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

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

doi:10.5194/hess-19-2491-2015

Articles | Volume 19, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2491-2015

© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Special issue:

High resolution monitoring strategies for nutrients in groundwater...

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2491-2015

© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 5

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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Latest update: 06 Dec 2025

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.