Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management

Duration:
03.2023 – 08.2024

Financing:
Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, opens an external URL in a new window

Contact Person:

Ottavia Zoboli

Project Staff:
Renata Kaps, Nikolaus Weber

Brief information on the project

Within the framework of this project, an improved knowledge base will be established so that both in the international context of future concepts at the EU level and in the national context, a more targeted discussion can be held on efficient monitoring strategies for trace substances in water bodies that are aligned with concrete objectives. To ensure this, the project addresses the central research question: ​“What differences in mean, as well as maximum, concentrations and annual loads can arise in water bodies in the course of one-year water body monitoring with different sampling strategies for trace substances?”

To investigate this, monitoring stations will be operated at rivers Wulka and Nodbach for one year. Turbidity, conductivity and water level will be measured continuously, and the discharge will be taken from the water level measurements of the Office of the Burgenland Provincial Government or derived from the measurements there. In addition, samples will be taken in a sampling rhythm of 14 days and composite samples will be taken over 14 days by two automatic, cooled samplers running in parallel. In one case, time-proportional sampling is implemented, and in the other, water level-proportional sampling is implemented.

Based on the concentration values determined via three different sampling concepts, mean and maximum annual concentrations as well as annual loads are calculated and compared with each other. Furthermore, in addition to the values determined from all samples, calculations will always be carried out on the basis of only 12 values per year in each case, in order to be able to evaluate the variability within a sampling concept at different sampling times.

The parameter selection for the analysis of the water samples consists of selected pharmaceuticals, pesticides, metals and PFAS. The pharmaceuticals represent predominantly dissolved transported parameters that originate largely from wastewater treatment plant effluents, while pesticides are characterized by variable use over time and thus water discharge. Metals represent substances that are predominantly diffusely discharged and transported in particulate form, and PFAS represent substances with a multiple discharge behavior.