1. Water Directors meeting - Dresden
Report to the Water Directors CIS workshop on national classification systems for the assessment of ecological status of surface waters 11 &12 June Paris
Water Directors meeting - Dresden
50 participants from 18 countries + EC
10 presentations : DGENV, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, UK, France
3 sessions :
ecological significance and combination of the biological quality elements
role and place of the physico-chemical elements
effect of aggregation, uncertainty, confidence & precision
18-19 June 2007

2. Water Directors meeting - Dresden
Main points (1)
State of play : different approaches and methods within national classification systems
selection of quality elements
combination of the biological elements
place of physico-chemistry
aggregation of data,…
Water Directors meeting - Dresden
18-19 June 2007

3. Water Directors meeting - Dresden
Main points (2)
Illustrations taken from the various presentations :
Selection of quality elements :
all relevant biological elements listed in annex V
a selection of elements (based on expert judgment, former risk analysis, available methods and data…),
id. for physico-chemistry, e.g. : > 100 pollutants in a large river in a MS /  15 in another MS sharing the same river
Place of chemistry :
If chemistry does not match with biology, can we agree that biology « overrides » chemistry ?
Water Directors meeting - Dresden
18-19 June 2007

4. Main points (3)
These different approaches influence the results of classification with the following paradox : more quality elements and data for classification means less chance to be classified as good ecological status (if One Out – All Out strictly applied).
Therefore, despite the huge ongoing work in the frame of the CIS (intercalibration, monitoring,…),
no final guarantee of « comparable levels of ambition » between MS !
Water Directors meeting - Dresden
18-19 June 2007

5. Water Directors meeting - Dresden
Possible follow-up
Need for common views about the classification of ecological status : « complement » to the guidance on classification (elaborated in 2003), based on practical case-studies ?
3 directions proposed :
How to ensure comparability between MS whereas different QE can be used for the classification ?
How to manage risks of misclassification (combination of biological elements, checking procedure for chemistry) ?
How to better communicate about the results of the final assessment ?
Water Directors meeting - Dresden
18-19 June 2007