Water quality (SDG 6.3.2 )

The indicator tracks the percentage of water bodies in a country with good ambient water quality. “Good” indicates an ambient water quality that does not damage ecosystem function and human health according to core ambient water quality parameters and is set at the national level. This includes through in situ monitoring of 5 core parameters:

• dissolved oxygen (surface water)

• electrical conductivity (surface water and groundwater)

• nitrogen/nitrate (surface water and groundwater)

• phosphorus (surface water)

• pH (surface water and groundwater)

The Global Environment Monitoring Systems supports the collection of in situ data on water quality. As European countries already report through the EEA under the European Water Framework Directive there is a current effort to ensure alignment in order to reduce the reporting burden.

Contact: Hartwig Kremer; technical people in UNEP centers: Stuart Warner: (University College Cork); Debbie Chapman (University College Cork); Phillip Saile (BAFG, manages the GEMS database).

There are a number of opportunities to use new data, IoT (internet of things), citizen science, satellite imagery and modelling to understand water quality. The issue of using new/inexpensive IoT devices is of research and has come up in discussions with the EU and other partners. Modelling of nutrient run-off into water is included as a part of SDG 14.1.1 on coastal eutrophication and is also relevant for understanding nutrient loading in rivers and lakes. Chlorophyl-A and tropic state are also proxy indicators for water quality (as referenced in SDG 14.1.1). Using satellite imagery, chlorophyl-A deviations can be monitored in lakes. Currently, the use of satellite data for understanding water quality is included as part of SDG 6.6.1 on water ecosystems. - this is being developed under a collaboration between UNEP, Google and the EU Joint Research Centre. To include this approach for SDG 6.3.2, there is a need to better analyze the relationship between in situ nutrient concentrations and chlorophyl-a deviations (UNOOSA has recently issued a call for action this type of analysis; NASA and the Group on Earth Observation EO4SDG group is also interested in supporting countries to better make the connection between satellite data and in situ water quality data). On the citizen science side, water quality testing is an opportunity to build useful information and demonstrate the value of citizen science in a similar way to what was done for Air Quality. Debbie Chapman has been having discussions with Google and others on this topic. Additionally, there is a project in Ethiopia which will provide an opportunity to test this approach.

Contact: Hartwig Kremer; on SDG 6.6.1: Stuart Crane; NASA/EO4SDGs: Argyro Kavvada; UNOOSA: Nina Kickinger

The World Water Quality Alliance is a global assessment of the status of water globally. This alliance is also looking at existing and new data sources for better understanding water quality and thus will serve as a home for promoting an approach toward better monitoring of core SDG 6.3.2 parameters as well as additional parameters. The World Water Quality Alliance, which brings together a wide range of expertise in fields of water quality science, technology innovation, governance and diplomacy to seek solutions. This alliance is a collaboration between UNEP and the EU Joint Research Center.

Contact: Hartwig Kremer