| This project is a joint initiative of RIJKSWATERSTAAT-RIZA and WL-DELFT HYDRAULICS and is part of the daNUbs project ('Nutrient management in the Danube basin and its impact on the Black Sea'), a project carried out jointly within the 5th Framework Program of the EU. This project covers the entire cycle of human activities, from emissions into the river to retention of water in the river basin to assure the quality of the surface water in the Danube and in the Black Sea. Within this context, the goal of this emission project is to answer the question: 'What are the consequences of the 'management pull' (Water Framework Directive of the EU) and the 'technology push' (the availability of new techniques) for the way to describe the emission of polluting substances and their related effects on the water quality? In consultation with RIZA the boundary conditions for this project were set at (1) focus on the relation between emissions and water quality, (2) search for simple relations and methods, (3) look for preparation of prognoses. The improvement in surface water quality has stagnated the last few years. The most important cause is the pollution through 'diffuse sources'. Combating diffuse sources starts with sound choices on a specific approach. A regional approach against diffuse sources requires setting priorities combined with a strategic action plan based on thorough knowledge of the region. Essential steps in the relation between emission and water quality are (1) quantification of emission, (2) identification of diffuse sources and subdivision over the environmental compartments air, water and soil, (3) translation of the waste load into a concentration in the receiving surface water, (4) verification whether the concentration meets the standard, and (5) assessment of the effects of the waste load. Steps 2 and 3 are the core of this project: direct translation of the emission into a concentration in the receiving surface water without explicitly taking into account transport and water quality processes. A literature study has already been finalised and will be followed by a thorough system analysis of a limited area in a low-lying part of the Netherlands covering all types of known diffuse sources (in principle for substances from the category nutrients, heavy metals, pesticides and micro pollutants). Candidates for a pilot area in The Netherlands are Groot Wilnis-Vinkeveen, Woubrugge, Noorderpark (near Utrecht) and Watergraafsmeer. Financed by Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management and other funding |
