78/659/EEC - - - I
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its con-
tents
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 18 July 1978
on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life
(78/659/EEC)
(OJ No L 222, 14. 8. 1978, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
Council Directive of 23 December 1991 (91/692/EEC) L 377 48 31. 12. 1991
Amended by:
Act concerning the Conditions of Accession and Adjustments to the
T reaties - - - Accession of the Hellenic Republic (179H)L 291 111 19. 11. 1979
Act concerning the Conditions of Accession and Adjustments to the
T reaties - - - Accession to the European Communities of the Kingdom of
Spain and the Portuguese Republic (185I)L 302 218 15. 11. 1985
78/659/EEC - - - I
ICOUNCIL DIRECTIVE
of 18 July 1978
on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life
(78/659/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMU-
NITIES,
Having regard to the T reaty 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 Parlia-
ment(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Whereas the protection and improvement of the environ-
ment necessitates concrete measures to protect waters
against pollution, including waters capable of supporting
freshwater fish;
Whereas it is necessary from the ecological and economic
viewpoint to safeguard fish populations from various harm-
ful consequences, resulting from the discharge of pollutant
substances into the waters, such as, in particular, the re-
duction in number of fish belonging to a certain species
and even in some cases the disappearance of a number of
these species;
Whereas the programmes of action of the European
Communities on the environment of 1973(3)and 1977(4)
provide that quality objectives are to be jointly drawn upfixing the various requirements which an environment must
meet, inter alia the definition of parameters for water, in-
cluding waters capable of supporting freshwater fish;
Whereas differences between the provisions already in
force or in preparation in the various Member States as
regards the quality of waters capable of supporting the life
of freshwater fish may create unequal conditions of com-petition and thus directly affect the functioning of the
common market; whereas laws in the field should be ap-
proximated as provided for by Article 100 of the T reaty;
Whereas it is necessary to couple this approximation of
laws with Community action aiming to achieve, by means
of wider-ranging provisions, one of the Community’s objec-
tives in the field of environmental protection and the im-
provement 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
have not been provided for in the T reaty, it is necessary to
invoke Article 235 thereof;
Whereas, in order to attain the objectives of the Directive,
the Member States will have to designate the waters to
which it will apply and will have to set limit values corre-
sponding to certain parameters; whereas action will be
taken to ensure that the waters so designated will conform
to these values within five years of this designation;
(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.
78/659/EEC - - - I
IIWhereas provision should be made that waters capable of
supporting freshwater fish will, under certain conditions, be
deemed to conform to the relevant parametric values even
if a certain percentage of samples 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 be taken and the measurements relating
to parameters set out in the Annex 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 pro-
vide for the possibility of derogating from this Directive in
certain cases;
Whereas technical and scientific progress may make
necessary the rapid adaptation of certain of the require-ments laid down in the Annexes to this Directive; whereas,
in order to facilitate the introduction of the measures re-
quired for this purpose, a procedure should be laid down
whereby close cooperation would be established between
the Member States and the Commission within a Commit-
tee on Adaptation to T echnical and Scientific Progress,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
78/659/EEC - - - I
1Article 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, if pollution were reduced or eliminated,
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 management purposes by the competent author-
ities 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 cy-
prinids (Cyprinidae), or other species such as pike
(Esox lucius), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and eel (Anguil-
la 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
v a l u e sa r el i s t e di nc o l u m nGo ri nc o l u m nI .T h e ys h a l l
comply with the comments contained in each 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 in column 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 sal-
monid waters and cyprinid waters.
2. Member States may subsequently make additional
designations.78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
23. Member States may revise the designation of certain
waters owing to factors unforeseen at the time of designa-
tion, taking into account the principle set out in Article 8.
Article 5
Member States shall establish programmes in order to re-
duce pollution and to ensure that designated waters con-form 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 the comments contained
in columns G and I of Annex I.
Article 6
1. For the purposes of implementing Article 5, the des-
ignated waters shall be deemed to conform to the provi-
s i o n so ft h i sD i r e c t i v ei fs a m p l e so fs u c hw a t e r s ,t a k e na t
the minimum frequency specified in Annex I at the same
sampling point and over a period of 12 months, show that
they conform to both the valuesset by the Member States
in accordance with Article 3 and to the comments con-
tained 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, total zinc, and dissolved copper.
When the sampling frequency is lower than one
sample per month, both the abovementioned valuesand 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: sus-
pended 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 Annex I are not respected shall not be
taken into consideration in the calculanon of the percen-
tages provided for in paragraph 1 when they 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
w h i c hi sl a i dd o w ni nA n n e xI .
2. Where the competent authority records that the qual-
ity of designated waters is appreciably higher than that
which would result from the application of the values setin accordance with Article 3 and the comments contained
in columns G and I of Annex I, the frequency of the
sampling may be reduced. Where there is no pollution or
no risk of deterioration in the quality of the waters, the
competent authority concerned may decide that no sampl-
ing is necessary.78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
33. If sampling shows that a value set by a Member State
in accordance with Article 3 or a comment contained in
either of columns G or I of Annex I is not respected, the
Member State shall establish whether this is the result of
chance, a natural phenomenon or pollution and 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 taken shall be
fixed by the competent authority of each Member State on
the basis of local environmental conditions in particular.
5. Certain reference methods of analysis for the para-
meters concerned are set out in Annex I. Laboratories
which employ other methods shall ensure float the results
obtained are equivalent or comparable to those specified
in Annex I.
Article 8
Implementation of the measures taken pursuant to this Di-
rective may on no account lead, either directly or indirect-
ly, to increased pollution of fresh water.
Article 9
Member States may at any time set more stringent values
for designated waters than those laid down in this Direc-
tive. They may also lay down provisions relating to otherparameters than those provided forin this Directive.
Article 10
When fresh waters cross or form national frontiers be-
tween Member States and when one of these States con-
siders designating these waters, these States shall consult
each other in order to determine the stretches of such
waters to which the Directive might apply and the con-
seauences to be drawn from the common quality objec-
tives; these consequences shall be determined, after formal
consultations, by each State concerned. The Commission
may participate in these deliberations.
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, with-
out human intervention, a given body of water re-
ceives from the soil certain substances contained
therein.78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
4Article 12
Such amendments as are necessary for adapting to techni-
cal and scientific progress:
— the G values for the parameters, and
— the methods of analysis,
contained in Annex I shall be adopted in accordance with
the procedure laid down in Article 14.
Article 13
1. A Committee on Adaptation to T echnical and Scien-
tific Progress (hereinafter called ‘the Committee’), consist-
ing of representatives of Member States and chaired by a
Commission representative, is hereby set up for the pur-
pose laid down in Article 12.
2. The Committee shall draw up its rules of procedure.
Article 14
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to
be followed, matters shall be referred to the Committee by
its chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request
of the representative of a Member State.
2. The Commission representative shall submit to the
Committee a draft of the measures to be adopted. The
Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a
time limit set by the chairman having regard to the
urgency of the matter. It shall act by a majority of 54
votes, the votes of the Member States being weighted as
provided for in Article 148 (2) of the T reaty. The chairman
shall not vote.
3.(a) The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged
where they are in accordance with the opinion of
the Committee.
(b) Where the measures envisaged are not in accordan-
ce with the opinion of the Committee, or if no opi-
nion is adopted, the Commission shall without delay
submit a proposal to the Council concerning the
measures to be adopted. The Council shall act by a
qualified majority.
(c) If, within three months of the proposals being sub-
mitted to it, the Council has not acted, the proposed
measures shall be adopted by the Commission.
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 inac-
cordance with Article 4 (3),78/659/EEC
185 I
78/659/EEC - - - I
5— the provisions laid down in order to establish new
parameters in accordance with Article 9,
— the application of the derogations from the values
listed in column I in Annex I.
More generally, Member States shall provide the Commis-
sion, on a reasoned request from the latter, with any in-
formation necessary for the application of this Directive.
Article 16
At intervals of three years Member States shall send in-
formation to the Commission on the implementation of
this Directive, in the form of a sectoral report which shall
also cover other pertinent Community Directives. The re-
port shall be drawn up on the basis other of a questionn-
aire or outline drafted by the Commission in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 6 of Directive
91/692/EEC(5). 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 made to
the Commission within nine months of the end of the
three-year period covered by it.
The first report shall cover the period 1995 to 1997 inclus-
ive.
The Commission shall publish a Community report on the
implementation of the Directive within nine months of re-
ceiving the reports from the Member States.
Article 17
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regula-
tions and administrative provisions necessary to comply
with this Directive within two years of its notification.
They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission
the texts of the main provisions of national law which they
adopt in the field governed by this Directive.
Article 18
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
(5)OJ No L 377, 31. 12. 1991, p. 48.78/659/EEC
91/692/EEC
78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
6ANNEX I
LIST OF PARAMETERS
ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters Methods o fanalysis
orinspectionMinimum sampling
andmeasuringfre Observations Parame ter
G I G Iorinspec tion andmeasur ingfre-
quencyObserva tions
1. T emperature
(˚C)1. T emperature 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 ups-tream and down-stream of the point
of thermal dischargeOver-sudden varia-
tions in temperatureshall be avoided
1.5˚C 3˚C
Derogations limited in geographical scope may be decided by Member States in parti-
cular conditions if the competent authority can prove that there are no harmfulconsequences for the balanced development of the fish population
2. Thermal discharges must not cause the temperature downstream of the point of ther-
mal discharge (at the edge of the mixting zone) to exceed the following:
21.5 (0) 28 (0)
10 (0) 10 (0)
The 10 ˚C temperature limit applies only to breeding periods of species which need
cold water for reproduction and only to waters which may contain such species
T emperature limits may, however, be exceeded for 2 % of the time.78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
7ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters Methods o fanalysis
orinspectionMinimum sampling
andmeasuringfre Observations Parame ter
G I G Iorinspec tion andmeasur ingfre-
quencyObserva tions
2 Dissolved
oxygen (mg/lO
2)50 %²9
100 %²750 %²9
When the oxygen
concentration falls
below 6 mg/l, Mem-
ber States shall im-
plement the provi-
sions of Article 7(3). The comptetent
authority must pro-
ve that this situation
will have no harmful
consequences forthe balanced deve-
lopment of the fish
population50 %²8
100 %²750 %²7
When the oxygen
concentration falls
below 4 mg/l, Mem-
ber States shall im-
plement the provi-
sions of Article 7(3). The comptetent
authority must pro-
ve that this situation
will have no harmful
consequences forthe balanced deve-
lopment of the fish
populationWinkler’s method orspecific electrodes(eletro-chemical
method)Monthly, minimum
o n es a m p l er e p r e -sentative of low oxy-
gen conditions of
the day of sampling
However, where ma-
jor daily variations
are suspected, a mi-
nimum of two sam-
ples in one day shall
be taken
3. pH 6-9 (0)
(1)6-9 (0)
(1)Electrometry cali-bration by means oftwo solutions with
known pH values,
preferably on either
side of, and blose to
the pH being mea-suredMonthly
4. Suspended
solids (mg/l)±25 (0) ±25 (0) Filtration through a
0.45 ←mf i l t e r i n g
membrane, or cen-
trifugation (five
minutes minimum,
average acceleration
of 2 800 to 3 200 g)drying at 105 ˚Ca n d
weighingThe values chown are
average concentra-tions and do not ap-
ply to suspended so-
lids with harmful che-
mical properties
Floods are liable to
cause particularly
high concentrations78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
8ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters Methods o fanalysis
orinspectionMinimum sampling
andmeasuringfre Observations Parame ter
G I G Iorinspec tion andmeasur ingfre-
quencyObserva tions
5. BOD 5(mg/l
O2)±3 ±6 Determination of
O2by the Winkler
method before and
after five days incu-
bation in complete
darkness at 20 ±
1˚C. (nitrification
should not be inhibi-
ted)
6. T otal phos-
phorus(mg/l P)Molecular absorp-tion spectrophoto-metry In the case of lakes ofaverage depth bet-ween 18 and 300 m,
the following formula
could be applied:
L≤10Z
Tw(1+Tw)
where:
=l o a d i n g e x -
pressed asmg P per
square me-
t r el a k es u r -
face in one
yearL
=m e a nd e p t h
of lake inmetresZ
= theoretical
renewaltime of lake
water in
yearsTw78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
9ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters Methods o fanalysis
orinspectionMinimum sampling
andmeasuringfre Observations Parame ter
G I G Iorinspec tion andmeasur ingfre-
quencyObserva tions
In other cases limitvalues of 0.2 mg/l forsalmonid and of 0.4
mg/l for cyprinid wa-
ters, expressed as
PO
4, may be regar-
ded as indicativeinorder to reduce eu-
trophication
7. Nitrites
(mg/l NO 2)±0.01 ±0.03 Molecular absorp-
tion spectrophoto-metry
8. Phenolic
compounds(mg/l
C
6H5OH)(2) (2) By taste An examination by
taste shall be madeonly where the pre-
sence of phenolic
c o m p o u n d si sp r e s u -
med
9. Petroleum
hydrocar-bons(3) (3) Visual
By tasteMonthly Av i s u a le x a m i n a t i o n
shall be made regu-larly once a month,
with an examination
by taste only where
t h ep r e s e n c eo fh y -
drocrbons is presu-med78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
10ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters Methods o fanalysis
orinspectionMinimum sampling
andmeasuringfre Observations Parame ter
G I G Iorinspec tion andmeasur ingfre-
quencyObserva tions
10. Non-ionized
ammonia(mg/l NH
3)±0.005 ±0.025 ±0.005 ±0.025 Molecular absorp-
tion spectrophoto-metry using indo-
phenol blue or
Nessler’s method as-
sociated with pH
and temperature de-terminationMonthly V alues for non-ioni-zed ammonia may beexceeded in the form
of minor peaks in the
daytime
In order to diminish the risk of toxicity due to non-ionized ammonia, of oxygenconsumption due to nitrification and of eutrophication, the concentrations of totalammonium should not exceed the following:
11. T otal ammo-
nium(mg/l NH
4)±0.04 ±1(4) ±0.2 ±1(4)
12. T otal resi-
dual chlori-ne
(mg/l HOCl)±0.005 ±0.005 DPD-method (die-
tyl-p-phenylenedia-mene)Monthly The I-values corres-pond to pH = 6Higher concentra-
tions of total chlorine
can be accepted if the
pH is higher
13. T otal zinc
(mg/l Zn)±0.3 ±1.0 Atomic absorption
spectrometryMonthly The I-values corres-pond to a water hard-ness of 100 mg/l
CacO
3. For hardness
levels between 10
and 500 mg/l corres-
ponding limit valuescan be found in An-
nex II78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
11ParameterSalmonid waters Cyprinid waters Methods o fanalysis
orinspectionMinimum sampling
andmeasuringfre Observations Parame ter
G I G Iorinspec tion andmeasur ingfre-
quencyObserva tions
14. Dissolved
copper(mg/l Cu)±0.4 ±0.04 Atomic absorption
spectrometryThe G-values corres-pond to a water hard-ness of 100 mg/l
CacO
3. For hardness
levels between 10
and 300 mg/l corres-
ponding limit valuescan 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 in the 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 on the surface of the water or form coatings on the beds of water-courses and lakes,
— impart a detectable ‘hydrocarbon’ taste to fish,
— produce harmful effects in fish.
(4) In particular geographical or climatic conditions and particularly in cases of law 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 concentrations of other harmful substrances 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 11.78/659/EEC
78/659/EEC - - - I
12ANNEX II
PARTICULARS REGARDING TOTAL ZINC AND
DISSOLVED COPPER
To t a l z i n c
(see Annex I, No 13, ‘Observations’ column)
Zinc concentrations (mg/l Zn) for different water hardness
values between 10 and 500 mg/l CaCO 3:
Water hardness (mg/l CaCO 3)
10 50 50 500
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
Dissolved copper
See annex I, No 14, ‘Observations’ column)
Dissolved copper concentrations (mg/l Cu) for different
water hardness values between 10 and 300 mg/l CaCO 3:
Water hardness (mg/l CaCO 3)
10 50 50 300
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-cupriccomplexes.78/659/EEC