1. New quality requirements

In Europe, the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, or WFD (2000/60/EC), calls for a new approach to water monitoring. The aim of this legislation is to protect all river, lake, coastal and ground waters, establishing the ambitious requirement of achieving "good status" by 2015. A new management system is being developed within the European Union, based on well-defined entities of "hydrographic networks" (river basins) rather than the traditional approach of local or regional management. This management recognizes that waters do not stop at political borders, and that cross-border cooperation is essential, involving the authorities of the countries concerned as well as interested parties.

These considerations have direct implications for the establishment and implementation of water monitoring programs. Traditional environmental monitoring was essentially...