Water Quality

Catchment & Strategic Water Quality Assessments

At JBA, we are able to present to you a full picture of ecological status with summaries of environmental metrics useful for strategic and detailed decision making.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires that all aspects influencing the health of our water environment are tied together.  Whilst we can use strategic chemical water quality sampling and modelling to understand the chemical health of a river, this does not tell the whole story of the health of our aquatic and riparian ecosystems.  To understand this, the long-term influences on habitat (including geomorphology, climate change, low and high flow regimes, land management and diffuse pollution) all need to be considered.  Measures of biological health are the only true measure that can give the full picture of ecological good status for the Water Framework Directive.

We are able to assist by bringing together these different elements to understand the health of our aquatic environment. 

JBA also has experience in providing commercial operators with desktop studies of background water quality potentially affected by a development.  We are able to carry out the fieldwork required to collect water quality sampling from a range of water environments which are analysed and presented in a laboratory report.  A wide range of determinants testing can be provided or more specific chemical components can be targeted within a water environment.

All of the sampling is conducted by experienced personnel using standard sampling protocol procedures and laboratory prepared containers. All samples will be courier all samples, under chain of custody, to a UK UKAS and mCerts accredited laboratory. Upon receipt of the analytical laboratory report we will interpret and report on the results. Compliance with licence/planning conditions will be commented upon.

Water Quality Modelling

Our Geographical Information System (GIS) tools help describe geomorphological typology in the form of the Watershed Toolbox and we undertake the design and build of GIS tools for clients that manipulate and query raster and vector data to provide robust solutions for particular problems.  Coupled with this, we offer a rich suite of statistical tools honed for the river environment, for example, time series analysis, interpolation of probability along networks and frequency analysis of spatial data.

JBA use the following water quality modelling tools:

  • MCarlo
  • SIMCAT with difuse pollution for CSF
  • SAGIS
  • FACER (Farm and Catchment and River)
  • DHI Ecolab-DHI-MIKE11/21/3d
  • Infoworks - water quality
  • ICM
  • MIKE BASIN

Services Provided

JBA Consulting offers the following services:

  • Full surface water, and groundwater baseline monitoring and reporting  for environmental impact assessments
  • Full surface water, and groundwater compliance monitoring and reporting for waste licences and IE licences
  • Estuarine and marine water sampling and reporting
  • Leachate monitoring at landfill site

Experience

JBA Consulting’s experience in environmental monitoring has enabled it to provide full environmental water quality monitoring services. Our environmental monitoring services include compliance monitoring as part of a waste licence or an IE licence or for a baseline assessment for an environmental impact assessment. We have also conducted water quality monitoring as part of a pollution incident.

We have specific experince in the following areas:

  • Surface water and groundwater assessments for environmental impact assessments for the waste, commercial, and quarrying industries and residential developments
  • Leachate sampling at landfill sites and waste management facilities
  • Water pollution investigations and spillages
  • Investigations for contaminated groundwater and surface water