modular stepwise Procedure

A new procedure for the assessment of rivers and streams in Switzerland

The Modular Stepwise Procedure is a joint project of

the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN),
the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)
and cantonal water protection agencies.

The procedure provides a framework for investigating and assessing waterbodies using a variety of standardized methods, which make it possible to tailor watercourse assessment to needs, objectives and the broader context. The procedure is based on the concept of integrated protection that underlies the Water Protection Law of 1991, and it comprises a set of methods - so-called modules - from the fields of hydrology and morphology, biology, chemistry and ecotoxicology. Survey steps are classified into three levels of intensity. The methods elaborated represent implementation aids for the cantonal agencies.

The basic principle of the procedure and the first method were published in 1998 by the Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape SAEFL. Other methods will be published in the near future (in German and French only). Methods in print can be ordered at FOEN.

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