Ecological quality assessment in transitional systems

Estuaries are poles of attraction for human settlement which is a source of pressures to surface water bodies. The implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WDF, 2000/60/EC) has increased the investigation in order to develop methodologies to assess the Ecological Quality Status (EQS) of aquatic ecosystems. Transitional systems are naturally stressed and characterized by highly dynamic physical, chemical and hydro-morphologic conditions and by species with a higher level of tolerance to change, being more difficult to develop suitable quality indicators for these systems. The general purpose of this study is to test the ability of synthesis descriptors, including primary (S, taxa richness) and derived biological variable (H’, Shannon-Wiener diversity), biotic indices (AMBI and M-AMBI), body size properties (abundance distribution by body size classes, length, weight and length-weight relationships) and non-taxonomic indices (ISS), as well as functional indicators related to the decomposition rates of various experimental substrates, a macrophyte (Phragmites australis) and an alga (Fucus vesiculosus), to evaluate the environmental quality in transitional systems. This study was carried out in one of the most pristine channels of the Ria the Aveiro, Mira Channel, along a full salinity gradient and in a metals and metalloid sediment contamination area, the Estarreja Channel, and two reference channels (Canelas and Salreu). In this study were used different sampling techniques, the leaf-bag technique and a hand-held corer. In Mira Channel, the alga and the macrophyte presented an opposite trend in the decomposition rate along the salinity gradient, with the decomposition rates of the alga always higher than those of the macrophyte. The decomposition rates of the macrophyte and the alga were higher in the mid estuary and in higher salinity areas, respectively, corresponding to the preferencial distribution areas of each species. The macrobenthic fauna associated with the decaying and an artificial substrate (control) showed equally well the benthic succession from the marine to the freshwater areas and, despite the strong differences in the decay rates, no significant differences were found between the benthic communities associated with the alga and the macrophyte. The body size properties of the macrobenthic fauna associated with the P. australis leaf-bag (1mm and 5mm) and corer samples were studied along the full salinity gradient. The dominant species of the sub-set of measured specimens were not the same of the original macrobenthic fauna sampled but, despite that, the sub-set of measured specimens was also able to show the benthic succession from the marine to the freshwater areas. The body size abundance distribution of the benthic macroinvertebrates according to the ISS size classes did not show a particular trend in any sampler along the salinity gradient. Significant differences were found in the length, weight and length-weight relationships of Annelids, , Molluscs and even some species along the salinity gradient. No significant differences were found in the AMBI, M-AMBI and ISS values along the salinity gradient for all the samplers. The EQS of the corer samples obtained using the M-AMBI was lower than that of the leaf-bags. The EQS obtained with the ISS was higher than that obtained with the M-AMBI in the leaf-bags but not in the corer samples. The ecological effects of contaminated sediments associated with the industrial chemical effluents discharged in the Estarreja Channel were studied a decade after ceasing the emissions, using the Sediment Quality Triad approach and two reference channels. The results showed that despite the emissions ceased in 2004, the sediment remains polluted with high levels of metals and metalloid, available to bioaccumulation and with severe consequences at the community level. The sediment contamination problem was also studied using the leaf-bag technique with a macrophyte, an alga and a control substrate. The results showed that the decay rates, the associated macrofauna and the application of the AMBI, M-AMBI and ISS indices to the mesh-bag samples were not able to identify the sediment contamination. Contrarily to the AMBI, the M-AMBI and the ISS showed significant differences between the contaminated and the reference channels for the corer samples. Although such statistical significance, the interest of using these complex biotic indices could be questioned, when much simple ones, like the S and H’ allow to reach the same conclusions.

Primary production in systems subject to natural and anthropogenic eutrophication

Tese dout., Química, Universidade do Algarve, 2005

Controlling nitrate pollution: an integrated approach

The introduction of the EU Water Framework Directive requires policy to address non-point source pollution as part of an overall integrated strategy to improve the ecological status of water bodies. In this paper, we combine an economic optimisation framework with a dynamic simulation model of N transport in the Kennet Catchment to link decisions taken at the farm level to reductions in nitrate concentrations in the River Kennet. We examine a variety of policies targeted at reducing fertiliser use and changing the way in which farm land is used. We find that a tax on nitrogen emerges as the best policy both in terms of cost- and environmental effectiveness. Such a policy involves a considerable reduction in fertiliser use, as well as, a restructuring of land-use away from arable towards increased use of set-aside. Budgetary implications of such a radical move towards set-aside would be huge and hence unlikely to be politically palatable given the objective of reducing the EU budgetary allocation to agriculture. Additionally, the current rise in world demand for food may also mitigate calls for increasing the proportion of land taken out of agricultural production. Although the study succeeds in establishing a link between actions on the farm and nitrate concentrations in the stream water, further work is required to explore the effect of the retention of nitrates in the unsaturated zone and groundwater on this link.

Predicting microbial pollution concentrations in UK rivers in response to land use change

The Water Framework Directive has caused a paradigm shift towards the integrated management of recreational water quality through the development of drainage basin-wide programmes of measures. This has increased the need for a cost-effective diagnostic tool capable of accurately predicting riverine faecal indicator organism (FIO) concentrations. This paper outlines the application of models developed to fulfil this need, which represent the first transferrable generic FIO models to be developed for the UK to incorporate direct measures of key FIO sources (namely human and livestock population data) as predictor variables. We apply a recently developed transfer methodology, which enables the quantification of geometric mean presumptive faecal coliforms and presumptive intestinal enterococci concentrations for base- and high-flow during the summer bathing season in unmonitored UK watercourses, to predict FIO concentrations in the Humber river basin district. Because the FIO models incorporate explanatory variables which allow the effects of policy measures which influence livestock stocking rates to be assessed, we carry out empirical analysis of the differential effects of seven land use management and policy instruments (fiscal constraint, production constraint, cost intervention, area intervention, demand-side constraint, input constraint, and micro-level land use management) all of which can be used to reduce riverine FIO concentrations. This research provides insights into FIO source apportionment, explores a selection of pollution remediation strategies and the spatial differentiation of land use policies which could be implemented to deliver river quality improvements. All of the policy tools we model reduce FIO concentrations in rivers but our research suggests that the installation of streamside fencing in intensive milk producing areas may be the single most effective land management strategy to reduce riverine microbial pollution.

Final report on research project PS2010, proof of concept of automated mapping of weeds in arable fields

Many weeds occur in patches but farmers frequently spray whole fields to control the weeds in these patches. Given a geo-referenced weed map, technology exists to confine spraying to these patches. Adoption of patch spraying by arable farmers has, however, been negligible partly due to the difficulty of constructing weed maps. Building on previous DEFRA and HGCA projects, this proposal aims to develop and evaluate a machine vision system to automate the weed mapping process. The project thereby addresses the principal technical stumbling block to widespread adoption of site specific weed management (SSWM). The accuracy of weed identification by machine vision based on a single field survey may be inadequate to create herbicide application maps. We therefore propose to test the hypothesis that sufficiently accurate weed maps can be constructed by integrating information from geo-referenced images captured automatically at different times of the year during normal field activities. Accuracy of identification will also be increased by utilising a priori knowledge of weeds present in fields. To prove this concept, images will be captured from arable fields on two farms and processed offline to identify and map the weeds, focussing especially on black-grass, wild oats, barren brome, couch grass and cleavers. As advocated by Lutman et al. (2002), the approach uncouples the weed mapping and treatment processes and builds on the observation that patches of these weeds are quite stable in arable fields. There are three main aspects to the project. 1) Machine vision hardware. Hardware component parts of the system are one or more cameras connected to a single board computer (Concurrent Solutions LLC) and interfaced with an accurate Global Positioning System (GPS) supplied by Patchwork Technology. The camera(s) will take separate measurements for each of the three primary colours of visible light (red, green and blue) in each pixel. The basic proof of concept can be achieved in principle using a single camera system, but in practice systems with more than one camera may need to be installed so that larger fractions of each field can be photographed. Hardware will be reviewed regularly during the project in response to feedback from other work packages and updated as required. 2) Image capture and weed identification software. The machine vision system will be attached to toolbars of farm machinery so that images can be collected during different field operations. Images will be captured at different ground speeds, in different directions and at different crop growth stages as well as in different crop backgrounds. Having captured geo-referenced images in the field, image analysis software will be developed to identify weed species by Murray State and Reading Universities with advice from The Arable Group. A wide range of pattern recognition and in particular Bayesian Networks will be used to advance the state of the art in machine vision-based weed identification and mapping. Weed identification algorithms used by others are inadequate for this project as we intend to collect and correlate images collected at different growth stages. Plants grown for this purpose by Herbiseed will be used in the first instance. In addition, our image capture and analysis system will include plant characteristics such as leaf shape, size, vein structure, colour and textural pattern, some of which are not detectable by other machine vision systems or are omitted by their algorithms. Using such a list of features observable using our machine vision system, we will determine those that can be used to distinguish weed species of interest. 3) Weed mapping. Geo-referenced maps of weeds in arable fields (Reading University and Syngenta) will be produced with advice from The Arable Group and Patchwork Technology. Natural infestations will be mapped in the fields but we will also introduce specimen plants in pots to facilitate more rigorous system evaluation and testing. Manual weed maps of the same fields will be generated by Reading University, Syngenta and Peter Lutman so that the accuracy of automated mapping can be assessed. The principal hypothesis and concept to be tested is that by combining maps from several surveys, a weed map with acceptable accuracy for endusers can be produced. If the concept is proved and can be commercialised, systems could be retrofitted at low cost onto existing farm machinery. The outputs of the weed mapping software would then link with the precision farming options already built into many commercial sprayers, allowing their use for targeted, site-specific herbicide applications. Immediate economic benefits would, therefore, arise directly from reducing herbicide costs. SSWM will also reduce the overall pesticide load on the crop and so may reduce pesticide residues in food and drinking water, and reduce adverse impacts of pesticides on non-target species and beneficials. Farmers may even choose to leave unsprayed some non-injurious, environmentally-beneficial, low density weed infestations. These benefits fit very well with the anticipated legislation emerging in the new EU Thematic Strategy for Pesticides which will encourage more targeted use of pesticides and greater uptake of Integrated Crop (Pest) Management approaches, and also with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive to reduce levels of pesticides in water bodies. The greater precision of weed management offered by SSWM is therefore a key element in preparing arable farming systems for the future, where policy makers and consumers want to minimise pesticide use and the carbon footprint of farming while maintaining food production and security. The mapping technology could also be used on organic farms to identify areas of fields needing mechanical weed control thereby reducing both carbon footprints and also damage to crops by, for example, spring tines. Objective i. To develop a prototype machine vision system for automated image capture during agricultural field operations; ii. To prove the concept that images captured by the machine vision system over a series of field operations can be processed to identify and geo-reference specific weeds in the field; iii. To generate weed maps from the geo-referenced, weed plants/patches identified in objective (ii).

Catchment phosphorous losses: an export coefficient modelling approach with scenario analysis for water management

This paper presents the development of an export coefficient model to characterise the rates and sources of P export from land to water in four reservoir systems located in a semi-arid rural region in southern of Portugal. The model was developed to enable effective management of these important water resource systems under the EU Water Framework Directive. This is the first time such an approach has been fully adapted for the semi-arid systems typical of Mediterranean Europe. The sources of P loading delivered to each reservoir from its catchment were determined and scenario analysis was undertaken to predict the likely impact of catchment management strategies on the scale of rate of P loading delivered to each water body from its catchment. The results indicate the importance of farming and sewage treatment works/collective septic tanks discharges as the main contributors to the total diffuse and point source P loading delivered to the reservoirs, respectively. A reduction in the total P loading for all study areas would require control of farming practices and more efficient removal of P from human wastes prior to discharge to surface waters. The scenario analysis indicates a strategy based solely on reducing the agricultural P surplus may result in only a slow improvement in water quality, which would be unlikely to support the generation of good ecological status in reservoirs. The model application indicates that a reduction of P-inputs to the reservoirs should first focus on reducing P loading from sewage effluent discharges through the introduction of tertiary treatment (P-stripping) in all major residential areas. The fully calibrated export coefficient modelling approach transferred well to semi-arid regions, with the only significant limitation being the availability of suitable input data to drive the model. Further studies using this approach in semi-arid catchments are now needed to increase the knowledge of nutrient export behaviours in semi-arid regions.

Cost effectiveness of mitigation measures for water security and water quality in the River Thames catchment: impacts of changing climate, land use and water scarcity

The catchment of the River Thames, the principal river system in southern England, provides the main water supply for London but is highly vulnerable to changes in climate, land use and population. The river is eutrophic with significant algal blooms with phosphorus assumed to be the primary chemical indicator of ecosystem health. In the Thames Basin, phosphorus is available from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and from diffuse sources such as agriculture. In order to predict vulnerability to future change, the integrated catchments model for phosphorus (INCA-P) has been applied to the river basin and used to assess the cost-effectiveness of a range of mitigation and adaptation strategies. It is shown that scenarios of future climate and land-use change will exacerbate the water quality problems, but a range of mitigation measures can improve the situation. A cost-effectiveness study has been undertaken to compare the economic benefits of each mitigation measure and to assess the phosphorus reductions achieved. The most effective strategy is to reduce fertilizer use by 20% together with the treatment of effluent to a high standard. Such measures will reduce the instream phosphorus concentrations to close to the EU Water Framework Directive target for the Thames.

Beach Profiles: Complying with the EU Directive

Interpretación realizada por las alumnas en prácticas de la Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación, Danaide Rodríguez Hernández, Esther Ramírez Millares y Estíbaliz López-Leiton Trujillo, ,

The SOLUTIONS project: challenges and responses for present and future emerging pollutants in land and water resources management.

SOLUTIONS (2013 to 2018) is a European Union Seventh Framework Programme Project (EU-FP7). The project aims to deliver a conceptual framework to support the evidence-based development of environmental policies with regard to water quality. SOLUTIONS will develop the tools for the identification, prioritisation and assessment of those water contaminants that may pose a risk to ecosystems and human health. To this end, a new generation of chemical and effect-based monitoring tools is developed and integrated with a full set of exposure, effect and risk assessment models. SOLUTIONS attempts to address legacy, present and future contamination by integrating monitoring and modelling based approaches with scenarios on future developments in society, economy and technology and thus in contamination. The project follows a solutions-oriented approach by addressing major problems of water and chemicals management and by assessing abatement options. SOLUTIONS takes advantage of the access to the infrastructure necessary to investigate the large basins of the Danube and Rhine as well as relevant Mediterranean basins as case studies, and puts major efforts on stakeholder dialogue and support. Particularly, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) working groups, International River Commissions, and water works associations are directly supported with consistent guidance for the early detection, identification, prioritisation, and abatement of chemicals in the water cycle. SOLUTIONS will give a specific emphasis on concepts and tools for the impact and risk assessment of complex mixtures of emerging pollutants, their metabolites and transformation products. Analytical and effect-based screening tools will be applied together with ecological assessment tools for the identification of toxicants and their impacts. The SOLUTIONS approach is expected to provide transparent and evidence-based candidates or River Basin Specific Pollutants in the case study basins and to assist future review of priority pollutants under the WFD as well as potential abatement options.

An example of integration between en economic and an hydrologic model in the framework of water resource management problems

Growing scarcity, increasing demand and bad management of water resources are causing weighty competition for water and consequently managers are facing more and more pressure in an attempt to satisfy users? requirement. In many regions agriculture is one of the most important users at river basin scale since it concentrates high volumes of water consumption during relatively short periods (irrigation season), with a significant economic, social and environmental impact. The interdisciplinary characteristics of related water resources problems require, as established in the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, an integrated and participative approach to water management and assigns an essential role to economic analysis as a decision support tool. For this reason, a methodology is developed to analyse the economic and environmental implications of water resource management under different scenarios, with a focus on the agricultural sector. This research integrates both economic and hydrologic components in modelling, defining scenarios of water resource management with the goal of preventing critical situations, such as droughts. The model follows the Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) approach, an innovative methodology successfully used for agricultural policy analysis in the last decade and also applied in several analyses regarding water use in agriculture. This approach has, among others, the very important capability of perfectly calibrating the baseline scenario using a very limited database. However one important disadvantage is its limited capacity to simulate activities non-observed during the reference period but which could be adopted if the scenario changed. To overcome this problem the classical methodology is extended in order to simulate a more realistic farmers? response to new agricultural policies or modified water availability. In this way an economic model has been developed to reproduce the farmers? behaviour within two irrigation districts in the Tiber High Valley. This economic model is then integrated with SIMBAT, an hydrologic model developed for the Tiber basin which allows to simulate the balance between the water volumes available at the Montedoglio dam and the water volumes required by the various irrigation users.

La reutilización de efluentes depurados en España: retrospectiva, desarrollo del marco normativo, estudio de las tecnologías de regeneración frente a los biorreactores de membrana y sus costes en función del uso

La reutilización de efluentes depurados siempre ha sido una opción en lugares con déficit coyuntural o estructural de recursos hídricos, se haya o no procedido a la regulación y planificación de esta práctica. La necesidad se crea a partir de las demandas de una zona, normalmente riego agrícola, que ven un mejor desarrollo de su actividad por contar con este recurso. España es el país de la UE que más caudal reutiliza, y está dentro de los diez primeros a nivel mundial. La regulación de esta práctica por el RD 1620/2007, ayudó a incorporar la reutilización de efluentes depurados a la planificación hidrológica como parte de los programas de medidas, con objeto de mitigar presiones, como son las extracciones de agua superficial y subterránea, o mejoras medioambientales evitando un vertido. El objeto de este trabajo es conocer la situación de la reutilización de efluentes depurados en España, los diferentes escenarios y planteamientos de esta actividad, el desarrollo del marco normativo y su aplicabilidad, junto a los tratamientos que permiten alcanzar los límites de calidad establecidos en la normativa vigente, en función de los distintos usos. Además, se aporta un análisis de costes de las distintas unidades de tratamiento y tipologías de líneas de regeneración, tanto de las utilizadas después de un tratamiento secundario como de otras opciones de depuración, como son los biorreactores de membrana (MBRs). Para el desarrollo de estos objetivos, en primer lugar, se aborda el conocimiento de la situación de la reutilización en España a través de una base de datos diseñada para cubrir todos los aspectos de esta actividad: datos de la estación depuradora de aguas residuales (EDAR), de la estación regeneradora (ERA), caudales depurados, reutilizados, volúmenes utilizados y ubicación de los distintos usos, tipos de líneas de tratamiento, calidades del agua reutilizada, etc. Las principales fuentes de información son las Confederaciones Hidrográficas (CCHH) a través de las concesiones de uso del agua depurada, las entidades de saneamiento y depuración de las distintas comunidades autónomas (CCAA), ayuntamientos, Planes Hidrológicos de Cuenca (PHC) y visitas a las zonas más emblemáticas. Además, se revisan planes y programas con el fin de realizar una retrospectiva de cómo se ha ido consolidando y desarrollando esta práctica en las distintas zonas de la geografía española. Se han inventariado 322 sistemas de reutilización y 216 tratamientos de regeneración siendo el más extendido la filtración mediante filtro arena seguido de una desinfección mediante hipoclorito, aunque este tratamiento se ha ido sustituyendo por un físico-químico con decantación lamelar, filtro de arena y radiación ultravioleta, tratamiento de regeneración convencional (TRC), y otros tratamientos que pueden incluir membranas, tratamientos de regeneración avanzados (TRA), con dosificación de hipoclorito como desinfección residual, para adaptarse al actual marco normativo. El uso más extendido es el agrícola con el 70% del caudal total reutilizado, estimado en 408 hm3, aunque la capacidad de los tratamientos de regeneración esperada para 2015, tras el Plan Nacional de Reutilización de Aguas (PNRA), es tres veces superior. Respecto al desarrollo normativo, en las zonas donde la reutilización ha sido pionera, las administraciones competentes han ido desarrollando diferentes recomendaciones de calidad y manejo de este tipo de agua. El uso agrícola, y en zonas turísticas, el riego de campos de golf, fueron los dos primeros usos que tuvieron algún tipo de recomendación incluso reglamentación. Esta situación inicial, sin una normativa a nivel estatal ni recomendaciones europeas, creó cierta incertidumbre en el avance de la reutilización tanto a nivel de concesiones como de planificación. En la actualidad sigue sin existir una normativa internacional para la reutilización y regeneración de efluentes depurados. Las recomendaciones de referencia a nivel mundial, y en concreto para el uso agrícola, son las de la OMS (Organización Mundial de la Salud) publicadas 1989, con sus posteriores revisiones y ampliaciones (OMS, 2006). Esta norma combina tratamientos básicos de depuración y unas buenas prácticas basadas en diferentes niveles de protección para evitar problemas sanitarios. Otra normativa que ha sido referencia en el desarrollo del marco normativo en países donde se realiza esta práctica, son las recomendaciones dadas por la Agencia Medioambiente Estadunidense (USEPA, 2012) o las publicadas por el Estado de California (Título 22, 2001). Estas normas establecen unos indicadores y valores máximos dónde el tratamiento de regeneración es el responsable de la calidad final en función del uso. Durante 2015, la ISO trabajaba en un documento para el uso urbano donde se muestra tanto los posibles parámetros que habría que controlar como la manera de actuar para evitar posibles riesgos. Por otro lado, la Comisión Europea (CE) viene impulsando desde el 2014 la reutilización de aguas depuradas dentro del marco de la Estrategia Común de Implantación de la Directiva Marco del Agua, y fundamentalmente a través del grupo de trabajo de “Programas de medidas”. Para el desarrollo de esta iniciativa se está planteando sacar para 2016 una guía de recomendaciones que podría venir a completar el marco normativo de los distintos Estados Miembros (EM). El Real Decreto 1620/2007, donde se establece el marco jurídico de la reutilización de efluentes depurados, tiende más a la filosofía implantada por la USEPA, aunque la UE parece más partidaria de una gestión del riesgo, donde se establecen unos niveles de tolerancia y unos puntos de control en función de las condiciones socioeconómicas de los distintos Estados, sin entrar a concretar indicadores, valores máximos o tratamientos. Sin embargo, en la normativa estadounidense se indican una serie de tratamientos de regeneración, mientras que, en la española, se hacen recomendaciones a este respecto en una Guía sin validez legal. Por tanto, queda sin regular los procesos para alcanzar estos estándares de calidad, pudiendo ser éstos no apropiados para esta práctica. Es el caso de la desinfección donde el uso de hipoclorito puede generar subproductos indeseables. En la Guía de recomendaciones para la aplicación del RD, publicada por el Ministerio de Agricultura y Medioambiente (MAGRAMA) en 2010, se aclaran cuestiones frecuentes sobre la aplicación del RD, prescripciones técnicas básicas para los sistemas de reutilización, y buenas prácticas en función del uso. Aun así, el RD sigue teniendo deficiencias en su aplicación siendo necesaria una revisión de la misma, como en las frecuencias de muestreo incluso la omisión de algunos parámetros como huevos de nematodos que se ha demostrado ser inexistentes tras un tratamiento de regeneración convencional. En este sentido, existe una tendencia a nivel mundial a reutilizar las aguas con fines de abastecimiento, incluir indicadores de presencia de virus o protozoos, o incluir ciertas tecnologías como las membranas u oxidaciones avanzadas para afrontar temas como los contaminantes emergentes. Otro de los objetivos de este trabajo es el estudio de tipologías de tratamiento en función de los usos establecidos en el RD 1620/2007 y sus costes asociados, siendo base de lo establecido a este respecto en la Guía y PNRA anteriormente indicados. Las tipologías de tratamiento propuestas se dividen en líneas con capacidad de desalar y las que no cuentan con una unidad de desalación de aguas salobres de ósmosis inversa o electrodiálisis reversible. Se realiza esta división al tener actuaciones en zonas costeras donde el agua de mar entra en los colectores, adquiriendo el agua residual un contenido en sales que es limitante en algunos usos. Para desarrollar este objetivo se han estudiado las unidades de tratamiento más implantadas en ERAs españolas en cuanto a fiabilidad para conseguir determinada calidad y coste, tanto de implantación como de explotación. El TRC, tiene un coste de implantación de 28 a 48 €.m-3.d y de explotación de 0,06 a 0,09 €. m-3, mientras que, si se precisara desalar, este coste se multiplica por diez en la implantación y por cinco en la explotación. En caso de los usos que requieren de TRA, como los domiciliarios o algunos industriales, los costes serían de 185 a 398 €.m-3.d en implantación y de 0,14 a 0,20 €.m-3 en explotación. En la selección de tecnologías de regeneración, la capacidad del tratamiento en relación al coste es un indicador fundamental. Este trabajo aporta curvas de tendencia coste-capacidad que sirven de herramienta de selección frente a otros tratamientos de regeneración de reciente implantación como son los MBR, u otros como la desalación de agua de mar o los trasvases entre cuencas dentro de la planificación hidrológica. En España, el aumento de las necesidades de agua de alta calidad en zonas con recursos escasos, aumento de zonas sensibles como puntos de captación para potables, zonas de baño o zonas de producción piscícola, y en ocasiones, el escaso terreno disponible para la implantación de nuevas plantas depuradoras (EDARs), han convertido a los MBRs, en una opción dentro del marco de la reutilización de aguas depuradas. En este trabajo, se estudia esta tecnología frente a los TRC y TRA, aportando igualmente curvas de tendencia coste-capacidad, e identificando cuando esta opción tecnológica puede ser más competitiva frente a los otros tratamientos de regeneración. Un MBR es un tratamiento de depuración de fangos activos donde el decantador secundario es sustituido por un sistema de membranas de UF o MF. La calidad del efluente, por tanto, es la misma que el de una EDAR seguida de un TRA. Los MBRs aseguran una calidad del efluente para todos los usos establecidos en el RD, incluso dan un efluente que permite ser directamente tratado por las unidades de desalación de OI o EDR. La implantación de esta tecnología en España ha tenido un crecimiento exponencial, pasando de 13 instalaciones de menos de 5.000 m3. d-1 en el 2006, a más de 55 instalaciones en operación o construcción a finales del 2014, seis de ellas con capacidades por encima de los 15.000 m3. d-1. Los sistemas de filtración en los MBR son los que marcan la operación y diseño de este tipo de instalaciones. El sistema más implantado en España es de membrana de fibra hueca (MFH), sobre todo para instalaciones de gran capacidad, destacando Zenon que cuenta con el 57% de la capacidad total instalada. La segunda casa comercial con mayor número de plantas es Kubota, con membranas de configuración placa plana (MPP), que cuenta con el 30 % de la capacidad total instalada. Existen otras casas comerciales implantadas en MBR españoles como son Toray, Huber, Koch o Microdym. En este documento se realiza la descripción de los sistemas de filtración de todas estas casas comerciales, aportando información de sus características, parámetros de diseño y operación más relevantes. El estudio de 14 MBRs ha posibilitado realizar otro de los objetivos de este trabajo, la estimación de los costes de explotación e implantación de este tipo de sistemas frente a otras alternativas de tratamiento de regeneración. En este estudio han participado activamente ACA y ESAMUR, entidades públicas de saneamiento y depuración de Cataluña y Murcia respectivamente, que cuentan con una amplia experiencia en la explotación de este tipo de sistemas. Este documento expone los problemas de operación encontrados y sus posibles soluciones, tanto en la explotación como en los futuros diseños de este tipo de plantas. El trabajo concluye que los MBRs son una opción más para la reutilización de efluentes depurados, siendo ventajosos en costes, tanto de implantación como de explotación, respecto a EDARs seguidas de TRA en capacidades por encima de los 10.000 m3.d-1. ABSTRACT The reuse of treated effluent has always been an option in places where a situational or structural water deficit exists, whether regulatory and/or planning efforts are completed or not. The need arises from the demand of a sector, commonly agricultural irrigation, which benefits of this new resource. Within the EU, Spain is ahead in the annual volume of reclaimed water, and is among the top ten countries at a global scale. The regulation of this practice through the Royal Decree 1620/2007 has helped to incorporate the water reuse to the hydrological plans as a part of the programme of measures to mitigate pressures such as surface or ground water extraction, or environmental improvements preventing discharges. The object of this study is to gain an overview of the state of the water reuse in Spain, the different scenarios and approaches to this activity, the development of the legal framework and its enforceability, together with the treatments that achieve the quality levels according to the current law, broken down by applications. Additionally, a cost analysis of technologies and regeneration treatment lines for water reclamation is performed, whereas the regeneration treatment is located after a wastewater treatment or other options such as membrane bioreactors (MBR). To develop the abovementioned objectives, the state of water reuse in Spain is studied by means of a database designed to encompass all aspects of the activity: data from the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), from the water reclamation plants (WRP), the use of reclaimed water, treated water and reclaimed water annual volumes and qualities, facilities and applications, geographic references, technologies, regeneration treatment lines, etc. The main data providers are the River Basin authorities, through the concession or authorization for water reuse, (sanitary and wastewater treatment managers from the territorial governments, local governments, Hydrological Plans of the River Basins and field visits to the main water reuse systems. Additionally, a review of different plans and programmes on wastewater treatment or water reuse is done, aiming to put the development and consolidation process of this activity in the different regions of Spain in perspective. An inventory of 322 reuse systems and 216 regeneration treatments has been gathered on the database, where the most extended regeneration treatment line was sand filtration followed by hypochlorite disinfection, even though recently it is being replaced by physical–chemical treatment with a lamella settling system, depth sand filtration, and a disinfection with ultraviolet radiation and hypochlorite as residual disinfectant, named conventional regeneration treatment (CRT), and another treatment that may include a membrane process, named advanced regeneration treatment (ART), to adapt to legal requirements. Agricultural use is the most extended, accumulating 70% of the reclaimed demand, estimated at 408 hm3, even though the expected total capacity of WRPs for 2015, after the implementation of the National Water Reuse Plan (NWRP) is three times higher. According to the development of the water reuse legal framework, there were pioneer areas where competent authorities developed different quality and use recommendations for this new resource. Agricultural use and golf course irrigation in touristic areas were the first two uses with recommendations and even legislation. The initial lack of common legislation for water reuse at a national or European level created some doubts which affected the implementation of water reuse, both from a planning and a licensing point of view. Currently there is still a lack of common international legislation regarding water reuse, technologies and applications. Regarding agricultural use, the model recommendations at a global scale are those set by the World Health Organization published in 1989, and subsequent reviews and extensions about risk prevention (WHO, 2006). These documents combine wastewater treatments with basic regeneration treatments reinforced by good practices based on different levels of protection to avoid deleterious health effects. Another relevant legal reference for this practices has been the Environmental Protection Agency of the US (USEPA, 2012), or those published by the State of California (Title 22, 2001). These establish indicator targets and maximum thresholds where regeneration treatment lines are responsible for the final quality according to the different uses. During 2015, the ISO has worked on a document aimed at urban use, where the possible parameters to be monitored together with risk prevention have been studied. On the other hand, the European Commission has been promoting the reuse of treated effluents within the Common Implementation Strategy of the Water Framework Directive, mainly through the work of the Programme of Measures Working Group. Within this context, the publication of a recommendation guide during 2016 is intended, as a useful tool to fill in the legal gaps of different Member States on the matter. The Royal Decree 1620/2007, where the water reuse regulation is set, resembles the principles of the USEPA more closely, even though the EU shows a tendency to prioritize risk assessment by establishing tolerance levels and thresholds according to socioeconomic conditions of the different countries, without going into details of indicators, maximum thresholds or treatments. In contrast, in the US law, regeneration treatments are indicated, while in the Spanish legislation, the only recommendations to this respect are compiled in a non-compulsory guide. Therefore, there is no regulation on the different treatment lines used to achieve the required quality standards, giving room for inappropriate practices in this respect. This is the case of disinfection, where the use of hypochlorite may produce harmful byproducts. In the recommendation Guide for the application of the Royal Decree (RD), published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAGRAMA) in 2010, clarifications of typical issues that may arise from the application of the RD are given, as well as basic technical parameters to consider in reuse setups, or good practices according to final use. Even so, the RD still presents difficulties in its application and requires a review on issues such as the sampling frequency of current quality parameters or even the omission of nematode eggs indicator, which have been shown to be absent after CRT. In this regard, there is a global tendency to employ water reuse for drinking water, including indicators for the presence of viruses and protozoans, or to include certain technologies such as membranes or advanced oxidation processes to tackle problems like emerging pollutants. Another of the objectives of this study is to provide different regeneration treatment lines to meet the quality requirements established in the RD 1620/2007 broken down by applications, and to estimate establishment and operational costs. This proposal has been based on what is established in the above mentioned Guide and NWRP. The proposed treatment typologies are divided in treatment trains with desalination, like reverse osmosis or reversible electrodialisis, and those that lack this treatment for brackish water. This separation is done due to coastal facilities, where sea water may permeate the collecting pipes, rising salt contents in the wastewater, hence limiting certain uses. To develop this objective a study of the most common treatment units set up in Spanish WRPs is conducted in terms of treatment train reliability to obtain an acceptable relationship between the required quality and the capital and operational costs. The CRT has an establishment cost of 28 to 48 €.m-3.d and an operation cost of 0.06 to 0.09 €.m-3, while, if desalination was required, these costs would increase tenfold for implementation and fivefold for operation. In the cases of uses that require ART, such as residential or certain industrial uses, the costs would be of 185 to 398 €.m-3.d for implementation and of 0.14 to 0.20 €.m-3 for operation. When selecting regeneration treatment lines, the relation between treatment capacity and cost is a paramount indicator. This project provides cost-capacity models for regeneration treatment trains. These may serve as a tool when selecting between different options to fulfill water demands with MBR facilities, or others such as sea water desalination plants or inter-basin water transfer into a water planning framework. In Spain, the requirement for high quality water in areas with low resource availability, the increasing number of sensitive zones, such as drinking water extraction, recreational bathing areas, fish protected areas and the lack of available land to set up new WWTPs, have turned MBRs into a suitable option for water reuse. In this work this technology is analyzed in contrast to CRT and ART, providing cost-capacity models, and identifying when and where this treatment option may outcompete other regeneration treatments. An MBR is an activated sludge treatment where the secondary settling is substituted by a membrane system of UF or MF. The quality of the effluent is, therefore, comparable to that of a WWTP followed by an ART. MBRs ensure a sufficient quality level for the requirements of the different uses established in the RD, even producing an effluent that can be directly treated in OI or EDR processes. The implementation of this technology in Spain has grown exponentially, growing from 13 facilities with less than 5000 m3.d-1 in 2006 to above 55 facilities operating by the end of 2014, 6 of them with capacities over 15000 m3.d-1. The membrane filtration systems for MBR are the ones that set the pace of operation and design of this type of facilities. The most widespread system in Spain is the hollow fiber membrane configuration, especially on high flow capacities, being Zenon commercial technology, which mounts up to 57% of the total installed capacity, the main contributor. The next commercial technology according to plant number is Kubota, which uses flat sheet membrane configuration, which mounts up to 30% of the total installed capacity. Other commercial technologies exist within the Spanish MBR context, such as Toray, Huber, Koch or Microdym. In this document an analysis of all of these membrane filtration systems is done, providing information about their characteristics and relevant design and operation parameters. The study of 14 full scale running MBRs has enabled to pursue another of the objectives of this work: the estimation of the implementation and operation costs of this type of systems in contrast to other regeneration alternatives. Active participation of ACA and ESAMUR, public wastewater treatment and reuse entities of Cataluña and Murcia respectively, has helped attaining this objective. A number of typical operative problems and their possible solutions are discussed, both for operation and plant design purposes. The conclusion of this study is that MBRs are another option to consider for water reuse, being advantageous in terms of both implementation and operational costs, when compared with WWTPs followed by ART, when considering flow capacities above 10000 m3.d-1.

Propuesta metodológica para el análisis y protección de la calidad del agua subterránea de acuerdo con los requerimientos de la Directiva Marco y la Directiva derivada de Aguas Subterráneas

La protección de las aguas subterráneas es una prioridad de la política medioambiental de la UE. Por ello ha establecido un marco de prevención y control de la contaminación, que incluye provisiones para evaluar el estado químico de las aguas y reducir la presencia de contaminantes en ellas. Las herramientas fundamentales para el desarrollo de dichas políticas son la Directiva Marco del Agua y la Directiva Hija de Aguas Subterráneas. Según ellas, las aguas se consideran en buen estado químico si: • la concentración medida o prevista de nitratos no supera los 50 mg/l y la de ingredientes activos de plaguicidas, de sus metabolitos y de los productos de reacción no supera el 0,1 μg/l (0,5 μg/l para el total de los plaguicidas medidos) • la concentración de determinadas sustancias de riesgo es inferior al valor umbral fijado por los Estados miembros; se trata, como mínimo, del amonio, arsénico, cadmio, cloruro, plomo, mercurio, sulfatos, tricloroetileno y tetracloroetileno • la concentración de cualquier otro contaminante se ajusta a la definición de buen estado químico enunciada en el anexo V de la Directiva marco sobre la política de aguas • en caso de superarse el valor correspondiente a una norma de calidad o a un valor umbral, una investigación confirma, entre otros puntos, la falta de riesgo significativo para el medio ambiente. Analizar el comportamiento estadístico de los datos procedentes de la red de seguimiento y control puede resultar considerablemente complejo, debido al sesgo positivo que suelen presentar dichos datos y a su distribución asimétrica, debido a la existencia de valores anómalos y diferentes tipos de suelos y mezclas de contaminantes. Además, la distribución de determinados componentes en el agua subterránea puede presentar concentraciones por debajo del límite de detección o no ser estacionaria debida a la existencia de tendencias lineales o estacionales. En el primer caso es necesario realizar estimaciones de esos valores desconocidos, mediante procedimientos que varían en función del porcentaje de valores por debajo del límite de detección y el número de límites de detección aplicables. En el segundo caso es necesario eliminar las tendencias de forma previa a la realización de contrastes de hipótesis sobre los residuos. Con esta tesis se ha pretendido establecer las bases estadísticas para el análisis riguroso de los datos de las redes de calidad con objeto de realizar la evaluación del estado químico de las masas de agua subterránea para la determinación de tendencias al aumento en la concentración de contaminantes y para la detección de empeoramientos significativos, tanto en los casos que se ha fijado un estándar de calidad por el organismo medioambiental competente como en aquéllos que no ha sido así. Para diseñar una metodología que permita contemplar la variedad de casos existentes, se han analizado los datos de la Red Oficial de Seguimiento y Control del Estado Químico de las Aguas Subterráneas del Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (Magrama). A continuación, y dado que los Planes Hidrológicos de Cuenca son la herramienta básica de las Directivas, se ha seleccionado la Cuenca del Júcar, dada su designación como cuenca piloto en la estrategia de implementación común (CIS) de la Comisión Europea. El objetivo principal de los grupos de trabajo creados para ello se dirigió a implementar la Directiva Derivada de Agua Subterráneas y los elementos de la Directiva Marco del Agua relacionadas, en especial la toma de datos en los puntos de control y la preparación del primer Plan de Gestión de Cuencas Hidrográficas. Dada la extensión de la zona y con objeto de analizar una masa de agua subterránea (definida como la unidad de gestión en las Directivas), se ha seleccionado una zona piloto (Plana de Vinaroz Peñiscola) en la que se han aplicado los procedimientos desarrollados con objeto de determinar el estado químico de dicha masa. Los datos examinados no contienen en general valores de concentración de contaminantes asociados a fuentes puntuales, por lo que para la realización del estudio se han seleccionado valores de concentración de los datos más comunes, es decir, nitratos y cloruros. La estrategia diseñada combina el análisis de tendencias con la elaboración de intervalos de confianza cuando existe un estándar de calidad e intervalos de predicción cuando no existe o se ha superado dicho estándar. De forma análoga se ha procedido en el caso de los valores por debajo del límite de detección, tomando los valores disponibles en la zona piloto de la Plana de Sagunto y simulando diferentes grados de censura con objeto de comparar los resultados obtenidos con los intervalos producidos de los datos reales y verificar de esta forma la eficacia del método. El resultado final es una metodología general que integra los casos existentes y permite definir el estado químico de una masa de agua subterránea, verificar la existencia de impactos significativos en la calidad del agua subterránea y evaluar la efectividad de los planes de medidas adoptados en el marco del Plan Hidrológico de Cuenca. ABSTRACT Groundwater protection is a priority of the EU environmental policy. As a result, it has established a framework for prevention and control of pollution, which includes provisions for assessing the chemical status of waters and reducing the presence of contaminants in it. The measures include: • criteria for assessing the chemical status of groundwater bodies • criteria for identifying significant upward trends and sustained concentrations of contaminants and define starting points for reversal of such trends • preventing and limiting indirect discharges of pollutants as a result of percolation through soil or subsoil. The basic tools for the development of such policies are the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Daughter Directive. According to them, the groundwater bodies are considered in good status if: • measured or predicted concentration of nitrate does not exceed 50 mg / l and the active ingredients of pesticides, their metabolites and reaction products do not exceed 0.1 mg / l (0.5 mg / l for total of pesticides measured) • the concentration of certain hazardous substances is below the threshold set by the Member States concerned, at least, of ammonium, arsenic, cadmium, chloride, lead, mercury, sulphates, trichloroethylene and tetrachlorethylene • the concentration of other contaminants fits the definition of good chemical status set out in Annex V of the Framework Directive on water policy • If the value corresponding to a quality standard or a threshold value is exceeded, an investigation confirms, among other things, the lack of significant risk to the environment. Analyzing the statistical behaviour of the data from the monitoring networks may be considerably complex due to the positive bias which often presents such information and its asymmetrical distribution, due to the existence of outliers and different soil types and mixtures of pollutants. Furthermore, the distribution of certain components in groundwater may have concentrations below the detection limit or may not be stationary due to the existence of linear or seasonal trends. In the first case it is necessary to estimate these unknown values, through procedures that vary according to the percentage of values below the limit of detection and the number of applicable limits of detection. In the second case removing trends is needed before conducting hypothesis tests on residuals. This PhD thesis has intended to establish the statistical basis for the rigorous analysis of data quality networks in order to conduct the evaluation of the chemical status of groundwater bodies for determining upward and sustained trends in pollutant concentrations and for the detection of significant deterioration in cases in which an environmental standard has been set by the relevant environmental agency and those that have not. Aiming to design a comprehensive methodology to include the whole range of cases, data from the Groundwater Official Monitoring and Control Network of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama) have been analysed. Then, since River Basin Management Plans are the basic tool of the Directives, the Júcar river Basin has been selected. The main reason is its designation as a pilot basin in the common implementation strategy (CIS) of the European Commission. The main objective of the ad hoc working groups is to implement the Daughter Ground Water Directive and elements of the Water Framework Directive related to groundwater, especially the data collection at control stations and the preparation of the first River Basin Management Plan. Given the size of the area and in order to analyze a groundwater body (defined as the management unit in the Directives), Plana de Vinaroz Peñíscola has been selected as pilot area. Procedures developed to determine the chemical status of that body have been then applied. The data examined do not generally contain pollutant concentration values associated with point sources, so for the study concentration values of the most common data, i.e., nitrates and chlorides have been selected. The designed strategy combines trend analysis with the development of confidence intervals when there is a standard of quality and prediction intervals when there is not or the standard has been exceeded. Similarly we have proceeded in the case of values below the detection limit, taking the available values in Plana de Sagunto pilot area and simulating different degrees of censoring in order to compare the results obtained with the intervals achieved from the actual data and verify in this way the effectiveness of the method. The end result is a general methodology that integrates existing cases to define the chemical status of a groundwater body, verify the existence of significant impacts on groundwater quality and evaluate the effectiveness of the action plans adopted in the framework of the River Basin Management Plan.

Valutazione del rischio ecologico e sviluppo di strategie innovative per il monitoraggio della qualita’ dei corpi idrici: applicazione di un nuovo approccio integrato in un bacino pilota.

Freshwater is extremely precious; but even more precious than freshwater is clean freshwater. From the time that 2/3 of our planet is covered in water, we have contaminated our globe with chemicals that have been used by industrial activities over the last century in a unprecedented way causing harm to humans and wildlife. We have to adopt a new scientific mindset in order to face this problem so to protect this important resource. The Water Framework Directive (European Parliament and the Council, 2000) is a milestone legislative document that transformed the way that water quality monitoring is undertaken across all Member States by introducing the Ecological and Chemical Status. A “good or higher” Ecological Status is expected to be achieved for all waterbodies in Europe by 2015. Yet, most of the European waterbodies, which are determined to be at risk, or of moderate to bad quality, further information will be required so that adequate remediation strategies can be implemented. To date, water quality evaluation is based on five biological components (phytoplankton, macrophytes and benthic algae, macroinvertebrates and fishes) and various hydromorphological and physicochemical elements. The evaluation of the chemical status is principally based on 33 priority substances and on 12 xenobiotics, considered as dangerous for the environment. This approach takes into account only a part of the numerous xenobiotics that can be present in surface waters and could not evidence all the possible causes of ecotoxicological stress that can act in a water section. The mixtures of toxic chemicals may constitute an ecological risk not predictable on the basis of the single component concentration. To improve water quality, sources of contamination and causes of ecological alterations need to be identified. On the other hand, the analysis of the community structure, which is the result of multiple processes, including hydrological constrains and physico-chemical stress, give back only a “photograph” of the actual status of a site without revealing causes and sources of the perturbation. A multidisciplinary approach, able to integrate the information obtained by different methods, such as community structure analysis and eco-genotoxicological studies, could help overcome some of the difficulties in properly identifying the different causes of stress in risk assessment. In synthesis, the river ecological status is the result of a combination of multiple pressures that, for management purposes and quality improvement, have to be disentangled from each other. To reduce actual uncertainty in risk assessment, methods that establish quantitative links between levels of contamination and community alterations are needed. The analysis of macrobenthic invertebrate community structure has been widely used to identify sites subjected to perturbation. Trait-based descriptors of community structure constitute a useful method in ecological risk assessment. The diagnostic capacity of freshwater biomonitoring could be improved by chronic sublethal toxicity testing of water and sediment samples. Requiring an exposure time that covers most of the species’ life cycle, chronic toxicity tests are able to reveal negative effects on life-history traits at contaminant concentrations well below the acute toxicity level. Furthermore, the responses of high-level endpoints (growth, fecundity, mortality) can be integrated in order to evaluate the impact on population’s dynamics, a highly relevant endpoint from the ecological point of view. To gain more accurate information about potential causes and consequences of environmental contamination, the evaluation of adverse effects at physiological, biochemical and genetic level is also needed. The use of different biomarkers and toxicity tests can give information about the sub-lethal and toxic load of environmental compartments. Biomarkers give essential information about the exposure to toxicants, such as endocrine disruptor compounds and genotoxic substances whose negative effects cannot be evidenced by using only high-level toxicological endpoints. The increasing presence of genotoxic pollutants in the environment has caused concern regarding the potential harmful effects of xenobiotics on human health, and interest on the development of new and more sensitive methods for the assessment of mutagenic and cancerogenic risk. Within the WFD, biomarkers and bioassays are regarded as important tools to gain lines of evidence for cause-effect relationship in ecological quality assessment. Despite the scientific community clearly addresses the advantages and necessity of an ecotoxicological approach within the ecological quality assessment, a recent review reports that, more than one decade after the publication of the WFD, only few studies have attempted to integrate ecological water status assessment and biological methods (namely biomarkers or bioassays). None of the fifteen reviewed studies included both biomarkers and bioassays. The integrated approach developed in this PhD Thesis comprises a set of laboratory bioassays (Daphnia magna acute and chronic toxicity tests, Comet Assay and FPG-Comet) newly-developed, modified tacking a cue from standardized existing protocols or applied for freshwater quality testing (ecotoxicological, genotoxicological and toxicogenomic assays), coupled with field investigations on macrobenthic community structures (SPEAR and EBI indexes). Together with the development of new bioassays with Daphnia magna, the feasibility of eco-genotoxicological testing of freshwater and sediment quality with Heterocypris incongruens was evaluated (Comet Assay and a protocol for chronic toxicity). However, the Comet Assay, although standardized, was not applied to freshwater samples due to the lack of sensitivity of this species observed after 24h of exposure to relatively high (and not environmentally relevant) concentrations of reference genotoxicants. Furthermore, this species demonstrated to be unsuitable also for chronic toxicity testing due to the difficult evaluation of fecundity as sub-lethal endpoint of exposure and complications due to its biology and behaviour. The study was applied to a pilot hydrographic sub-Basin, by selecting section subjected to different levels of anthropogenic pressure: this allowed us to establish the reference conditions, to select the most significant endpoints and to evaluate the coherence of the responses of the different lines of evidence (alteration of community structure, eco-genotoxicological responses, alteration of gene expression profiles) and, finally, the diagnostic capacity of the monitoring strategy. Significant correlations were found between the genotoxicological parameter Tail Intensity % (TI%) and macrobenthic community descriptors SPEAR (p<0.001) and EBI (p<0.05), between the genotoxicological parameter describing DNA oxidative stress (ΔTI%) and mean levels of nitrates (p<0.01) and between reproductive impairment (Failed Development % from D. magna chronic bioassays) and TI% (p<0.001) as well as EBI (p<0.001). While correlation among parameters demonstrates a general coherence in the response to increasing impacts, the concomitant ability of each single endpoint to be responsive to specific sources of stress is at the basis of the diagnostic capacity of the integrated approach as demonstrated by stations presenting a mismatch among the different lines of evidence. The chosen set of bioassays, as well as the selected endpoints, are not providing redundant indications on the water quality status but, on the contrary, are contributing with complementary pieces of information about the several stressors that insist simultaneously on a waterbody section providing this monitoring strategy with a solid diagnostic capacity. Our approach should provide opportunities for the integration of biological effects into monitoring programmes for surface water, especially in investigative monitoring. Moreover, it should provide a more realistic assessment of impact and exposure of aquatic organisms to contaminants. Finally this approach should provide an evaluation of drivers of change in biodiversity and its causalities on ecosystem function/services provision, that is the direct and indirect contributions to human well-being.

Restoration ecology of coastal lagoons: new methods for the prediction of ecological trajectories and economic valuation

Conservation of the seven lagoons of the Palavas complex (southern France) has been severely impaired by nutrient over-enrichment during at least four decades. The effluents of the Montpellier wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represented the main nutrient input. To improve the water quality of these lagoons, this WWTP was renovated and upgraded and, since the end of 2005, its effluents have been discharged 11 km offshore into the Mediterranean (total investment €150 M). Possibilities of ecosystem restoration as part of a conservation programme were explored by a focus group of experts. Their tasks were: (i) to evaluate the impact of the reduction of the nutrient input; (ii) if necessary, to design additional measures for an active restoration programme; and (iii) to predict ecosystem trajectories for the different cases. Extension of Magnoliophyta meadows can be taken as a proxy for ecosystem restoration as they favour the increase of several fish (seahorse) and bird (ducks, swans, herons) species, albeit they represent a trade-off for greater flamingos. Additional measures for active ecosystem restoration were only recommended for the most impaired lagoon Méjean, while the least impaired lagoon Ingril is already on a trajectory of spontaneous recovery. A multiple contingent valuation considering four different management options for the Méjean lagoon was used in a pilot study based on face-to-face interviews with 159 respondents. Three levels of ecosystem restoration were expressed in terms of recovery of Magnoliophyta meadows, including their impact on emblematic fish and avifauna. These were combined with different options for access (status quo, increasing access, increasing access with measures to reduce disturbance). The results show a willingness of local populations to pay per year about €25 for the highest level of ecological restoration, while they were only willing to allocate about €5 for additional footpaths and hides.

Directive Cadre sur l’Eau : les pressions anthropiques et leur impact sur les indicateurs de l’état écologique des masses d’eau littorales de la façade Manche-Atlantique. Synthèse bibliographique

Within the European water framework directive (WFD), the status assessment of littoral waters is based both on the chemical quality and on the ecological quality of each water body. Quality elements enabling to assess the ecological status of a water body are, among other things, biological quality elements (phytoplankton, macroalgae, angiosperms, benthic invertebrates, fish), for each of which the member states have developed quantitative indicators. This document is one of the deliverables of a multi-annual study intended to characterize the sensitivity of these biological indicators towards the various anthropogenic pressures exerted on the French Atlantic and Channel coast: ultimately, the goal is to establish a quantitative and predictive relationship, statistically robust, between the WFD indicators used along the French channel and Atlantic coastline, and various anthropogenic pressures acting on these coasts. The aim of the WFD is indeed to restore or maintain a good chemical and biological quality of coastal waters, and thus to limit the impact of human activities potentially responsible for the degradation of ecosystems. This understanding of the linkages and interactions existing between anthropogenic pressures and ecological status of water bodies is therefore essential to identify priorities for action (challenges, substances ...), prioritize actions to implement within restoration programs (technical, fiscal, financial), but also to be able to communicate constructively and persuasively in talks between managers and the various stakeholders of coastal regions. Using the DPSIR methodology, this literature analysis has permitted to identify, for each WFD biological quality element (except fish), which pressures (or pressure types) are potentially relevant in the light of their impact on the indicators of the ecological status of water bodies. Some metrics and indicators of anthropogenic pressures used in the literature to characterize the sensitivity of the biological quality elements, within quantitative approaches, were also identified. It is also clear from this review that the biological quality elements can be particularly sensitive to intrinsic environmental conditions, and therefore to certain changes related to natural phenomena occurring at large scales (e.g. climate change, paroxysmal climate episode...). Therefore, when one is interested in the sensitivity of biological indicators to different anthropogenic pressures, two factors can complicate the analysis and are likely to weaken the resulting statistical relationships: on the one hand, the variability of biological responses depending on the natural context and, on the other hand, interactions (so called synergistic effects) between different types of anthropogenic pressures and the alterations they can generate.