British Standards Institution

Sector: Sustainability

Overview: Under the direction of EH/3, the Committee is responsible for the standardisation of methods used in the assessment of water quality, encompassing physical, chemical, biochemical, and radiological measurements. The Committee oversees the development, maintenance, and application of standards for: Physical, chemical, and biochemical analysis of water and Measurement of radioactivity in water for regulatory monitoring, research, and related purposes It also maintains responsibility for BS 2690 and BS 1427. The Committee provides coordinated UK input to relevant international and European bodies, including: ISO/TC147/SC2 (physical, chemical and biochemical methods), ISO/TC147/SC3 (radioactivity measurement) CEN/TC230/WG1 (water analysis) In addition, the Committee addresses all other matters related to the standardisation of water quality measurement methods within its scope, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, scientific advancements, and best practice.

Committee standards activity

In Progress (52)

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Reference	Standards description	Status ? The standards development process is divided into chronological stages: Proposal; Drafting; Public comment; Comment resolution; Approval; Published standard.
PD ISO/TR 26757	"Water quality - Determination of cyanide – Comparison of matrix specific quantitation limits, trueness and precision using all existing ISO methods" Categories: Unclassified documents Proposal begins :	Proposal
ISO/TC 147/SC 2 N 1996 , ISO/NP 17294-1 -	Water quality - Application of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) - Part 1: General guidelines Categories: Standardization. General rules \| Environment \| Water quality \| Water quality. General Proposal begins : 2020-06-24	Proposal
ISO/NP 25942	Water quality- determination of soluble silica in water Categories: Information management \| Standardization. General rules Proposal begins : 2025-05-27	Proposal
ISO/NP 25906	Water quality — Determination of total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by wet chemical heated persulfate oxidation, followed by colorimetric measurement Categories: Information management \| Standardization. General rules Proposal begins : 2025-05-06	Proposal
ISO/NP 25133	Water quality — Determination of Chlorophenols in water using sorptive extraction with thermal desorption by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry Categories: Information management \| Standardization. General rules Proposal begins : 2024-02-27	Proposal
ISO/NP 24606-1	Water quality -- Analysis of microplastics in drinking water and groundwater -- Part 1: Method using vibrational spectroscopy Categories: Environment \| Water quality \| Water. Natural resources \| Water. Drinking \| Water. Industrial use \| Water. Examination. General \| Water. Examination. Chemical substances \| Water. Examination. Biological properties \| Manufacturing \| Chemical technology \| Chemical analysis Proposal begins : 2019-08-27	Proposal
ISO/NP 21027	Water Quality -- Determination of total organic carbon for suspended solid containing water samples based on combined ultrasonic and alkaline extraction pretretment Categories: Information management \| Standardization. General rules \| Environment \| Water quality \| Water. Examination. Chemical substances \| Water. Examination. Biological properties Proposal begins : 2023-02-28	Proposal
ISO/NP 16094-3 -	Water quality -- Analysis of plastics in water - Part 3 - Thermo-analytical methods for waters with low content of natural suspended solids Categories: Standardization. General rules \| Environment \| Water quality \| Water. Examination. Chemical substances Proposal begins : 2022-01-10	Proposal
ISO/NP 15705	Water quality -- Determination of the chemical oxygen demand index (ST-COD) -- Small-scale sealedtube method Categories: Information management \| Standardization. General rules \| Environment \| Water quality \| Water quality. General \| Water. Examination. General \| Water. Examination. Chemical substances \| Water. Examination. Physical properties \| Water. Examination. Biological properties Proposal begins : 2020-12-07	Proposal
ISO/NP 13646 -	Water quality - Determination of selected oestrogens in whole water samples - Method using solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by gas chromatography coupled to mass Categories: Information management \| Standardization. General rules \| Environment \| Water quality \| Water quality. General \| Water quality. Other Proposal begins : 2021-12-21	Proposal

Published (161)

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Reference	Standards description	Status ? The standards development process is divided into chronological stages: Proposal; Drafting; Public comment; Comment resolution; Approval; Published standard.
PD ISO/TS 28581:2012	Water quality. Determination of selected non-polar substances. Method using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2012-06-06	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 21231:2019	Water quality. Characterization of analytical methods. Guidelines for the selection of a representative matrix Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2019-02-06	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 19620:2018	Water quality. Determination of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) species. Method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2018-01-15	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 17951-2:2016	Water quality. Determination of fluoride using flow analysis (FIA and CFA). Method using continuous flow analysis (CFA) with automated in-line distillation Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2016-09-22	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 17951-1:2016	Water quality. Determination of fluoride using flow analysis (FIA and CFA). Method using flow injection analysis (FIA) and spectrometric detection after off-line distillation Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2016-09-22	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 17379-2:2013	Water quality. Determination of selenium. Method using hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2013-07-08	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 17379-1:2013	Water quality. Determination of selenium. Method using hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2013-07-08	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 16780:2015	Water quality. Determination of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCN). Method using gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2015-08-26	Published standard
PD ISO/TS 15923-2:2017	Water quality. Determination of selected parameters by discrete analysis systems. Chromium(VI), fluoride, total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, iron, iron(II), manganese and aluminium with photometric detection Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2017-10-13	Published standard
PD CEN/TS 16692:2015	Water quality. Determination of tributyltin (TBT) in whole water samples. Method using solid phase extraction (SPE) with SPE disks and gas chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Published standard begins : 2015-04-10	Published standard

Withdrawn (61)

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Reference	Standards description	Status ? The standards development process is divided into chronological stages: Proposal; Drafting; Public comment; Comment resolution; Approval; Published standard.
PD ISO/TS 7013:2023	Water quality. Guidance and requirements for designing an interlaboratory trial for validation of analytical methods Categories: Water. Examination. General Withdrawn begins : 2025-06-18	Withdrawn
PD CEN/TS 16800:2015	Guideline for the validation of physico-chemical analytical methods Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2021-01-08	Withdrawn
BS ISO 9697:2015	Water quality. Gross beta activity in non-saline water. Test method using thick source Categories: Water. Examination. Physical properties \| Radiation protection Withdrawn begins : 2017-12-04	Withdrawn
BS ISO 27108:2010	Water quality. Determination of selected plant treatment agents and biocide products. Method using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2013-12-12	Withdrawn
BS ISO 23697-2:2023	Water quality. Determination of total bound nitrogen (ST-TNb) in water using small-scale sealed tubes. Chromotropic acid colour reaction Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2025-12-22	Withdrawn
BS ISO 23697-1:2023	Water quality. Determination of total bound nitrogen (ST-TNb) in water using small-scale sealed tubes. Dimethylphenol colour reaction Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2025-12-19	Withdrawn
BS ISO 23696-2:2023	Water quality. Determination of nitrate in water using small-scale sealed tubes. Chromotropic acid colour reaction Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2025-12-19	Withdrawn
BS ISO 23696-1:2023	Water quality. Determination of nitrate in water using small-scale sealed tubes. Dimethylphenol colour reaction Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2025-12-22	Withdrawn
BS ISO 23695:2023	Water quality. Determination of ammonium nitrogen in water. Small-scale sealed tube method Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2025-12-22	Withdrawn
BS ISO 22032:2006, BS 6068-2.99:2006	Water quality. Determination of selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sediment and sewage sludge. Method using extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry Categories: Water. Examination. Chemical substances Withdrawn begins : 2009-06-17	Withdrawn

Standards Development

EH/3/2 - Physical, Chemical, Biochemical and Radiological Methods of Water Analysis

Committee standards activity