LAWA

Water

Assessment of watercourses

two women are fishing in the water to take some samples

In Germany the Federal States (Länder) have the responsibility for monitoring and assessment of surface waters. Important rules for these are defined in the Ordinance on the Protection of Surface Waters (Oberflächengewässerverordnung – OGewV). The requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) were transposed into this german law. read more

Water

Water body structure

A classification of quality of the water body structure (see table below) developed by the Working Group of the Federal States on Water Issues (LAWA) describes a change in water structural quality in terms of deviation from its potential natural state (reference condition). Maps of water landscapes served to define reference conditions. On small to medium-sized watercourses, the morphological... read more

Water

Biological quality classification of watercourses

Große grüne Seerosenblättern mit einigen weißen Blüten

Biological water quality classification (saprobic system) is the oldest existing water quality classification, and a map has been published every five years since 1975 until 2000 by the Working Group of the Federal States on Water Issues (LAWA), the Biological Water Quality Map of Germany. It uses biological indicators (macrozoobenthos = invertebrates dwelling on the riverbed) to describe the oxyg... read more

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