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Monday, 15 September 2003

EUROWATERNET Data Collection 2003

To: EIONET PCPs on Water
To: EIONET NRCs River Quality
To: EIONET NRCs Lake Quality
To: EIONET NRCs Groundwater Quality
To: EIONET NRCs Water Quantity and Use
Cc: EIONET National Focal Points

From: Niels Thyssen, EEA

Date: 12 September 2003

EUROWATERNET 2003: RIVERS, LAKES, GROUNDWATER AND WATER QUANTITY

Further to my letter of 11 August 2003, I am writing to inform you of the detailed plans for the EUROWATERNET annual data flow update that is, as you know, one of the agreed EIONET Priority Data Flows.

This is the third, formal EUROWATERNET annual data flow and will run from now until Friday 19 December 2003. Technical guidance is provided on the content and format of the data required, including templates and details of the method and structure of data exchange.

Background material
The EIONET Water Interest Group on CIRCLE is once again used to facilitate document sharing, data flows and communications between the ETC and NFPs/NRCs. Technical information on the data flow requirements is provided in the document: Guidance on Updating of Priority Data Flows through EUROWATERNET and the Population of WATERBASE. Detail is provided on the parameters required by water body type, the temporal coverage, the type of data and statistics to be reported, the units of measurement, and also the method of data provision. Excel templates are also provided which summarise the data exchange formats.

EUROWATERNET
The data sets to be collected through this exercise have been selected on the basis of their relevance to the core set of indicators for water and to the objectives and assessment needs of the Water Framework Directive, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, the Nitrates Directive, the Dangerous Substances Directive and the Drinking Water Directive. The latter are the major pieces of legislation that will drive EU water policy over the next 15-20 years. The second round of the consultation process for the overall EEA core set of indicators is still under way. However, as with last year's data flow, we will focus on those parameters for which we believe data will be needed whatever the final outcome of the consultation process. For example, we still expect that data on nitrate in rivers, phosphorus in lakes and pesticides in groundwaters will to continue to be needed even though the indicator descriptions may change during the consultation process.

• Rivers, lakes and groundwater quality
  The data sets to be collected under the 2003 data flow will cover the state (quality, concentrations) and pressures (emissions) of Europe's rivers, lakes and groundwaters. Quality determinands include those relating to nutrients, organic pollution indicators and hazardous and dangerous substances.
• Water quantity
  For the first time, this year, information and data are requested on the quantity of Europe's water resources. Data are requested for the past ten years.
• Biological quality
  We would also like to request data on biological quality elements (biological community structure) on a voluntary basis in preparation for developing biological indicators in line with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive.

Validation of existing data
You are invited to download, examine and validate your national data previously supplied via Reference WATERBASE, located on the EEA Data Service's public website. Files of specific validation questions relating to rivers and groundwaters can be downloaded from the EIONET Water Interest Group.

Delivery of data
Data files should be uploaded either to the Central Data Repository or to your national EIONET server, depending on the choice of your country for delivering EIONET priority data.

Transitional, coastal and marine waters
Separate guidance documentation and templates are currently being finalised for the data flow on transitional, coastal and marine waters. This data request will be made by the end of October 2003 with a deadline for data delivery of the end of January 2004.

We hope that this letter will be useful for you when organising a programme of work with your NRCs in order to deliver the required data flows by the deadline of: Friday, 19 December 2003

In case of any difficulties with accessing documents on CIRCLE or downloading data files from the Data Service, please contact Hermann Peifer at the EEA.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and look forward to another successful EUROWATERNET annual data flow.

Niels Thyssen
Project Manager: Inland Waters
European Environment Agency