The Norwegian river monitoring programme 2021 – water quality status and trends

Abstract

In the Norwegian River Monitoring Programme (in Norwegian: Elveovervåkingsprogrammet) 20 rivers along the Norwegian coast are monitored for physical and chemical parameters. This report presents the current status (2021) and long-term (19902021) trends in suspended particles, organic matter, nutrients, and metals. EU Water Framework Directive priority substances and river basin-specific pollutants (trace metals and organic pollutants) from five rivers are compared with annual average environmental quality standards (AA-EQS). The report also presents light absorbance indices for characterisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the rivers, and high-frequency measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and fluorescent DOM (fDOM) in two rivers; Storelva (southern Norway) and Målselva (northern Norway).