Guidelines for surface water quality monitoring in small agricultural watersheds / : Points repères pour le suivi de la qualité des eaux de surface dans les petits bassins versants agricoles

However, the analysis of these programs reveals that they are often evaluated on the basis of the specific measures implemented (e.g., number of kilometres of riparian buffers created), but seldom on the basis of the results obtained in terms of actual water quality improvements. [...] The objectives of a project must be clearly adapted to the hydrographic regime of the water body to be evaluated, to the type of actions considered and to the available resources. [...] Monitoring of the contribution of a watershed This type of monitoring consists of determining the pollutant load of a stream relative to other streams that flow into the same body of water and typically focuses on only a few indicators simultaneously. [...] Therefore, in order to be able to measure the difference between the actual effects of actions taken and the differences in “behaviour” of the two watersheds, it is important to first conduct a detailed characterization of the watersheds and to have a sufficiently long reference period to be able to subsequently detect changes in water quality associated with agricultural practices. [...] With respect to the protection of freshwater, the report proposes standards that, on the basis of the indicators, vary depending on the size of the streams and the ecosystem in which the stream is located.