly feasible or even desirable to produce model criteria for all of them. Instead, the parameters selected for this report are those considered to be the most important indicators of water quality in a wide sense. Hence, chemical parameters include those indicating threats to the environment such as eutrophication, acidification and the presence of metals. Among biological parameters are measures of the state of different parts of food chains and which in some cases are relevant to use of the water. The biological parameters do not usually reflect specific threats; rather they provide an integrated measure of the environmental situation as a whole and any impact to which an aquatic area may be exposed. The environmental relevance of each parameter is explained in detail in the individual chapters and in the reasons given for each type of investigation in the EPA Environmental Monitoring Handbook. For various reasons it has not been possible to include some parameters, which do in fact represent important aspects of water quality. These include measures of hydrological and substrate conditions. Nor has it been possible to formulate instructions for assessing changes in water quality over time. An outline of the parameters included is given in Table 1 on pages 14 and 15. Classification and class delimitation Environmental Quality Criteria use two types of scale: one for assessing current conditions and one for assessing deviation from reference values. 13
TABLE 1. SUMMARY of parameters included in Environmental Quality Criteria for Lakes and Watercourses (a minus sign indicates the absence of model criteria). Area/parameter Lakes/ Current Deviation water- conditions from courses reference value Nutrients/eutrophication Total phosphorus concentration l + + Total nitrogen concentration l + - Total nitrogen/total phosphorus ratio (by weight) l + - Area-specific total nitrogen loss w + + Area-specific total phosphorus loss w + + Oxygen status and oxygen-consuming substances Oxygen concentration l/w + - TOC (total organic carbon) l/w + - CODMn (chemical oxygen demand) l/w + - Light conditions Absorbency l/w + - Water colour l/w + - Turbidity l/w + - Secchi depth l + - Acidity/acidification Alkalinity l/w + + pH l/w + - Metals Metals in water, sediment, moss and fish l/w* + - Phytoplankton Total volume l + + Chlorophyll concentration l + + Diatoms l + - Water-blooming cyanobacteria l + + Potentially toxin-producing cyanobacteria l + + Biomass Gonyostomum semen l + + 14
Page 1 and 2: Environmental Quality Criteria - La
Page 3 and 4: TO ORDER Swedish Environmental Prot
Page 5 and 6: Reference Group Mats Bengtsson, Swe
Page 7 and 8: Summary This report on lakes and wa
Page 11 and 12: included. In addition to a large nu
Page 13: ased estimates are used. Given that
Page 17 and 18: 16 The current conditions scale in
Page 19 and 20: (in Swedish with English summary).
Page 21 and 22: conditions for watercourse flora an
Page 23 and 24: show the availability of nitrogen i
Page 25 and 26: Mean concentration of total phospho
Page 27 and 28: TABLE 9. DEVIATION from reference v
Page 29 and 30: Comments Classifications must be ba
Page 31 and 32: winter/spring, i.e. ice-covered per
Page 33 and 34: Light conditions Introduction Light
Page 35 and 36: TABLE 13. CURRENT CONDITIONS: turbi
Page 37 and 38: Acidity / acidification Introductio
Page 39 and 40: industrial pH). The change in acidi
Page 41 and 42: The pre-industrial concentration of
Page 43 and 44: very high degree of reliability and
Page 45 and 46: TABLE 19. CURRENT CONDITIONS: metal
Page 47 and 48: TABLE 22. DEVIATION from reference
Page 49 and 50: TABLE 24. (continued) Cu Zn Cd Pb C
Page 51 and 52: Swedish EPA (1993): Metals and the
Page 53 and 54: Assessment of current conditions TA
Page 55 and 56: TABLE 29. CURRENT CONDITIONS: poten
Page 57 and 58: TABLE 32. DEVIATION from reference
Page 59 and 60: References Cronberg, G., Lindmark,
Page 61 and 62: (see Appendix 1). If submerged and
Page 63 and 64: References Andersson, B. (1998): Va
Page 65 and 66:
The genera in question and their tr
Page 67 and 68:
Benthic fauna Introduction Benthic
Page 69 and 70:
TABLE 41. CURRENT CONDITIONS: botto
Page 71 and 72:
Comments The assessment must be bas
Page 73 and 74:
has yielded better results than did
Page 75 and 76:
TABLE 45. CURRENT CONDITIONS: fish,
Page 77 and 78:
TABLE 46. DEVIATION from reference
Page 79 and 80:
TABLE 48. DEVIATION from reference
Page 81 and 82:
TABLE 48. (Contd.) Proportion of al
Page 84 and 85:
Presentation of data When using the
Page 86 and 87:
APPENDIX 1 Ceratophyllum demersum 1
Page 88 and 89:
APPENDIX 2 Calculation of index and
Page 90 and 91:
APPENDIX 2 Table 1b. Indicator gene
Page 92 and 93:
Genus Indicator value -------------
Page 94 and 95:
APPENDIX 2 45 Planorbis sp. 46 Anis
Page 96 and 97:
APPENDIX 2 214 Leuctra hippopus 215
Page 98 and 99:
APPENDIX 2 384 Tinodes waeneri 385
Page 100 and 101:
APPENDIX 2 (6) O/C index (Wiederhol
Page 102 and 103:
APPENDIX 3 Dace Stäm Leuciscus leu
Page 106:
REPORT 5050 Environmental Quality C
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