MEETING GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Since 2015, the study of the trophic status and ecological potential of reservoirs as well as the ecological status/potential of their tributary and receiving rivers has been carried out.

The study of the quality of the different water bodies is carried out based on the biological, physicochemical, chemical, and hydromorphological quality elements established in RD 817/2015 and the Western Cantabrian Hydrological Plan.

This study is carried out by using a boat in reservoirs and taking an integrated sample of the water column using a Niskins-type hydrographic bottle and physicochemical characterization of the water column using a multiparametric probe. Subsequently, in the laboratory, the quantification and identification of the phytoplankton community are carried out for the calculation of the different biological indices. The concentration of chlorophyll a was also determined using spectrophotometric techniques, in order to determine the ecological potential of the reservoir.

On the other hand, the ecological status/potential of tributary and receiving rivers is determined through the study of the different quality elements, established in RD 817/2015 and the Western Cantabrian Hydrological Plan: biological (diatoms, macroinvertebrates, and macrophytes), hydromorphological and physicochemical (pH, oxygen concentration and saturation and concentration of ammonium, nitrate and phosphate).