Standards Development

Scope

The scope of the revised text is broadly the same as the original version. The Scope clause in the revised version of EN 16039:2011 says the following:

This European Standard is applicable to lakes, which are water bodies occupying one or more basins with surface areas typically greater than 1 ha (0.01 km2) and maximum depths (at mean water level) greater than 1 m. All types of permanent and temporary lakes, including natural, modified and artificial, freshwater and brackish, except for those systems which regularly connect to the sea, are included in this European Standard. Based on these criteria, it can be estimated that there are at least 500 000 natural lakes across Europe, most of which are located in the glaciated landscapes in northern and western provinces and in Scandinavia. Lakeland districts also occur locally in areas such as large river catchments (e.g. the Danubian plain) and around the Alps. Elsewhere, naturally occurring lakes are relatively sparse and in such areas reservoirs or pits are more common.

This European Standard is designed to: 

a) support environmental and conservation agencies in meeting the monitoring requirements of the WFD (Article 8, Annex II and Annex V);

b) generate data sets appropriate for monitoring and reporting of Natura 2000 sites designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive; 

c) provide information supporting other environmental reporting requirements (e.g. in relation to biodiversity or environmental impact assessment);

 d) support lake management and restoration initiatives.

This European Standard: 

e) defines the key term of ‘hydromorphology’ and other terms relating to the morphological characteristics of lakes and their hydrological regimes;

 f) details essential features and processes of lakes that should be characterized as part of a hydromorphological survey and for determining the hydromorphological condition of a lake;

g) identifies and defines the key pressures affecting European lakes;

h) provides guidance on strategies for collecting hydromorphological data depending on resources available and the anticipated use of the assessment; a hierarchy of approaches is recognized from the ‘overview method’ utilizing existing databases, maps and remote sensing data through to recognized fieldbased survey techniques such as Lake Habitat Survey (LHS) [3];

i) identifies and defines the key pressures affecting European lakes; 

j) establishes guidance on data quality assurance issues.

This European Standard does not deal with biological assessments in lakes such as the presence or absence of individual species or community composition, nor does it attempt to link specific hydromorphological features with their associated biological communities or to create a classification based on such links. However, it is relevant where plants or other organisms form significant structural elements of the habitat (e.g. a gradation from riparian to littoral vegetation).

With respect to the WFD, the hydromorphological condition of a lake only contributes to its status classification at high ecological status (HES). Hydromorphological conditions are not defined for good and moderate status but shall be sufficient to support the biological elements. However, some countries are now beginning to classify lakes according to their hydromorphology. The information gathered by using this standard can provide a basis for classification, but this classification is the subject of EN 16870 and not EN 16039.

Purpose

This proposal is for the revision of EN 16039:2011 ‘Water quality – Guidance standard on assessing the hydromorphological features of lakes. Note: This is a repeat of the NWIP ballot that ran from 2 July 2024 to 3 September 2024. The project was not activated as fewer than five members indicated their willingness to participate in the work. However, since then other members have indicated informally that they wish to participate, so this ballot will provide an opportunity for their willingness to be registered formally and for the project to proceed.

There are four principal reasons why this standard needs to be revised: 

1. The field of hydromorphology has moved on in the last decade. In particular there have been many advances in the use of remote sensing and these need to be reflected in the description of methods that can be applied to monitoring lake hydromorphology.

2. EN 16039:2011 is listed in Annex V of the Water Framework Directive by virtue of its inclusion in Commission Directive 2014/101/EU of 30 October 2014 amending Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. It is important that an uptodate version of EN 16039 is available for use under the WFD in place of the present one that is now 13 years old.

3. ECOSTAT has been gathering data from Member States on assessing lake hydromorphology for the WFD and the use of EN 16039 in doing so. There has therefore been an opportunity to ensure that improvements can be made that take account of experience in ECOSTAT and in using the standard to date.

4. There is a need to ensure that the standard remains relevant to its other nonWFD applications. For example, there is growing interest in bringing together work on WFD ecological status and the Habitats Directive assessments of favourable status. In addition, the standard will be relevant to staff in environment agencies, statutory conservation bodies, appropriate government departments, local authorities, national NGOs, restoration practitioners (e.g.environmental consultancies), landowners, and those involved in applied research relevant to lake conservation and restoration.