Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2491-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2491-2015
Research article
 | 
26 May 2015
Research article |  | 26 May 2015

Using high-frequency water quality data to assess sampling strategies for the EU Water Framework Directive

R. A. Skeffington, S. J. Halliday, A. J. Wade, M. J. Bowes, and M. Loewenthal

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AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
ED: Publish as is (08 May 2015) by Brian Kronvang
AR by Richard Skeffington on behalf of the Authors (13 May 2015)  Manuscript 
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Short summary
The EU Water Framework Directive requires rivers to be of good chemical and ecological quality. Chemical quality is assessed by sampling and analysing the water. Normal sampling regimes might involve taking a sample monthly or weekly. This paper uses high-frequency data from rivers to assess how accurate these regimes are at assessing the true chemical quality. Weekly sampling was more accurate than monthly, but there were still large uncertainties. We suggest ways to improve sampling accuracy.