Imre Schep DID Team Hydro Advise on information and monitoring strategies Advise on instruments and sensors Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies in relation to water body assessments How can SAVEWATER help to minimize its actual monitoring effort in time and money, without losing essential information?
Presentation Introducing Water quality and monitoring Actual situation Developments A closer look: Lake Volkerak/Zoommeer Actual situation Ideal situation The challenge 2 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
is the executive arm of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment (IenM). On behalf of the Minister and State Secretary, is responsible for the design, construction, management and maintenance of the main infrastructure facilities in the Netherlands. is responsible for: Dry feet Sufficient clean water Smooth and safe flows of transport on the nation s roads and waterways Provision of reliable and useful information 3 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Water quality and monitoring Responsible for sufficient clean water is taking three categories of measures: Make Way for Fish, to ensure that fish can swim freely from one water to another Clean Water, to provide clean and clear water Habitat Recovery, a series of measures to develop plant and animal habitats as naturally as possible 4 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Water quality and monitoring Clean water and the improvement of water quality is not only a matter for. It also involves water boards, provinces and municipalities. Applicable regulations, directives and laws: Water Framework Directive, Nitrates Directive OSPAR, Marine Strategy Framework Directive TMAP Habitat and Birds Directive Bathing water Directive International River Commissions Local water acts, and so on, and so on 5 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Water quality and monitoring Relevant issues related to sufficient clean water: Macro-, micro- and nanoplastics Underwater sounds High nitrate concentration, eutrofication (blue-green) Algae Turbidity Salt intrusion and stratification Chemical pollution Bacterial pollution Acidification (North Sea) 6 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Water quality and monitoring (actual situation) National monitoring network : Almost 350 locations, salt & fresh water Approximately 350 individual parameters Surveys by vessel, by poles and terrestrial In situ measurements, sampling and laboratory analyses Frequencies vary Real-time (Maas and Rhine) Once every week in the bathing season Once every two weeks in the growth season Once per month (Framework Directives) A lot of data (350*350*~12= 1.5M items) collected over decades 7 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Water quality and monitoring (developments) Technological innovations Remote sensing Models In situ sensors (e.g. nano-sensor technology) Changes in information requirements Higher spatial resolution Shift to more indicative parameters on a higher ecosystem level Political changes Less civil servants Less money Deltares and studies of OPTIMON, earth observations and in situ sensors 8 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
A closer look: Lake Volkerak/Zoommeer System characteristics Fresh water lake, established in 1987 Water storage Shipping waterway Water supply for agriculture Recreation Nature Northern part, Volkerak 65 km 2, ~25% islets/flats, Average depth 5 m, maximum 24 m Southern part, Scheldt-Rhine & Zoommeer 19 km 2, ~7% islets/flats Average depth 6 m, maximum 20 m Blue-green algae since 1994 9 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
10 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Lake Volkerak/Zoommeer (actual situation) The actual monitoring network Regular monitoring locations 2 locations by ship Monthly frequency In situ sampling and measurements Measuring poles 3 locations, permanent Continues measurements, 10 minute averages Water column profiling 17 locations by ship Monthly, 2 weekly frequency in growth season Bathing water locations 3 locations over land 2 weekly frequency in bathing season 11 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
Lake Volkerak/Zoommeer (ideal situation) The ideal monitoring network Horizontal coverage and resolution Remote sensing, models In situ transects measurements Vertical coverage and resolution Profile measurements in key positions Temporal coverage and resolution Permanent measurements (poles, buoys) Validation and calibration Sampling and high accuracy analyses Matching results to RS and models 12 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies
The challenge Can we work out an ideal monitoring network? Priority parameter chlorophyll Related nutrition parameters Salinity, temperature or other eutrofication parameters Can we formulate criteria by means of: Spatial resolution horizontal/vertical? Temporal resolution of the measurements? Accuracy of the measurements? Data management How to manage different types and large quantities of data? Effectiveness and efficiency Does the ideal monitoring supply all necessary information (less or more)? If we do miss any information, how bad is that? Is the ideal monitoring more efficient in time and money? 13 Exploration of alternative monitoring strategies