- Gd 4 - hmwb

Guidance Document No 4
Identification and Designation of Heavily Modified and Artificial Water Bodies

Produced by Working Group 2.2 - HMWB

Disclaimer:
This technical document has been developed through a collaborative programme involving the European Commission, all the Member States, the Accession Countries, Norway and other stakeholders and Non-Governmental Organisations. The document should be regarded as presenting an informal consensus position on best practice agreed by all partners. However, the document does not necessarily represent the official, formal position of any of the partners. Hence, the views expressed in the document do not necessarily represent the views of the European Commission.

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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003

ISBN 92-894-5124-6

ISSN 1725-1087

© European Communities, 2003

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Foreword
The EU Member States, Norway and the European Commission have jointly developed a common strategy for supporting the implementation of the Directive 2000/60/EC, 'establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy' (the Water Framework Directive). The main aim of this strategy is to allow a coherent and harmonious implementation of the Directive. Focus is on methodological questions related to a common understanding of the technical and scientific implications of the Water Framework Directive.

One of the main short-term objectives of the strategy is the development of non-legally binding and practical Guidance Documents on various technical issues of the Directive. These Guidance Documents are targeted to those experts who are directly or indirectly implementing the Water Framework Directive in river basins. The structure, presentation and terminology is therefore adapted to the needs of these experts and formal, legalistic language is avoided wherever possible.

In the context of the above-mentioned strategy, an informal working group dedicated to the identification and designation of heavily modified and artificial water bodies within implementation of the Water Framework Directive was set up in April 2000 and named HMWB WG 2.2. The United Kingdom and Germany (Joint Chair) have the responsibility of the secretariat and co-ordination of the Working Group that is composed of representatives from 12 Member States and Norway as well as stakeholders and a limited number of Accession Country representatives.

The present Guidance Document is the outcome of this Working Group. It contains the main output of the HMWB Working Group activities and discussions that have taken place since April 2000. It builds on 34 case studies and on the input and feedback from a wide range of experts and stakeholders that have been involved throughout the process of the Guidance development through meetings, workshops, conferences or electronic communication media, without binding them in any way to its content.

We, the water directors of the European Union, Norway, Switzerland and the countries applying for accession to the European Union, have examined and endorsed this Guidance during our informal meeting under the Danish Presidency in Copenhagen (21/22 November 2002). We would like to thank the participants of the Working Group and, in particular, the leaders, Martin Marsden (Scottish Environment Protection Agency, UK), Dr. David Forrow (Environment Agency of England & Wales, UK), Dr. Ulrich Irmer and Dr. Bettina Rechenberg (Umweltbundesamt, D), for preparing this high quality document.

We strongly believe that this and other Guidance Documents developed under the Common Implementation Strategy will play a key role in the process of implementing the Water Framework Directive.

This Guidance Document is a living document that will need continuous input and improvements as application and experience build up in all countries of the European Union and beyond. We agree, however, that this document will be made publicly available in its current form in order to present it to a wider public as a basis for carrying forward ongoing implementation work.

Moreover, we welcome that several volunteers have committed themselves to test and validate this and other documents in the so-called pilot river basins across Europe during 2003 and 2004 in order to ensure that the Guidance is applicable in practice.


We also commit ourselves to assess and decide upon the necessity for reviewing this document following the pilot testing exercises and the first experiences gained in the initial stages of the implementation.