Page 304 - Freshwater-Biology-and-Ecology-Handbook

CHAPTER 6 12 12

COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT

AND REPORTING – SUMMARY

AND WAY FORWARD

The WFD and the UK 25-Year Plan focus on outcome-based We are increasingly seeing ‘citizen science’ programmes
water policy and implementation, in comparison to many of (see Chapter 5) being used at local and river basin levels.
the previous process-based Directives such as the Urban Integrating this information into the formal monitoring
Wastewater Treatment Directive. The outcomes include programmes, usually undertaken by the environment
Good Ecological Status, which is reliant on assessment of agencies, is difficult, but work is ongoing to optimise this
biological and ecological indicators of water health. valuable additional information. It also has the benefit of
engaging a wider societal interest and understanding of
The biological monitoring and assessment methods the issues.
are therefore critical in optimising water management
and improvement programmes. These potentially drive Wider engagement drives a more open approach to data
very expensive investment programmes (eg the UK availability and use, together with improved communication
Water Industry National Environment Programme). This via reports and graphical representation of information.
emphasises the need for high quality information from New Internet and mapping-based information systems, with
well-constructed monitoring and assessment programmes, access to the primary information, are being made available.
with appropriate quality assurance methodology. We have However, high-level summary information, in terms of
tried to give wide access to best practice methods via this published maps and reports, is generally less available –
handbook. possibly a retrograde step.

We are increasingly reliant on data and reporting to
make effective policy and water management decisions. High quality river basin planning requires
Integration of biology, ecology, chemical and hydrology constant improvement of monitoring,
information is critical. All UK improvement programmes assessment, and reporting, without reducing
are modelled to ensure the most cost-effective options, the precision needed to facilitate complex
or combinations of options, are selected. The quality of decision making.
the model outputs is directly related to the data available.
Unfortunately, monitoring is often one of the first cuts to We hope this handbook will allow this to be
be made in cost-saving initiatives, even though these may developed further to continue the protection
influence significant and expensive investment. Without and improvement of the water environment –
this information, the effectiveness of the investment may in the UK, the EU and globally.
be difficult to assess and the feedback loops to the next
investment cycle may be broken.

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