Water Quality Monitoring Network

WATER QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK Online Services Surface Water Protection Information Where can I find surface water data on the internet? Why do we need a Water Quality Monitoring Network? Where can I get more information? You want to know the current water temperature of To detect incidents and illegal discharges as early Up-to-date data and more detailed information about the Alster? You are interested in learning more about as possible the Water Quality Monitoring Network are available oxygen levels in the Elbe? The online services of the at www.hamburg.de/wasserguetemessnetz. Water Quality Monitoring Network will provide the • To meet the requirements of the EU Water Frame- answers. They will also tell you more about the qua- work Directive If you have any further questions, please contact us lity of Hamburg’s surface waters. - we will be happy to assist you: • To assess the potential risks associated with Use the smartphone app “Gewässerdaten Hamburg” discharges Institute for Hygiene and Environment [surface water data Hamburg] to call up the latest Environmental Analysis Division water temperature, pH value or oxygen level data. • To gain information about the sources of water Department for Water, Soil, Waste, The app will also give you access to the archive that pollution Genetic Technology contains the water data collected in the past. Water Quality Monitoring Network • To deter and prevent illegal discharges or other forms of water pollution through continuous sur- Tel.: +49 (40) 42845-3870 face water monitoring Email: [email protected] Internet: www.hamburg.de/wasserguetemessnetz • To identify short-term and long-term changes in the water quality and based on the findings take Published by HAMBURG water management measures Or you can go to www.gateway.hamburg.de via Institute for Hygiene and Environment “HamburgService” and access the database of the • To assess the effectiveness of surface water pro- Hamburg Public Laboratories for Food Safety, Health WATER QuaLITY Water Quality Monitoring Network directly. Simply tection measures (for example Hamburg thermal Protection and Environmental Assessment enter “Gewässerdaten Hamburg” [surface water data regime plan) Marckmannstr. 129 a/b MONITORING Hamburg] in the search bar. 20539 Hamburg • To protect drinking water production areas Internet: www.hamburg.de/hu All online services are provided free of charge. NETWORK Pictures: © Institute for Hygiene and Environment Layout: kwh-design Print: MHD Druck und Service GmbH Elbe and tributaries October 2018 Monitoring • Alarms • Water Conservation Institute for Hygiene and Environment Hamburg Public Laboratories for Food Safety, WATER QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK Health Protection and Environmental Assessment WATER QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK Monitoring Measuring Systems Bio Testing Equipment Warning Why is the Water Quality Monitoring Network so important? What are monitoring stations for? How does the biological early warning system work? What happens if an alarm is triggered? Time and again, maritime accidents and industrial The ten stations on the Elbe, Bille, Alster, Wandse, As the technical requirements are complex, the con- If the measuring systems supply monitoring data incidents have led to serious pollution of surface wa- Tarpenbek and Ammersbek automatically and conti- tinuous surface water monitoring systems capture that fall outside the normal statistical range, a mes- ters causing fish to die and inflicting other damage nuously collect chemo-physical data, such as oxygen only some measurands over longer periods of time. sage will be sent to the Water Quality Monitoring to aquatic habitats. level, pH value, conductivity, turbidity and tempera- Germany alone produces over 50,000 different che- Network centre. If several measurands simultane- ture, 24 hours a day. micals that enter surface waters via different routes, ously show unusual variations, a special software Continuous surface water monitoring is a must to be for example when accidents or leakages occur, cargo module developed in Hamburg will automatically able to respond to incidents fast and take the appro- On top, the major stations - Bunthaus, Seemannshö- is moved through the port or chemicals are used in trigger an alarm. priate measures to limit harmful consequences. Esta- ft and Blankenese on the Elbe, Fischerhof on the Bille agriculture. blished in 1988, Hamburg’s Water Quality Monito- and the station on the Wandse – have a biological Once an alarm has been triggered, time is of the ring Network currently has ten measuring stations in early warning system in place that can detect toxic To be able to identify specific acutely toxic sub- essence. The damage caused and the source and place along all major flowing surface waters. substances in water. These stations are fitted with stances or substance mixtures among the wide ran- type of pollutants must be identified. If the central automatic samplers that collect samples in the event ge of harmful substances, the Network employs what server receives an alarm, it will automatically for- The EU Water Framework Directive, which came into of an incident for detailed laboratory analysis. is known as biological effect monitoring, in this case ward it to the employees, either by mail or SMS, force in 2000, explicitly sets out that early warning automatic testing systems that rely on water fleas who will then take the appropriate measures. At systems must be in place (Article 11(3) letter (l)). Some stations are equipped with devices that me- (Daphnia magna) and green algae (Chlorella vulgaris) the same time, the station’s system will automa- Moreover, Hamburg’s surface waters are continuous- asure UV absorption rates and TOC (total organic to measure pollution levels. tically take “alarm” samples. The samples will be ly monitored to avert and prevent danger (e.g. illegal carbon) levels and monitor nutrient levels (nitrates chemically analysed to determine the type of cont- discharge) as well as to monitor short-term and long- and phosphates). amination. The analysis results may help to identify term changes in water quality (trend monitoring). • The Daphnia toximeter is fitted with a camera the source right away. All measured values are initially stored on station that monitors the movements of Daphnia. If their Based on the data collected appropriate surface wa- servers before they are transmitted to the central behaviour changes significantly, acute surface The Water Quality Monitoring Network with its bi- ter management measures can be taken. server via LTE. If an alarm is triggered, the alarm si- water pollution is likely to have occurred. ological early warning system ensures that sudden gnal is transmitted in the same way. surface water pollution can be detected early and • The algae toximeter indicates damage to algae if addressed immediately. However, it is not only to- the photosynthetic rate declines. xic effects that may cause concern. Often a lack of oxygen, particularly in the summer months, may be to blame. WATER QUALITY MONITORING NETWORK.

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