Umweltbundesamt
In Germany the Federal States (Länder) have the responsibility for monitoring and assessment of surface waters. Important rules for these are defined in the Ordinance on the Protection of Surface Waters (Oberflächengewässerverordnung – OGewV). The requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) were transposed into this german law. read more
A classification of quality of the water body structure (see table below) developed by the Working Group of the Federal States on Water Issues (LAWA) describes a change in water structural quality in terms of deviation from its potential natural state (reference condition). Maps of water landscapes served to define reference conditions. On small to medium-sized watercourses, the morphological... read more
Biological water quality classification (saprobic system) is the oldest existing water quality classification, and a map has been published every five years since 1975 until 2000 by the Working Group of the Federal States on Water Issues (LAWA), the Biological Water Quality Map of Germany. It uses biological indicators (macrozoobenthos = invertebrates dwelling on the riverbed) to describe the oxyg... read more
The UBA’s motto, For our environment (“Für Mensch und Umwelt”), sums up our mission pretty well, we feel. In this video we give an insight into our work.
