1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of18July1978
onthequalityoffreshwatersneedingprotection orimprovementinordertosupportfishlife
(78/659/EEC)
(OJ L 222, 14.8.1978, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Directive 91/692/EEC of 23 December 1991 L 377 48 31.12.1991
►M2Council Regulation (EC) No 807/2003 of 14 April 2003 L 122 36 16.5.2003
Amended by:
►A1Act of Accessionof Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
►A2Act of Accessionof Spainan d Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
►A3Act of Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland C241 21 29.8.1994
(adapted by Council Decision 95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC) L 1 1 1.1.1995
▼B
COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of18July1978
on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement
inordertosupportfishlife
(78/659/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Articles 100 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(
1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Whereas the protection and improvement of the environment necessi-
tates concrete measures to protect waters against pollution, includingwaters capable of supporting freshwater fish;
Whereas it is necessary from the ecological and economic viewpoint to
safeguard fish populations from various harmful consequences,resulting from the discharge of pollutant substances into the waters,such as, in particular, the reduction in number of fish belonging to acertain species and even in some cases the disappearance of a number
of these species;
Whereas the programmes of actionof the EuropeanCommun ities on
the environment of 1973(
3) and 1977(4) provide that quality objectives
are to be jointly drawn up fixing the various requirements which anenvironment must meet, inter alia the definition of parameters for
water, including waters capable of supporting freshwater fish;
Whereas differences between the provisions already in force or in
preparationinthe various Member States as regards the quality ofwaters capable of supporting the life of freshwater fish may createunequal conditions of competition and thus directly affect the func-
tioning of the common market; whereas laws in the field should be
approximated as provided for by Article 100 of the Treaty;
Whereas it is necessary to couple this approximation of laws with
Community action aiming to achieve, by means of wider-rangingprovisions, one of the Community's objectives in the field of environ-
mental protection and the improvement of the quality of life; whereas
certain specific provisions must be laid down in this connection;whereas, since the specific powers of action required to this end havenot been provided for in the Treaty, it is necessary to invoke Article235 thereof;
Whereas, inorder to attainthe objectives of the Directive, the Member
States will have to designate the waters to which it will apply and willhave to set limit values corresponding to certain parameters; whereasaction will be taken to ensure that the waters so designated willconform to these values within five years of this designation;
Whereas provisionshould be made that waters capable of supportin g
freshwater fish will, under certain conditions, be deemed to conformto the relevant parametric values even if a certain percentage ofsamples taken does not comply with the limits specified in the Annex;
Whereas to ensure that the quality of waters capable of supporting
freshwater fish is checked, a minimum number of samples should betaken and the measurements relating to parameters set out in the Annex1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 30, 7. 2. 1977, p. 37.
(2) OJ No C 77, 30. 3. 1977, p. 2.
(3) OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 3.
(4) OJ No C 139, 13. 6. 1977, p. 3.
▼B
should be carried out; whereas such sampling may be reduced or
discontinued in the light of the quality of the water;
Whereas the Member States are unable to control certain natural
circumstances and it is therefore necessary to provide for the possibilityof derogating from this Directive in certain cases;
Whereas technical and scientific progress may make necessary the
rapid adaptationof certainof the requiremen ts laid downintheAnnexes to this Directive; whereas, in order to facilitate the introduc-
tionof the measures required for this purpose, a procedure should be
laid downwhereby close cooperationwould be established betweenthe Member States and the Commission within a Committee on Adap-tation to Technical and Scientific Progress,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
1. This Directive concerns the quality of fresh waters and applies to
those waters designated by the Member States as needing protection or
improvement in order to support fish life.
2. This Directive shall not apply to waters in natural or artificial fish
ponds used for intensive fish-farming.
3. The aim of this Directive is to protect or improve the quality of
those running or standing fresh waters which support or which, ifpollutionwere reduced or elimin ated, would become capable of
supporting fish belonging to:
— indigenous species offering a natural diversity, or
— species the presence of which is judged desirable for water manage-
ment purposes by the competent authorities of the Member States.
4. For the purposes of this Directive:
— salmonid waters shall mean waters which support or become
capable of supporting fish belonging to species such as salmon
(Salmo salar), trout (Salmo trutta), grayling (Thymallus thymallus)
and whitefish (Coregonus),
— cyprinid waters shall mean waters which support or become capable
of supporting fish belongingto the cyprinids (Cyprinidae), or other
species such as pike (Esox lucius), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and eel
(Anguilla anguilla).
Article 2
1. The physical and chemical parameters applicable to the waters
designated by the Member States are listed in Annex I.
2. For the purposes of applying these parameters, waters are divided
into salmonid waters and cyprinid waters.
Article 3
1. Member States shall, for the designated waters, set values for the
parameters listed in Annex I, in so far as values are listed in column G
or in column I. They shall comply with the comments contained ineach of these two columns.
2. Member States shall not set values less stringent than those listed
in column I of Annex I and shall endeavour to respect the values incolumn G taking into account the principle set out in Article 8.
Article 4
1. Member States shall, initially within a two year period following
the notification of this Directive, designate salmonid waters and
cyprinid waters.
2. Member States may subsequently make additional designations.1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 3
▼B
3. Member States may revise the designation of certain waters
owing to factors unforeseen at the time of designation, taking intoaccount the principle set out in Article 8.
Article 5
Member States shall establish programmes inorder to reduce pollution
and to ensure that designated waters conform within five years
following designation in accordance with Article 4 to both the values
set by the Member States in accordance with Article 3 and thecomments contained in columns G and I of Annex I.
Article 6
1. For the purposes of implementing Article 5, the designated waters
shall be deemed to conform to the provisions of this Directive ifsamples of such waters, taken at the minimum frequency specified inAnnex I at the same sampling point and over a period of 12 months,show that they conform to both the values set by the Member Statesin accordance with Article 3 and to the comments contained in
columns G and I of Annex I, in the case of:
— 95 % of the samples for the parameters: pH, BOD
5, non-ionized
ammonia, total ammonium, nitrites, total residual chlorine, totalzinc, and dissolved copper. When the sampling frequency is lowerthan one sample per month, both the abovementioned values and
comments shall be respected for all the samples,
— the percentages listed in Annex I for the parameters: temperature
and dissolved oxygen,
— the average concentration set for the parameter: suspended solids.
2. Instances in which the values set by Member States in accordance
with Article 3 or the comments contained in columns G and I of AnnexI are not respected shall not be taken into consideration in the calcula-
tionof the percen tages provided for inparagraph 1 whenthey are the
result of floods or other natural disasters.
Article 7
1. The competent authorities in the Member States shall carry out
sampling operations, the minimum frequency of which is laid down in
Annex I.
2. Where the competent authority records that the quality of desig-
nated waters is appreciably higher than that which would result fromthe application of the values set in accordance with Article 3 and thecomments contained in columns G and I of Annex I, the frequency ofthe sampling may be reduced. Where there is no pollution or no risk of
deteriorationinthe quality of the waters, the competen t authority
concerned may decide that no sampling is necessary.
3. If sampling shows that a value set by a Member State in accor-
dance with Article 3 or a comment contained in either of columns Gor I of Annex I is not respected, the Member State shall establishwhether this is the result of chance, a natural phenomenon or pollutionand shall adopt appropriate measures.
4. The exact sampling point, the distance from this point to the
nearest point where pollutants are discharged and the depth at which
the samples are to be takenshall be fixed by the competen t authority
of each Member State on the basis of local environmental conditions inparticular.
5. Certain reference methods of analysis for the parameters
concerned are set out in Annex I. Laboratories which employ othermethods shall ensure that the results obtained are equivalent or compar-able to those specified in Annex I.1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 4
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Article 8
Implementation of the measures taken pursuant to this Directive may
on no account lead, either directly or indirectly, to increased pollutionof fresh water.
Article 9
Member States may at any time set more stringent values for desig-
nated waters than those laid down in this Directive. They may alsolay down provisions relating to other parameters than those providedfor inthis Directive.
Article 10
When fresh waters cross or form national frontiers between Member
States and when one of these States considers designating these waters,these States shall consult each other in order to determine the stretchesof such waters to which the Directive might apply and the
conseauences to be drawn from the common quality objectives; these
consequences shall be determined, after formal consultations, by eachState concerned. The Commission may participate in these delibera-tions.
Article 11
The Member States may derogate from this Directive:
(a) in the case of certain parameters marked (0) in Annex I, because of
exceptional weather or special geographical conditions;
(b) when designated waters undergo natural enrichment in certain
substances, so that the values set out in Annex I are not respected.
Natural enrichment means the process whereby, without human
intervention, a given body of water receives from the soil certain
substances contained therein.
Article 12
Such amendments as are necessary for adapting to technical and scien-
tific progress:
— the G values for the parameters, and
— the methods of analysis,
contained in Annex I shall be adopted in accordance with the proce-
dure laid downinArticle 14.
Article 13
1. A Committee on Adaptation to Technical and Scientific Progress
(hereinafter called ‘the Committee’), consisting of representatives ofMember States and chaired by a Commission representative, is hereby
set up for the purpose laid downinArticle 12.
Article 14
1. The Commissionshall be assisted by the Committee onAdapta-
tion to Technical and Scientific Progress.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion1999/468/EC(1) shall apply.
The period laid downinArticle 5(6) of Decision1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.▼M2
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Article 15
For the purposes of applying this Directive, Member States shall
provide the Commission with information concerning:
— the waters designated in accordance with Article 4 (1) and (2), in
summary form,
— the revision of the designation of certain Waters in accordance with
Article 4 (3),
— the provisions laid down in order to establish new parameters in
accordance with Article 9,
— the applicationof the derogation s from the values listed incolumnI
in Annex I.
More generally, Member States shall provide the Commission, on a
reasoned request from the latter, with any information necessary forthe applicationof this Directive.
Article 16
At intervals of three years Member States shall send information to the
Commissiononthe implemen tationof this Directive, inthe form of a
sectoral report which shall also cover other pertinent Community
Directives. The report shall be drawn up on the basis of a questionnaireor outline drafted by the Commission in accordance with the procedurelaid downinArticle 6 of Directive 91/692/EEC(
1). The questionnaire
or outline shall be sent to the Member States six months before the
start of the period covered by the report. The report shall be sent to
the Commission within nine months of the end of the three-year periodcovered by it.
The first report shall cover the period 1993 to 1995 inclusive.The Commission shall publish a Community report on the implementa-
tion of the Directive within nine months of receiving the reports fromthe Member States.
Article 17
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive
within two years of its notification. They shall forthwith inform the
Commissionthereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the fieldgoverned by this Directive.
Article 18
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 6
(1) OJ No L 337, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.▼M1
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ANNEX I
LISTOFPARAMETERS
ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters
Methods of analysis or inspectionMinimum sampling and measuring
frequencyObservations
GIGI
1. Temperature
(ºC)1. Temperature measured downstream of a point of thermal
discharge (at the edge of the mixing zone) must not exceed the
unaffected temperature by more than:Thermometry Weekly, both upstream and
downstream of the point of
thermal dischargeOver-suddenvariation s in
temperature shall be avoided
1.5 ºC 3 ºC
Derogations limited in geographical scope may be decided by
Member States in particular conditions if the competent authority
can prove that there are no harmful consequences for the balanced
development of the fish population
2. Thermal discharges must not cause the temperature downstream
of the point of thermal discharge (at the edge of the mixing
zone) to exceed the following:
21.5 (0) 28 (0)
10 (0) 10 (0)
The 10 ºC temperature limit applies only to breeding periods of
species which need cold water for reproduction and only to waters
which may contain such species
Temperature limits may, however, be exceeded for 2 % of the
time.▼B1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 7
ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters
Methods of analysis or inspectionMinimum sampling and measuring
frequencyObservations
GIGI
2 Dissolved
oxygen(mg/l O2)50 %≥9
100 %≥750 %≥95 0 % ≥8
100 %≥550 %≥7 Winkler's method or specific
electrodes (electro-chemical
method)Monthly, minimum one sample
representative of low oxygen
conditions of the day of
sampling
However, where major daily
variations are suspected, a
minimum of two day samples
inon e day shall be takenWhenthe
oxygen
concentration
falls below6 mg/l,
Member
States shall
implement the
provisions of
Article 7 (3).
The compe-
tent authority
must prove
that this situa-
tionwill have
no harmful
consequences
for the
balanced
development
of the fish
populationWhenthe
oxygen
concentration
falls below4 mg/l,
Member
States shall
implement the
provisions of
Article 7 (3).
The compe-
tent authority
must prove
that this situa-
tionwill have
no harmful
consequences
for the
balanced
development
of the fish
population
3. pH 6 to 9 (0)(
1) 6 to 9 (0)(1) Electrometry calibrationby
means of two solutions with
known pH values, preferably
oneither side of, an d close to
the pH being measuredMonthly
4. Suspended
solids (mg/l)≤25 (0) ≤25 (0) Filtrationthrough a 0.45 µm
filtering membrane, or centrifu-
gation (five minutes minimum,
average accelerationof 2 800
to 3 200 g) drying at 105ºC
and weighingThe values chownare average
concentrations and do not apply
to suspended solids with harmful
chemical properties
Floods are liable to cause particu-
larly high concentrations▼B1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 8
ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters
Methods of analysis or inspectionMinimum sampling and measuring
frequencyObservations
GIGI
5. BOD5(mg/l O2) ≤3 ≤6 Determination of O2by the
Winkler method before and
after five days incubation in
complete darkness at 20 ± 1ºC
(nitrification should not be
inhibited)
6. Total phospho-
rus (mg/l P)Molecular absorptionspectro-
photometryInthe case of lakes of average
depth between18 an d 300 m, the
following formula could beapplied:
L/C2010Z
Tw1þﬃﬃﬃﬃﬃﬃ ﬃ
Twp /C16/C17
where:
L = loading expressed as mg P
per square metre lake
surface inon e year
Z = meandepth of lake in
metres
Tw = theoretical renewal time of
lake water inyears
Inother cases limit values of
0.2 mg/l for salmonid and of
0.4 mg/l for cyprinid waters,
expressed as PO4, may be
regarded as indicative in order to
reduce eutrophication
7. Nitrites
(mg/l NO2)≤0.01 ≤0.03 Molecular absorptionspectro-
photometry
8. Phenolic
compounds
(mg/l C6H5OH)(2)(2) By taste Anexamin ationby taste shall be
made only where the presense of
phenolic compounds is presumed▼B1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 9
ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters
Methods of analysis or inspectionMinimum sampling and measuring
frequencyObservations
GIGI
9. Petroleum
hydrocarbons(3)(3) Visual
By tasteMonthly A visual examination shall be
made regularly once a month,
with anexamin ationby taste
only where the presence of hydro-
carbons is presumed
10. Non-ionized
ammonia (mg/l
NH3)≤0.005 ≤0.025 ≤0.005 ≤0.025 Molecular absorptionspectro-
photometry using indophenol
blue or Nessler's method asso-
ciated with pH and temperature
determinationMonthly Values for non-ionized ammonia
may be exceeded inthe form of
minor peaks in the daytime In order to diminish the risk of toxicity due to non-ionized ammonia,
of oxygen consumption due to nitrification and of eutrophication, the
concentrations of total ammonium should not exceed the following:
11. Total ammo-
nium (mg/l
NH4)≤0.04 ≤1(4) ≤0.2 ≤1(4)
12. Total residual
chlorine (mg/l
HOCl)≤0.005 ≤0.005 DPD-method (dietyl- p-phenyle-
nediamene)Monthly The I-values correspond to pH = 6
Higher concentrations of total
chlorine can be accepted if the
pH is higher
13. Total zinc
(mg/l Zn)≤0.3 ≤1.0 Atomic absorption spectrometry Monthly The I-values correspond to a
water hardness of 100 mg/l
CaCO3.
For hardness levels between 10
and 500 mg/l corresponding limit
values can be found in Annex II
14. Dissolved
copper
(mg/l Cu)≤0.4 ≤0.04 Atomic absorptionspectrometry The G-values correspon d to a
water hardness of 100 mg/l
CaCO3.
For hardness levels between 10
and 300 mg/l corresponding limit
values can be found in Annex II
(1) Artificial pH variations with respect to the unaffected values shall not exceed ± 0.5 pH unit within the limits falling between 6.0 and 9.0 provided th at these variations do not increase the harmfulness of other substances present
inthe water.
(2) Phenolic compounds must not be present in such concentrations that they adversely affect fish flavour.
(3) Petroleum products must not be present in water in such quantities that they:
— form a visible film onthe surface of the water or form coatin gs onthe beds of water-courses an d lakes,▼B1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 10
— impart a detectable ‘hydrocarbon’ taste to fish,
— produce harmful effects infish.
(4) In particular geographical or climatic conditions and particularly in cases of low water temperature and of reduced nitrification or where the comp etent authority can prove that there are no harmful consequences for the balanced
development of the fish population, Member States may fix values higher than 1 mg/l.
General observation:
It should be noted that the parametric values listed in this Annex assume that the other parameters, whether mentioned in this Annex or not, are favoura ble. This implies, in particular, that the concentra-
tions of other harmful substances are very low.
Where two or more harmful substances are present in mixture, joint effects (additive, synergic or antagonistic effects) may be significant.G = guide.I = mandatory.
(0) = derogations are possible in accordance with Article 11.▼B1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 11
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ANNEX II
PARTICULARS REGARDING TOTAL ZINC AND DISSOLVED
COPPER
Totalzinc
(see Annex I, No 13, ‘Observations’ column)
Zinc concentrations (mg/l Zn) for different water hardness values between 10
and 500 mg/l CaCO3:
Water hardness (mg/l CaCO3)
10 50 100 500
Salmonid waters
(mg/l Zn)0.03 0.2 0.3 0.5
Cyprinid waters
(mg/l Zn)0.3 0.7 1.0 2.0
Dissolvedcopper
See Annex I, No 14, ‘Observations’ column)Dissolved copper concentrations (mg/l Cu) for different water hardness values
between10 an d 300 mg/l CaCO
3:
Water hardness (mg/l CaCO3)
10 50 100 300
mg/l Cu 0.005(1) 0.022 0.04 0.112
(1) The presence of fish in waters containing higher concentrations of copper may indicate
a predominance of dissolved organo-cupric complexes.1978L0659 — EN — 05.06.2003 — 003.001 — 12