Brasilia, 29 of November, 1999

Dear Mrs./Mr.,

I am a consultant of the Organization of the American States (OAS) and work at the Ministry of Environment, Secretariat of Water Resources in Brazil. The reason of contact is my search for methods (decision support system) to develop Water Quality Objectives.

The Brazilian Federal Law No 9,433, dated January 8, 1997, establishes the National Water Resource Policy and creates the National Water Resources Management System. The Law considers the following principles: water as public property; water is a limited natural resources, which has economic value; in situations of scarcity the priority use is given to human and animal consumption; water resources management should always allow the multiple uses of water; the river basin is the national unit for the implementation of the National Water Resource Policy and the actions of the National Water Resources Management System and; the management of water resources should be decentralized and involve the participation of the Government, the users of water and the community.

One of the instruments of the National Water Policy is the classification of water bodies according to the principal uses of water. The objectives of this planning instrument are: to ensure the water quality that is compatible with the most demanding uses for which the water is intended and to reduce the costs of combating water pollution through constant preventive actions.

At this moment, the Secretariat is starting to develop a methodology (decision support system) with the intention to implement this instrument on national scale. It is therefore of great interest for our institution to obtain information about the methods used in other countries to develop Water Quality Objectives.

To develop and implement WQO’s in Brazil it is very important to know how this process is done in detail in your country. We are especially interested in how exactly Water Quality Objectives are set (in terms of methodology). Which activities are needed, how economic aspects are considered, how the population is involved, which computer models are used for this decision process, which parameters are used to calculate/decide which objective (water use) has to be chosen, how future growth of population, water consumption and economic activity are calculated etc. To be short, we are interested in detailed information of all the activities to be done to set WQO´s.

It would be of great help if you could answer the following questionnaire or could indicate me an institution working on this subject. Please send your reaction to:

E-mail: jorgen-michel.leeuwestein@mma.gov.br.

or jorgenml@yawl.com.br

Fax: 00 55 (61) 223 5366

Address: SQS. 107, Bloco H, Apt. 607, Brasília - DF, Brasil. CEP: 70.346-080

I am looking forward to your response and thank you for your co-operation.

 

Yours Sincerely,

Jorgen Michel Leeuwestein

 

  1. Does your country have a specific water law?

    2. Yes, Law ___________ No ______ of __________ of 19___

    No

  2. Does your country use Water Quality Objectives as an instrument of water management?

    3. Yes, regulated by ______________ of ________ of 19___

    Yes, regulated by ______________ of ________ of 19___

    Yes, regulated by ______________ of ________ of 19___

    (please, annex all legislation including aspects related to classes/categories of water uses, parameters and concentrations)

    No

  3. Which institution is responsible for activities related to this instrument?

    4. Institution:

    Department:

    Coordinator:

    Address:

    Tel.: ( ) Fax: ( )

    E-mail:

  4. The method (decision support system) used to set WQO´s consist of the following activities (please detail):

    5.  

  5. Other aspects of interest: