EN 14614:2004

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.Wasserbeschaffenheit - Anleitung zur Beurteilung hydromorphologischer Eigenschaften von FließgewässernQualité de l'eau - Guide pour l'évaluation des caractéristiques hydromorphologiques des rivieresWater Quality - Guidance standard for assessing the hydromorphological features of rivers13.080.01Kakovost tal in pedologija na splošnoSoil quality and pedology in general13.060.10Voda iz naravnih virovWater of natural resourcesICS:Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z:EN 14614:2004SIST EN 14614:2005en,fr,de01-februar-2005SIST EN 14614:2005SLOVENSKI
STANDARD
EUROPEAN STANDARDNORME EUROPÉENNEEUROPÄISCHE NORMEN 14614November 2004ICS 13.060.70English versionWater Quality - Guidance standard for assessing thehydromorphological features of riversQualité de l'eau - Guide pour l'évaluation descaractéristiques hydromorphologiques des rivièresWasserbeschaffenheit - Anleitung zur Beurteilunghydromorphologischer Eigenschaften von FließgewässernThis European Standard was approved by CEN on 23 September 2004.CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this EuropeanStandard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such nationalstandards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translationunder the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the officialversions.CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATIONCOMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATIONEUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNGManagement Centre: rue de Stassart, 36
B-1050 Brussels© 2004 CENAll rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reservedworldwide for CEN national Members.Ref. No. EN 14614:2004: ESIST EN 14614:2005

2 Terms and definitions For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. 2.1 aquatic macrophytes larger plants of fresh water which are easily seen with the naked eye, including all aquatic vascular plants, bryophytes, stoneworts (Characeae) and macro-algal growths NOTE This definition includes plants associated with open water or wetlands with shallow water. 2.2 attribute specific recorded element of a hydromorphological feature (e.g. ‘boulders’ and ‘silt’ are substrate attributes; ‘sheet piling’ and ‘gabions’ are attributes of engineered banks) 2.3 backwater area of low velocity or static water under dry-weather flows, most commonly former river channels or flood channels within the alluvial floodplain, connected to the river channel at least in periods of high flow 2.4 bank permanent side of a river or island, which is above the normal water level and only submerged during periods of high river flow NOTE In the context of this standard, the top is marked by the first major break in slope, above which cultivation or development is possible. 2.5 bankfull maximum point on banks at which floods are held within the channel before spilling over onto the floodplain 2.6 berm natural or artificial shelf within a river that is exposed above water level during low flows, but is submerged during high flows 2.7 bog wetland,
in which the vegetation communities (frequently dominated by Sphagnum mosses) form peat over long periods of time SIST EN 14614:2005

4 Survey requirements 4.1 River ‘types’ Describing and identifying river ‘types’ enables the results of hydromorphological surveys from similar types to be compared. In addition, defining ‘high status’, type-specific, reference conditions in rivers is a requirement of the WFD, allowing the quality of rivers to be compared in an equitable and ecologically meaningful way. Some hydromorphological assessment methods are not linked to river types but can still provide useful information for better river management; this standard therefore includes consideration of such methods. The core information required to define river types can usually be derived from maps or catchment-wide databases. Types may be refined by using information gathered during field surveys, or through input from expert opinion. It is recommended that as a minimum the following factors should be considered in the definition of river types: Size: e.g. stream order, catchment size, distance from source; Gradient: channel slope; Geology: a minimum of three categories, preferably more – e.g. siliceous, calcareous, mixed, organic; Geographical location: latitude and longitude; Altitude: altitude of source within the catchment, altitude of the reach being assessed; Hydrological regime: characteristic discharge patterns
Table 1 provides an example of the way in which physical and chemical features are used to derive river types in the legislative context of the WFD. In this example, rivers are ‘typed’ either according to geographic location (ecoregions) together with a set of obligatory ‘descriptors’ (System A), or using an equivalent approach based on ‘obligatory and optional factors’ (System B).
Table 1 — The two systems used in the Water Framework Directive to type rivers
System A
Key Factors Descriptors Altitude
high – > 800 m
mid-altitude – 200 m to 800 m
lowland – < 200m Size (based on catchment area) small – 10 km2 to 100 km2
medium – > 100 km2 to 1,000 km2
large – > 1,000 km2 to 10,000 km2
very large – > 10,000 km2 Geology
calcareous
siliceous
organic Ecoregion ecoregions shown on map in Annex XI of WFD System B
Obligatory factors altitude
latitude
longitude
geology
size Optional factors distance from source
energy of flow (function of flow and slope)
mean water width
mean water depth
mean water slope
form and shape of main river bed
river discharge (flow) category
valley shape
transport of solids
acid neutralising capacity
mean substratum composition
chloride
air temperature range
mean air temperature
precipitation SIST EN 14614:2005

The relationship between river type, river reach and survey unit is fundamental to survey strategy and assessment. An individual catchment needs first to be divided into river type(s) and then component reaches (Figure 1) based on the factors listed in Table 2. Table 2 — Factors determining reach boundaries Significant change in: • geology • valley form • slope • planform • discharge (input of significant tributary/change in stream order) • land use • sediment transport (lake, reservoir, dam, major weirs)
4.3 Survey strategy The reach provides the primary framework for survey. Reaches can be characterised hydromorphologically using various survey strategies (Figure 1). 4.3.1 Survey of the whole reach Single survey: the entire reach is assessed in a single survey unit. Contiguous survey: the reach is split into a series of contiguous survey units. 4.3.2 Sampling within a reach Survey units are located at random along the reach, or using any other statistically valid approaches. Survey design should take account of the objectives of the work and the reporting requirements. Where the primary objective is an overall assessment of a river reach, this can be obtained by combining the results from smaller survey units. Individual reaches can also be combined – for example, to assist in reporting the status of ‘water bodies’ under the WFD. In these cases the overall assessment should take account of the relative length of the constituent reaches. Where the sampling protocol option is used, care must be taken to ensure that the density of the site network is adequate for representing the overall character of the length of river assessed. If the survey is designed to characterise the hydromorphology of rivers over a wide area (rather than targeted on particular areas of impact) a stratified random sampling procedure may be used to survey only a proportion of sites (e.g. 10 %) within a type.
In contrast, where the purpose of a survey is to determine the impact of specific environmental pressures on hydromorphology (an aspect of ‘investigative monitoring’ in the WFD), a more focused survey strategy will be required. SIST EN 14614:2005

Key 1 Type A 7 Reach C2 2 Type B 8 Waterfall 3 Type C 9 Lake 4 Reach A1 10 Sample survey units within a reach 5 Reach B1 11 Contiguous survey units 6 Reach C1 12 Single survey unit Figure 1 — A hypothetical catchment showing the main types of approach to hydromorphological survey, set
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