Assessment of the Chemical Water Status: Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

Within the National Surface Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NAWA), water quality is recorded jointly by the federal and cantonal authorities at around 100 monitoring stations. The numerical requirement of 4 mg/l is used for the assessment in this data set. Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) can be an indicator of anthropogenic water pollution. The DOC consists of both naturally present and man-made components. The Waters Protection Ordinance specifies a numerical requirement range for DOC of 1 to 4 mg/l C. The chemical water status is assessed on the basis of the DOC concentration by the “Physicochemical Water Quality, Nutrients” method in the Modular Stepwise Procedure (www.modul-stufen-konzept.ch).