Ecotoxicology

Bioassays for the routine assessment of water quality

In order to assess the water quality in rivers and streams impacted by treated wastewater using two different bioassays, an expert report is made available by the Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology Eawag-EPFL. 

Note: This method does not correspond to an official module based on the federal government’s Modular Stepwise Procedure (BUWAL 1998). It is an expert report.

A second report provides a comprehensive overview of currently available bioassays and their applicability to routine water quality monitoring. 

You can find further information regarding water quality assessments with ecotoxicological biotests here.

Recorded parameters:

Effects of photosystem inhibiting and estrogenic substances, by measuring the through measurement of photosynthesis and estrogenic activity.

Evaluation:

To quantify the inhibition of photosynthesis and estrogenic activity, the results are converted into bioanalytical equivalents (BEQ, also called TEQ toxic equivalents depending on the effect parameter considered). These bioanalytical equivalents (BEQs) determined by bioassay or chemical analysis are compared with the quality criteria for chronic pollution.

The evaluation is done in 5 quality classes.