Waters Protection Ordinance | Lexipedia

The Swiss Federal Council,

based on Articles 9, 14 paragraph 7, 16, 19 paragraph 1, 27 paragraph 2,
36 a paragraph 2, 46 paragraph 2, 47 paragraph 1 and 57 paragraph 4 of the Waters Protection Act of 24 January 1991 ¹ (WPA), ²

ordains:

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Art. 1 Purpose and principle

This Ordinance shall facilitate the protection of surface and underground waters from harmful effects and enable their sustainable use.

For this purpose, all measures taken under this Ordinance must take account of the ecological goals for waters (Annex 1).

Art. 2 Scope

This Ordinance regulates:

the ecological goals for waters;
the requirements on water quality;
the disposal of wastewater;
the disposal of sewage sludge;
the requirements for animal husbandry farms;
the protection of waters in terms of area planning;
the maintenance of appropriate residual flow;
³ the prevention and remediation of other harmful effects on waters;
the payment of federal contributions.

The Ordinance applies to radioactive substances, insofar as such substances have biological effects resulting from their chemical characteristics. Insofar as these substances have biological effects resulting from radiation, the legislation on radiation protection and nuclear energy applies.

Chapter 2 Disposal of Wastewater

Section 1 Differentiation between Polluted and Non-Polluted Wastewater

Art. 3

The authorities shall assess whether wastewater entering a body of water by way of discharge or infiltration is considered to be polluted or non-polluted, taking account of:

the type, the amount, the characteristics and the temporal occurrence of potential water pollutants substances in the wastewater;
the condition of the receiving waters.

During infiltration of wastewater, they shall also take account of whether:

wastewater can be polluted because of existing soil pollution or the unsaturated subsoil;
⁴ wastewater is sufficiently purified in the soil or in the unsaturated subsoil;
guide values under the Ordinance of 1 July 1998⁵ on the Pollution of Soil (SoilPO) can be maintained in the long term, excepting infiltration into a plant intended for this purpose, or onto roads next to embankments or grass verges.

Precipitation water running off built-up or sealed surfaces is as a rule considered to be non-polluted wastewater if it:

originates from roof surfaces;
⁶ originates from roads, paths and areas on which no substantial amounts of potential water pollutants are unloaded, processed and stored and if they are sufficiently purified by infiltration into the ground. In assessing whether amounts of substances are substantial, the risk of accidents must be taken into consideration;
⁷ originates from track installations where there is a long-term guarantee that pesticides will not be used or if pesticides have been sufficiently retained and degraded by a biologically active layer of soil.

Section 2 Drainage Planning

Art. 4 Regional drainage planning

The cantons shall ensure that a regional drainage plan (RDP) is drawn up to guarantee appropriate waters protection in a limited, hydrologically-related area in which waters protection measures of the communes must be coordinated.

The RDP determines in particular:

the locations of wastewater treatment plants and areas which are to be joined to them;
which and to what extent surface waters are suitable for the discharge of wastewater, particularly that arising from precipitation;
the wastewater treatment plants for which requirements in respect of discharge of wastewater must be stricter or supplemented.

In drawing up the RDP, the authorities shall take account of spatial requirements of waters, flood protection and measures for waters protection other than wastewater treatment.

The RDP is mandatory for planning and establishing of waters protection measures in communes.

It shall be accessible to the public.

Art. 5 Communal drainage planning

The cantons shall ensure that general drainage plans (GDP) are drawn up which guarantee adequate waters protection in communes and effective drainage of housing areas.

The GDP shall specify as a minimum:

wastewater treatment areas that must be served by public sewers;
areas in which precipitation water running off built-up or sealed surfaces must be disposed of separately from other wastewater;
areas in which non-polluted wastewater must be allowed to infiltrate;
areas in which non-polluted wastewater must be discharged into surfacewaters;
measures by which non-polluted wastewater with permanent flow must be kept away from wastewater treatment plants;
the locations where wastewater treatment plantsmust be set up, and withwhich treatment system and with what capacity;
areas in which systems other than wastewater treatment plants must be used, and how, in these areas, wastewater is to be disposed of.

The GDP shall be adjusted if necessary:

to take account of developments in housing areas;
if a RDP is drawn up or changed.

It shall be accessible to the public.

Section 3 Discharge of Polluted Wastewater

Art. 6 Discharge into waters

The authorities shall authorise the discharge of polluted wastewater into surfacewaters, drainage areas, underground rivers and streams if the requirements on discharge into waters according to Annex 3 are complied with.

They shall set additional or stricter requirements, if:

the waters concerned by the discharge of wastewater do not fulfil water quality requirements according to Annex 2 or if this is necessary to comply with international agreements or decisions; and
on the basis of investigation (Art. 47) it is certain that deficient water quality is largely due to discharge of wastewater, and procedures necessary to comply are not disproportionate for the wastewater treatment plant.

They may set additional or stricter requirements if the water quality according to Annex 2 is not sufficient for a specific use of the body of water concerned.

They may apply less stringent requirements if:

by reducing the amounts of wastewater discharged, fewer potential water pollutants are discharged even though the concentrations allowed are higher; or
the environment as a whole is less impaired by the discharge of non-recyclable substances in industrial wastewater than by another method of disposal; requirements on water quality according to Annex 2 and international agreements or decisions must be complied with.

Art. 7 Discharge into public sewers

The authorities shall authorise discharge of wastewater from industry according to Annex 3.2 or of other wastewater according to Annex 3.3 into public sewers if the requirements of the relevant Annex are complied with.

They shall set additional or stricter requirementsif by discharge of wastewater:

operation of public sewers may be restricted or disrupted;
in the case of wastewater from the central wastewater treatment plant, the requirements on discharge into a body of water are not met or may only be met by disproportionate measures, or could restrict or disrupt the operation of the plant in another way; or
⁸ ...
the operation of the plant in which sludge is incinerated may restricted or disrupted.

They may apply less stringent requirements if:

by reducing the amounts of wastewater discharged, fewer potential water pollutants are discharged even though the concentrations allowed are higher;
the environment as a whole will be less impaired by the discharge of non-recyclable substances in industrial wastewater than by another disposal method,and in the case of wastewater from the central wastewater treatment plant, requirements on discharge into a body of water are met; or
this is appropriate for the operation of the wastewater treatment plant.

Art. 8 Infiltration

The infiltration of polluted wastewater is prohibited.

The authorities may authorise the infiltration of communal wastewater or of other polluted wastewater of comparable composition, if:

the wastewater has been treated and meets the requirements for discharge into waters;
in the case of the groundwater concerned, water quality requirements according to Annex 2 are met after infiltration of the wastewater;
infiltration ensues at an installation intended for the purpose, the directives of the SoilPO⁹ are not exceeded even in the long term, or in the absence of directives soil fertility is also guaranteed in the long term; and
requirements valid for wastewater treatment plants which discharge wastewater into a body of water are met (Arts. 13–17).

Art. 9 Wastewater of specific origin

Polluted wastewater occurring outside public sewers for which neither discharge into waters, nor infiltration, nor use combined with farm manure (Art. 12 para. 4 WPA) is permitted must be collected in a cesspit which is regularly emptied with its contents being transferred to a central wastewater treatment plant or facility for special treatment.

Wastewater from processing farm manure, hydroponics and other horticultural methods must be used in an environmentally compatible manner and reused agriculturally or horticulturally according to the state of the art.

Wastewater from mobile sanitation facilities must be collected and may be discharged into public sewers only by using equipment intended for this purpose. Excluded from this are sanitation facilities in:

railway carriages with their own wastewater treatment facilities;
railway carriages for long-distance traffic which were commissioned before 1 January 1 1997;
railway carriages for regional or urban traffic which were commissioned before 1 January 2000.

Art. 10 Prohibition of waste disposal with wastewater

It is prohibited:

to dispose of solid and liquid wastes with wastewater unless this is expedient for treatment of wastewater;
to discharge substances in a way which is contrary to instructions on the manufacturer’s label or in the directions for use.

Section 4 Construction and Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants

Art. 11 Separation of wastewater in buildings

During construction or substantial building alterations, the persons responsible for the buildings must ensure that precipitation water and permanent flows of non-polluted wastewater are channelled off separately from polluted wastewater prior to reaching the outside of the building.

Art. 12 Connection to sewers

The discharge of polluted wastewater into public sewers outside building zones (Art. 11 para. 2 let. c WPA) is:

expedient if the connection may be constructed properly and with standard building expenditure;
reasonable if the costs of the connection do not substantially exceed those for comparable connections within the building zone.

The authorities may only authorise new discharges of permanent flows of non-polluted wastewater into a central wastewater treatment plant (Art. 12 para. 3 WPA) if local conditions do not permit infiltration or discharge into a body of water

In order for a farm to qualify for exemption from the bond to be connected to the public sewers (Art 12 para. 4 WPA), its cattle and pig stock must comprise at least eight livestock units.

Art. 13 Expert operation

Persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants must:

maintain the facilities in working order;
identify cases of divergence from normal operation, clarify the causes and immediately rectify these;
during operation take all reasonable measures to contribute to reducing the amount of substances discharged.

Persons responsible for enterprises discharging industrial wastewater into public sewers as well as persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants discharging wastewater into the public sewers or into a body of water must ensure that:

those responsible for the operation are named;
operating staff possess the necessary expert knowledge; and
that amounts and concentrations of substances discharged are determined if the authorisation contains numerical requirements.

Under paragraph 2, the authorities may require that owners:

determine the amounts and concentrations of substances discharged which would influence the quality of the polluted water and of the receiving waters by virtue of their properties, quantity and period of discharge, even if the authorisation contains no numerical requirements;
conserve certain wastewater test results for an appropriate period;
determine the effects of wastewater discharge or infiltration on water quality if there is a risk that the water quality requirements under Annex 2 are not complied with.

The amounts and concentrations of substances discharged may be determined arithmetically on the basis of substance flows.

Art. 14 Operational reports

Persons responsible for enterprises that discharge industrial wastewater into public sewers and persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants who discharge wastewater into public sewers or into a body of water must report to and as instructed by the authorities:

the amount of wastewater discharged;
the amounts and concentrations of substances discharged which they must determine according to Article 13.

Persons responsible for central wastewater treatment plants must also report:

important operating data such as degree of effectiveness, quantity and characteristics of sludge, type of sludge disposal, energy consumptionand operating costs;
conditions in the catchment area of the plant, such as connectionrate and the percentage of non-polluted wastewater with permanent flow.

Art. 15 Supervision by the authorities

The authorities shall examine periodically whether:

enterprises which discharge industrial wastewater into public sewers, and wastewater treatment plants which discharge wastewater into public sewers or into a body of water are complying with the requirements set out in the authorisation;
these requirements continue to guarantee adequate waters protection.

For this purpose, they shall take account of the results of the assessments made by the person responsible.

They shall adjust the authorisations if necessary and order the required measures. In doing so, they shall take account of the urgency of the required measures, as well as the obligations resulting from international agreements or decisions.

Art. 16 Measures with reference to exceptional events

The persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants that discharge wastewater into a body of water and persons responsible for enterprises who discharge industrial wastewater into a wastewater treatment plant must take appropriate and economically acceptable measures to reduce the risk of pollution of a body of water arising from exceptional events.

If in spite of these measures the risk is unacceptable, the authorities shall order the necessary additional measures.

Regulations in the Major Accidents Ordinance of 27 February 1991 ¹⁰ and the Ordinance of 20 November 1991 ¹¹ on the Guarantee of Drinking Water Supplies in Emergencies that go further are reserved.

Art. 17 Reporting on exceptional events

Persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants that discharge wastewater into a body of water must ensure that any event which is exceptional is reported immediately to the authorities, if such an event or events could lead to a situation in which it is no longer possible to guarantee compliance with the regulations on the discharge of wastewater into a body of water or the intended use or disposal of sludge.

Persons responsible for enterprises that discharge industrial wastewater must ensure that exceptional events are immediately reported to the owner of the wastewater treatment plant if these could lead to a situation in which the normal, orderly operation of the water or wastewater treatment plant is restricted or disrupted.

The authorities shall ensure that the communities and individuals affected by an exceptional event are informed about possible harmful effects on waters in due time. If substantial effects may be expected beyond cantonal or national boundaries, they shall also ensure that the federal alarm centre, as well as the neighbouring cantons and states are notified.

... ¹²

Reporting and information obligations arising from the Major Accidents Ordinance are reserved.

Chapter 3 Disposal of Sludge

Art. 18 Sludge disposal plan

The cantons shall draw up a sludge disposal plan and bring it into line with the new requirements within the deadlines imposed by experts.

The disposal plan sets the following as a minimum:

how sludge from the central wastewater treatment plants should be disposed of;
which procedures, including construction and modification of installations used for disposal of sludge, are required at what time;
¹³ how phosphorus is recovered in accordance with Articles 1 and 15a of the Waste Ordinance of 4 December 2015¹⁴, unless this process is described in the waste management plan in accordance with Article 4 of the Waste Ordinance.

The sludge disposal plan shall be accessible to the public.

Art. 19 Storage facilities

Persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants shall ensure that they can store the sludge until environmentally compatible disposal is guaranteed.

If sludge from a wastewater treatment plant cannot be disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner at any time, the plant must have a storage capacity of at least two months. ¹⁵

... ¹⁶

Art. 20 Inspection and obligation to report

Persons responsible for wastewater treatment plants must ensure that the quality of sludge is inspected within the deadlines imposed by experts.

... ¹⁷

... ¹⁸

Art. 21 Supply

Persons responsible for central wastewater treatment plants must keep a record of recipients of sludge, the amount supplied, type of disposal declared and time of supply and retain this information for at least ten years and make it available to the authorities on request.

... ¹⁹

... ²⁰

They may only dispose of sludge other than as planned in the cantonal Sludge Disposal Plan with the agreement of cantonal authorities. If sludge is to be disposed of in another canton, the cantonal authorities shall consult the authorities of the receiving canton in advance.

Chapter 4 Requirements for Animal Husbandry Farms

Art. 22 Animal husbandry farms

The following are deemed to be animal husbandry farms (Art. 14 WPA):

farms and farming co-operatives that keep livestock;
other enterprises involved in commercial animal husbandry; enterprises which keep zoo and circus animals or individual draft or riding animals or pets are excepted.

Art. 23 Livestock units (LU)

The calculation for converting the number of livestock on any enterprise into LU (Art. 14 para. 4 WPA) is based on the quantity of manure produced by them annually. For one LU, this quantity is taken as containing a total of 105 kg of nitrogen and 15 kg of phosphorus.

Art. 24 Normal local farming area

The normal local farming area (Art. 14 para. 4 WPA) is the agricultural land located within 6 km by road from the livestock buildings in which the farm manure is produced. ²¹

In order to take account of local farming conditions, the cantonal authorities may reduce or extend this limit by a maximum of 2 km.

Art. 25 Exceptions to the requirements relating to agricultural land

Farms that keep poultry or horses and farms serving the public interest need not have their own or leased agricultural land on which at least half of the farm manure accumulating in the enterprise can be used if it is guaranteed that the farm manure will be used by an organisation or another farm. ²²

... ²³

Farms serving the public interest (Art. 14 para. 7 let. b WPA) are:

farms that serve experimental, research or development purposes (research institutes, university farms, performance testing institutions, insemination stations, etc.);
²⁴ pig farms that cover at least 25 per cent of the energy needs of pigs with food by-products that come from milk processing;
²⁵ pig farms that cover at least 40 per cent of the energy needs of pigs with food by-products that do not come from milk processing;
²⁶ pig breeding enterprises that cover at least 40 per cent of the energy needs of pigs with food by-products that come both from milk processing and not from milk processing.

In mixed animal husbandry farms, the exception under paragraph 1 applies only to that part of the animal husbandry that fulfils conditions for granting an exception. ²⁷

The cantonal authorities shall in each case grant an exception under paragraph 1 for a duration of five years at most. ²⁸

Art. 26 and 27²⁹

Art. 28 Inspection of storage facilities for farm manure and liquid digestate³⁰

The cantonal authorities shall ensure that storage facilities for farm manure and liquid digestate are regularly inspected; the frequency of the inspections shall correspond to the risk of pollution to the waters. ³¹

The following shall be inspected:

whether the prescribed storage capacity is available;
whether the storage facilities (including pipes) leak;
whether facilities are in working order;
whether the facilities are operated in accordance with the regulations.

Chapter 5 Protection for Waters in terms of Area Planning

Art. 29 Designation of water protection areas and determination of groundwater protection zones and areas

When dividing their territory into water protection areas (Art. 19 WPA), the cantons shall indicate those at particular risk and the other areas. Those described in Annex 4 number 11 as at particular risk include:

water protection area A_u for the protection of exploitable underground waters;
water protection area A_o for the protection of water quality of surface waters if this is required to guarantee a specific use of a body of water;
the area of contribution Z_u intended for the protection of water quality at existing and planned groundwater wells serving the public interest if the water is polluted by substances which are not sufficiently degraded or retained, or if there is a genuine risk of pollution by such substances;
³² the area of contribution Z_o intended for the protection of water quality of surface waters if water is polluted by run-off of pesticides or nutrients.

They shall designate groundwater protection zones (Art. 20 WPA) described in Annex 4 number 12 in order to protect groundwater wells and groundwater recharge installations serving the public interest. They may designate groundwater protection zones even for planned wells and recharge installations serving the public interest, the locations of which and amount of withdrawals from which are established.

They shall designate the groundwater protection areas described in Annex 4 number 13 (Art. 21 WPA) in order to protect the underground waters planned for use.

They shall base their decisions on the designation of water protection areas and groundwater protection zones and areas on existing hydro-geological findings. If these are not sufficient, they shall ensure that the required hydro-geological investigations are conducted.

Art. 30 Water protection maps

The cantons shall draw up waters protection maps and adjust these as necessary. The waters protection maps shall indicate as a minimum:

water protection areas;
groundwater protection zones;
groundwater protection areas;
groundwater outflow points, wells and recharge installations that are of significance for water supply.

The waters protection maps shall be accessible to the public. The cantons shall provide the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and neighbouring cantons concerned with the waters protection maps and their annual modifications in digital form. ³³

Art. 31 Protection measures

Any person who constructs or alters installations or carries out activities which represent a risk to waters in areas particularly at risk (Art. 29 para. 1) as well as in groundwater protection zones and areas must take all measures expedient for the protection of the waters according to the circumstances and in particular must:

take the measures required under Annex 4 number 2;
set up the necessary monitoring, alarm and stand-by arrangements.

The authorities shall ensure that:

for existing installations in areas under paragraph 1, where there is a genuine risk of pollution of the waters, measures to protect waters, especially those under Annex 4 number 2, are taken, according to circumstances;
existing installations in groundwater protection Zones S1 and S2 that endanger a groundwater well or a recharge installation are removed within an appropriate period of time, and that until removal of these installations other measures for protecting the drinking water are taken, in particular disinfection or filtration.

Art. 32 Authorisations for installations and activities in areas particularly at risk

... ³⁴

In the areas particularly at risk (Art. 29) an authorisation is especially required for:³⁵

underground buildings;
installations which damage protective layers or aquicludes;
using the groundwater (including use for heating or cooling purposes);
permanent drainage and irrigation;
exposure of the groundwater table;
drillings;
³⁶ storage installations for liquid manure and liquid digestate;
³⁷ storage installations for liquids that may pollute waters already in small quantities and with a usable volume of more than 2000 l per storage tank;
³⁸ storage installations for liquids that may pollute waters in groundwater protection zones and areas with a usable volume of more than 450 l;
³⁹ transhipment areas for liquids which may pollute waters.

If authorisation is required, the applicant must prove that the requirements for protection of waters are fulfilled and provide the documents necessary for this (if necessary hydro-geological investigations).

The authorities shall grant an authorisation if adequate protection of waters can be guaranteed subject to conditions and requirements. It shall also lay down requirements for decommissioning the installations.

Art. 32a⁴⁰ Inspection of storage installations for liquids which may pollute waters

The persons responsible for storage installations for liquids that may pollute waters that require authorisation must arrange for an external visual inspection to be conducted every ten years in order to check for defects. ⁴¹

An internal visual inspection must be conducted every ten years for:

storage tanks with more than 250 000 l usable volume that do not have a protective construction or a double-walled floor;
single-walled underground storage tanks.

The persons responsible must arrange for the inspection of the proper functioning of the leak detection system in storage installations for liquids which may pollute waters every two years in the case of double-walled containers and pipes and every year in the case of single-walled containers and pipes.

Chapter 6 Maintaining Appropriate Rates of Residual Water Flow

Art. 33 Water withdrawals from watercourses

For withdrawals from watercourses (Art. 29 WPA) which comprise stretches with permanent flow and others without permanent flow, a permit is required if the site of the water withdrawal shows permanent flow. The conditions for granting the permit must be fulfilled only in the stretches with a permanent flow (Art. 30 WPA).

If the waters at the site of water withdrawal shows no permanent flow, the authorities shall ensure that the required measures under Federal Act of 1 July 1966 ⁴² on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage and the Federal Act of 21 July 1991 ⁴³ on Fish and Fisheries are taken.

Art. 33a⁴⁴ Ecological potential

When determining the ecological potential of a body of water, consideration shall be given to the following:

the ecological importance of the body of water in its current state;
the potential ecological importance of the body of water in a state in which the man-made harm is eliminated to the extent possible at a reasonable cost.

Art. 34 Protection and utilisation plan

The authorities shall file the application for the approval of a protection and utilisation plan (Art. 32 let. c WPA) with the FOEN ⁴⁵ .

The application shall contain:

the protection and utilisation plan decided on;
the justification why the measures planned represent sufficient compensation for a lower minimum residual flow;
information on how the planned measures should be made binding on all concerned for the duration of the license.

Compensatory measures in the context of the protection and utilisation plan are deemed appropriate if they serve to protect waters or the habitats depending on it. Measures that would be necessary in any case, according to federal regulations on environmental protection, are not taken into consideration.

Art. 35 Residual flow report

For water withdrawals which are subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA), the residual flow report is part of the environmental impact report (Art. 33 para. 4 WPA).

For water withdrawals on which the federal government must be consulted and which are not subject to an EIA, the authorities shall ensure that the opinion of the cantonal expert body on the residual water report or on an amended draft thereof is made available to the FOEN. The FOEN may limit itself to making a summary review of the documents. ⁴⁶

Art. 36 Inventory of existing water withdrawals

For water withdrawals serving installations using water power, the inventory shall include (Art. 82 para. 1 WPA) as a minimum:

a description of the water withdrawal and restitution (names, co-ordinates, height above sea level and, where appropriate, names of power stations and dams);
the beginning and duration of the right of use granted, its extent, in particular the amount of water extractable in m³/s as well as the name of the person entitled to extract (the user);
the removable amount of water in m³/s;
the residual flow maintained previously with details of the location or the water endowment flow in l/s;
other obligations to transfer water imposed on the user;
the participation of the user in maintaining and correcting the waters;
further conditions or installations in the interests of waters protection and fisheries;
the Q347 flow rate, the flow regime of the watercourse upstream of the water withdrawal point and the amount withdrawn every month in m³/s, expressed as the average over several years, to the extent that this data is available at the time the inventory is drawn up;
whether the water is withdrawn from a watercourse flowing through landscapes or habitats which are listed in the national or cantonal inventories.

For withdrawals using fixed non-hydropower equipment which may be authorised under Article 30 letter a WPA, the inventory shall as a minimum state the purpose of the withdrawal and the information in paragraph 1, letters a, b, d, h, and i.

For withdrawals using fixed non-hydropower equipment which may be authorised under Article 30 letters b or c WPA, the inventory shall state the information in paragraph 1 letters a and b.

Art. 37 List of water withdrawals not listed in the inventory

The cantons shall draw up a list of withdrawals for the use of water power from watercourses without permanent flow.

Art. 38 Remediation report

For every withdrawal of water listed in the inventory under Article 36 paragraphs 1 and 2, the remediation report (Art. 82 para. 2 WPA) shall indicate whether the watercourse requires remediation; if this is the case, the report indicates the reasons for such remediation, its extent and the period of time forecast to implement it.

For every water withdrawal, the report contains in particular:

the description of the water withdrawal and return (names, co-ordinates, height above sea level and, where appropriate, names of any power stations or dams);
the rate of Q₃₄₇flow;
data relating to the flow regime of the watercourse upstream of the water withdrawal point and in the stretch of residual water flow;
the amount withdrawn every month in m³/s expressed as the average over several years.

For water withdrawals where remediation is necessary, the report shall also contain information on:

remediation measures which may be imposed without infringing rights of use which justify a claim for compensation by the user (Art. 80 para. 1 WPA);
more extensive remediation measures which are necessary because of overriding public interests (Art. 80 para. 2 WPA); for watercourses flowing through landscapes or habitats which are listed in national or cantonal inventories, the report shall name the special requirements for the watercourse arising from the protection targets defined in the inventory;
type of remediation measures (higher levels of water endowment, structural, operational and other measures);
the expected schedule for completion of the remediation measures.

Art. 39 Information obligation

The user must provide the authorities with the information required to draw up the inventory and the remediation report.

The authorities may require the user to carry out flow measurements.

Art. 40 Submission, updating and accessibility of inventories, lists and remediation reports

The cantons shall submit the inventories, lists and remediation reports to the FOEN.

They shall update the inventories and lists.

They shall ensure that the inventories, lists and remediation reports are made accessible to the public after consulting those concerned. Business secrecy shall be preserved.

Art. 41 Water withdrawals under licences already granted

Articles 36–40 apply by analogy to planned water withdrawals for which a licence was granted before the entry into force of the Waters Protection Act (Art. 83 WPA).

Chapter 7 Prevention and Remediation of Other Harmful Effects on Waters⁴⁷

Section 1 Space provided for Waters and Rehabilitation of Watercourses

Art. 41a Space provided for watercourses

In biotopes of a national importance, in cantonal nature conservation areas, in mire landscapes of exceptional beauty and national importance, in water bird and migratory bird reserves of international or national importance and, in the case of waters-related protection targets, in landscapes of national importance and cantonal landscape conservation areas the width of the space provided for waters must amount to at least:

for watercourses with a channel bed of less than 1 m natural width: 11 m;
for watercourses with a channel bed of 1–5 m natural width: 6 times the width of the channel bed plus 5 m;
for watercourses with a channel bed of more than 5 m natural width: the width of the channel bed plus 30 m.

In other areas, the width of the space provided for waters must amount to at least:

for watercourses with a channel bed of less than 2 m natural width: 11 m;
for watercourses with a channel bed of 2–15 m natural width: 2.5 times the width of the channel bed plus 7 m.

The width of the space provided for waters calculated in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 must be increased where this is required to guarantee:

protection against flooding;
the space required for rehabilitation;
the protection targets for watercourses under paragraph 1 and other overriding interests of nature and landscape conservation;
a use of the waters.

Provided protection against flooding is guaranteed, the width of the space provided for waters may be adapted:

to the structural conditions in densely built-up areas;
to the topographic conditions on stretches of waters:1.in which the waters largely fill the valley floor, and2.that have slopes on both sides that are too steep to permit farming activities.⁴⁸

In the absence of any overriding interests to the contrary, determining the space provided for waters may be dispensed with if the waters:

are located in forest or in areas, that are not designed mountain- or valley areas in accordance with the agriculture legislation in the arable land register;
are culverted;
are artificially laid out; or
⁴⁹ are very small.

Art. 41b Space provided for standing waters

The width of the space provided for waters must amount to at least 15 m measured from the shoreline.

The width of the space provided for waters calculated in accordance with paragraphs 1 must be increased where this is required to guarantee:

protection against flooding;
the space required for rehabilitation;
overriding interests of the nature- and landscape conservation;
the use of the waters.

The width of the space provided for waters may be adapted to the structural conditions in densely built-up areas provided protection against flooding is guaranteed.

In the absence of any overriding interests to the contrary, determining the space provided for waters may be dispensed with if the waters:

are located in forest or in areas, that are not designed mountain- or valley areas in accordance with the agriculture legislation in the arable land register;
have a surface area of less than 0.5 ha; or
are artificially laid out.

Art. 41c Extensive structuring and management of the space provided for waters

In the space provided for waters, only fixed installations serving the public interest such as footpaths and hiking trails, run-of-river power plants or bridges may be built. The authority may authorise the following installations provided there are no overriding interests to the contrary:

in densely built-up areas, installations that meet zoning requirements;
⁵⁰ installations that meet zoning requirements outside densely built-up areas on individual plots of ground that have not been built on within a series of several plots of ground that have been built on;
agricultural and forestry tracked and gravel paths with a distance of at least 3m from the shoreline of the waters if topographically limited spatial conditions pertain;
fixed parts of installations that aid water withdrawal or discharge;
⁵¹ small installations that serve the use of the waters.⁵²

The continued existence of installations and permanent crops in terms of Article 22 paragraph 1 letters a–c, e and g–i of the Agricultural Terms Ordinance of 7 December 1998 ⁵³ in the space provided for waters that are lawfully constructed and useable as intended is in principle protected. ⁵⁴

No fertilisers and plant health products may be used in the space provided for waters. Individual treatments of problem plants are permitted outside a 3-metre-wide strip along the bank where these cannot be controlled mechanically at a reasonable cost.

The space provided for waters may be used for agricultural purposes if it is used in accordance with the requirements of the Direct Payments Ordinance of 23 October 2013 ⁵⁵ as straw fields, hedgerows, field or riparian woodland, riparian meadow, extensively used meadow, extensively used pasture ground or wooded pasture ground. These requirements also apply to the use of areas outside the agricultural land in use. ⁵⁶

If in the case of roads and paths with a base layer or railway lines that run alongside waters the space provided for waters on the land side extends only a few metres beyond the transport infrastructure, the authority may authorise exceptions from the management restrictions in paragraphs 3 and 4 for the part on the land side provided no fertilisers or plant health products can enter the water. ⁵⁷

Measures against natural erosion of the banks of a watercourse are permitted only if required for protection against flooding or to prevent an unreasonable loss of agricultural land.

The following do not apply:

paragraphs 1–5 to that part of the space provided for waters that exclusively serves to guarantee the use of the waters;
paragraphs 3 and 4 to the space provided for culverted waters.

Art. 41c^bis⁵⁸ Farming land with the quality of crop rotation areas in the space provided for waters

Arable farming land with the quality of crop rotation areas in the space provided for waters must be shown separately by the cantons when making the inventory of crop rotation areas in accordance with Article 28 of the Spatial Planning Ordinance of 28 June 2000 ⁵⁹ . It may continue to be included in the cantonal minimum of crop rotation areas. If a related federal decree is issued (Art. 5 WPA), these areas may be intensively farmed in emergency situations.

Alternative land must be provided in accordance with the sectoral plan for crop rotation areas (Art. 29 of the Spatial Planning Ordinance of 28 June 2000) in compensation for arable farming land with the quality of crop rotation areas in the space provided for waters that is required to implement structural flood protection or rehabilitation measures.

Art. 41c^ter⁶⁰ Preservation or restoration of the natural course

In the event of operations on surface waters, the natural course of the watercourse, which is characterised by its position in the cross-section of the valley, its longitudinal slope, its channel shape, its bed width and its morphological structures and dynamic processes, must as far as possible be preserved or restored.

Art. 41c^quater⁶¹ Ecological development and maintenance

Waters and the space provided for waters must be developed and maintained in such a way that habitats typical of the location are preserved and able to develop. habitats typical of the location are based on:

vegetation that develops naturally and regenerates itself;
characteristic dynamic processes;
characteristic structures, such as gravel bars, natural and variable banks and deadwood.

When developing and maintaining waters and the space provided for waters excessive warming of the water must be avoided. In particular, natural shade should be encouraged.

Art. 41d Planning of rehabilitation projects

The cantons shall devise the principles required to plan the rehabilitation of watercourses. The principles shall include information on the following in particular:

the ecomorphological condition of the waters;
the installations in the space provided for waters;
the ecological potential and the agricultural importance of the waters.

They shall set out in a plan for a period of 20 years the stretches of water to be rehabilitated, the form of the rehabilitation measures and the deadlines by which the measures must be implemented, and shall coordinate the plan with the neighbouring cantons to the extent that this is required. Rehabilitation projects shall primarily be planned where their benefits:

are substantial for nature and the landscape;
are substantial compared with the probable cost;
may be increased through coordination with other measures to protect natural habitats or to prevent flooding.

They shall adopt the plans under paragraph 2 for watercourses by 31 December 2014 and for standing waters by 31 December 2022. They shall submit the plans to the FOEN one year before their adoption so that the FOEN may comment thereon. ⁶²

They shall renew the plans under paragraph 2 every 12 years for a period of 20 years and shall submit these plans to the FOEN one year before their adoption so that the FOEN may comment thereon.

Section 2 Hydropeaking

Art. 41e Serious harm due to hydropeaking

There is serious harm to indigenous flora and fauna and to their habitats due to hydropeaking where:

the flow rate for upsurge is at least 1.5 times greater than for downsurge; and
the site-specific quantity, composition and diversity of the plant and animal communities are changed to their detriment, in particular because regularly and in an unnatural manner fish are run ashore, fish spawning grounds are destroyed, aquatic animals are washed away, turbidity arises or the water temperature is altered in an unlawful manner.

Art. 41f Planning remediation measures for hydropeaking

The cantons shall submit to the FOEN a plan for measures to remediate hydropower plants that cause hydropeaking in accordance with the procedure described in Annex 4 a number 2.

The persons responsible for hydropower plants must grant access to the authority responsible for the plan and provide the required information, in particular on:

the coordinates and the designation the individual parts of the plant;
the flow rates of the watercourse concerned with measured values at intervals of no more than 15 minutes (hydrograph) over a period covering the past five years; If these measured values are not available, the hydrograph may be calculated using data relating to hydro-electric power production at the plant and the water flow;
the measures carried out and planned to reduce the effects of hydropeaking;
the available results of the study on the effects of hydropeaking;
the planned structural and operational changes at the plant.

Art. 41g Remediation measures for hydropeaking

Based on the measures plan, the cantonal authority shall order the remediation of hydropeaking and require the persons responsible for hydropower plants to examine various types of remediation measure in order to implement the plan.

Before it decides on the remediation project, it shall consult the FOEN. With a view to an application under Article 30 paragraph 1 of the Energy Ordinance of 1 November 2017 ⁶³ (EnO), the FOEN shall verify whether the criteria of Annex 3 number 2 EnO are met. ⁶⁴

The persons responsible for hydropower plants shall verify the effectiveness of the measures taken as required by the authority.

Section 3 Flushing out and Emptying of Impoundments⁶⁵

Art. 42 ...⁶⁶

Before an authority authorises the flushing out or emptying of an impoundment, it shall ensure that sediments are removed other than by washing away if this is environmentally compatible and economically acceptable.

When washing away sediments the authorities shall ensure that communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms are harmed as little as possible, in particular by laying down:

time and type of flushing out or emptying;
the maximum concentration of suspended matter in the water which must be respected during the flushing out or emptying;
to what extent washing away must be carried out so that during the flushing out or emptying, fine matter deposited in watercourses is removed.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply to the abrupt lowering of the water level following an exceptional event (Art. 40 para. 3 WPA).

Section 4 Bed Load Budget⁶⁷

Art. 42a⁶⁸ Serious harm due to change in the bed load budget

A change in the bed load budget causes serious harm to the indigenous flora and fauna and their habitats if installations such as hydropower plants, gravel excavation sites, bed load traps or river control structures alter the morphological structures or the morphological dynamics of the waters to their detriment.

Art. 42b⁶⁹ Planning the measures to remediate the bed load budget

The cantons shall submit a plan to the FOEN of their measures to remediate the bed load budget in accordance with the procedure described in Annex 4 a number 3.

The persons responsible for installations must allow access to the authority responsible for the plan and provide the required information, in particular on:

the details and the designation of the installations and in the case of hydropower plants the individual parts of the installation;
how the bed load is dealt with;
the measures carried out and the planned in order to improve the bed load budget;
the available results of the study of the bed load budget;
the planned structural and operational changes to the installation.

Art. 42c⁷⁰ Measures to remediate the bed load budget

In the case of installations which according to the plan require measures to remediate the bed load budget, the cantons shall prepare a study on the nature and extent of the required measures.

Based on the study, the cantonal authority shall in accordance with paragraph 1 order the remediation measures. In the case of hydropower plants, the bed load must wherever possible be made to pass through the installation.

Before it decides on the remediation project in the case of hydropower plants, it shall consult the FOEN. The FOEN shall examine with a view to an application under Article 30 paragraph 1 EnO ⁷¹ whether the criteria of Annex 3 number 2 EnO are met. ⁷²

The persons responsible for hydropower plants shall verify the effectiveness of the measures taken in accordance with instructions from the cantonal authority.

Art. 43 Extraction of gravel, sand and other materials from watercourses

In order that the bed load budget in a watercourse is not unfavourably influenced by extraction of gravel, sand or other materials (Art. 44 para. 2 let. c WPA), the authorities must ensure that:

the quantity of bed load extracted from the watercourse does not exceed the natural supply;
the extraction does not in the long term lead to a subsidence of the bottom outside the extraction perimeter;
the extraction does not render impossible the maintenance and re-establishment of inventoried floodplains;
the extraction does not lead to a substantial change in the particle size distribution of the bottom material outside the extraction perimeter.

Extraction according to paragraph 1 should not lead to turbidity that may impair fishing waters.

Section 5 Drainage Water from Underground Buildings⁷³

Art. 44 ...⁷⁴

Drainage water from underground buildings must be contained and channelled off in such a way that it cannot be polluted by such construction operations, in particular by exceptional events. This does not apply to small amounts of drainage water if retention measures prevent the pollution of the receiving waters.

For the discharge of drainage water from underground buildings into watercourses, the following applies:

the spillway construction must be such as to ensure homogeneous and rapid mixing of the water;
the temperature of the receiving waters must not be raised over its near as possible natural state by more than 3 °C; if the stretch belongs to a trout zone, the temperature must not be raised by more than 1.5 °C;
the discharge must not result in the water temperature exceeding 25 °C.

Depending on local circumstances the authorities shall specify:

requirements for discharge into lakes and infiltration;
additional requirements for discharge into watercourses if necessary.

Chapter 8 Enforcement

Art. 45⁷⁵ Enforcement by cantonal and federal authorities

The cantons shall enforce this Ordinance unless it delegates enforcement to the Confederation.

If the federal authorities apply other federal laws, or international treaties or decisions that relate to the subject matter of this Ordinance, they shall also enforce this Ordinance. The cooperation of the FOEN and the cantonal authorities is governed by Article 48 paragraph 1 WPA; statutory duties of secrecy are reserved.

At the request of the cantons, the federal authorities shall take account of their provisions and measures, unless fulfilment of the tasks of the federal authority is thereby rendered impossible or made disproportionately difficult.

If the federal authorities enact administrative ordinances such as guidelines or instructions that concern waters protection, they shall consult the FOEN.

The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (the Department) may, if required, amend the lists of parameters and the numerical requirements for water quality in accordance with Annex 2 number 11 paragraph 3, number 12 paragraph 5 and number 22 paragraph 2. ⁷⁶

Art. 46 Co-ordination⁷⁷

Where required, the cantons shall coordinate measures under this Ordinance with each other and with measures in other sectors. They shall also ensure the coordination of the measures with those of neighbouring cantons. ⁷⁸

They shall take account of plans under this Ordinance when drawing up structure and land use plans. ⁷⁹

In drawing up the supply plan for drinking water, they include both groundwater resources already used and those intended for exploitation and ensure that water withdrawals are co-ordinated so that no excessive withdrawals take place and the groundwater resources are used economically.

In granting authorisations for discharges and infiltration under Articles 6-8 the authorities shall take account of both the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act of 7 October 1983 ⁸⁰ on public protection from odour emissions as well as the requirements of the Employment Act of 13 March 1964 ⁸¹ and the Accident Insurance Act of 20 March 1981 ⁸² on protection of the health of staff at wastewater treatment plants.

Art. 47 Procedures for polluted waters

If the authorities establish that a body of water does not fulfil the requirements of Annex 2 on water quality or that the specific use of the body of water cannot be guaranteed they shall:

determine and assess the type and extent of the pollution;
determine the causes of the pollution;
assess the effectiveness of possible measures;
ensure that the required measures are undertaken based on the relevant regulations.

If several sources of pollution are involved, the measures to be taken by those responsible must be coordinated.

Art. 47a⁸³ Inspection of filling and washing stations

The cantons shall survey and inspect at least once every four years the filling and washing stations of professional or commercial users of plant protection products where sprayers are filled or washed out.

They shall ensure that any defects identified are rectified immediately or within two years at the latest, depending on the severity of the risk of pollution to the waters.

They shall report to the FOEN every four years on the status of the surveys, inspections, defects identified and their rectification.

Art. 48 Investigations and assessments

Investigations and assessments are subject to the recognised state of the art; in particular, the relevant standards of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) ⁸⁴ or other standards that provide equivalent results apply.

Insofar as this Ordinance contains no regulations on the type and frequency of sampling or the assessment of compliance with requirements, the authorities shall specify such regulations on a case-by-case basis.

The cantons shall notify the FOEN of the results of their investigations and findings regarding pesticides in waters by 1 June of each year as specified by the FOEN. ⁸⁵

Art. 48a⁸⁶ Reporting of limit value exceedances

The FOEN shall notify the authorisation bodies for plant protection products and biocidal products of pesticides for authorisation review if:

these or their degradation products repeatedly and widely exceed the limit value of 0.1 µg/l in waters used or intended for use for drinking water (Art. 9 para. 3 let. a WPA); or
these repeatedly and widely exceed the ecotoxicological limit values in surface waters (Art. 9 para. 3 let. b WPA).

The ecotoxicological limit values are the numerical requirements for water quality in accordance with Annex 2 No 11 paragraph 3 Table number 4 which deviate from the general value of 0.1 µg/l.

A limit value in accordance with Article 9 paragraph 3 WPA is considered to be repeatedly and widely exceeded for waters that are used or intended for use for drinking water if:

it is exceeded in at least three cantons within one year;
it is exceeded in at least five per cent of all waters studied; and
a distribution according to letters a and b is measured in at least two out of five consecutive years.

A limit value in accordance with Article 9 paragraph 3 WPA is considered to be repeatedly and widely exceeded for surface waters if:

it is exceeded in at least three cantons within one year;
it is exceeded in at least 10 per cent of all waters studied; and
a distribution according to letters a and b is measured in at least two out of five consecutive years.

Art. 49 Information

The FOEN shall provide information on the state of waters and waters protection, provided this is in the interest of Switzerland as a whole. In particular it shall publish reports on the state of waters protection in Switzerland. The cantonal authorities shall provide the necessary information.

The cantonal authorities shall provide information on the state of waters and waters protection in their canton. At the same time, they shall also provide information on the measures taken and their impact and on bathing sites where the requirements for bathing are not met (Annex 2 no 11 para. 1 let. e). ⁸⁷

Art. 49a⁸⁸ Geoinformation

The FOEN shall provide specifications for the minimum geodata models and presentation models for the official geodata under this Ordinance for which it is designated federal specialist authority in Annex 1 to the Geoinformation Ordinance of 21 May 2008. ⁸⁹

Art. 50⁹⁰

Art. 51 International decisions, recommendations and commissions⁹¹

The Department is authorised to approve decisions and recommendations that are based on the following international agreements, with the agreement of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research:⁹²

convention of 22 September 1992⁹³ for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention);
convention of 29 April 1963⁹⁴ on the International Commission for Protection of the Rhine against Pollution;
convention of 3 December 1976⁹⁵ on the Protection of the Rhine against Chemical Pollution.

The FOEN shall supply the approved decisions and recommendations to third parties on request.

The Department shall elect members of the Swiss delegations to the inter-state commissions for protection of waters. ⁹⁶

Chapter 8a Federal Wastewater Charge

Art. 51a Charge rate

The level of the charge in accordance with Article 60 b WPA amounts to 9 francs per resident per annum. The charge is based on the number of residents that are connected to the wastewater treatment plant on 1 January of the calendar year in which the charge is collected.

Art. 51b Data provided by the cantons

The cantons must:

notify the FOEN each year by 31 March of the number of residents that are connected to each wastewater treatment plant on their territory as of 1 January of the calendar year in question;
submit to the FOEN by 31 October of each calendar year the final accounts with requests for compensatory payments under Article 60b paragraph 2 WPA that are received by 30 September of the same calendar year.

Art. 51c Collection of the charge

The FOEN shall invoice the charge to the subjects liable to pay by 1 June in the calendar year concerned. It shall issue a ruling on the charge in the event of any dispute over the invoice.

At the request of the canton, the FOEN may invoice the canton for the charge if the canton confirms that it collects the charge from the wastewater treatment plants on its territory on the same terms as those of the FOEN. This request must be submitted to the FOEN by 31 March.

Payment must be made within 60 days of the due date. The charge becomes due on receipt of the invoice or, if the invoice is disputed, on the ruling on the charge taking full legal effect in accordance with paragraph 1. In the event of late payment, interest of 5 per cent becomes due. ⁹⁷

Art. 51d Time limit

The right to collect the charge lapses ten years from the end of the calendar year in which it arises.

The time limitation period is interrupted and restarted:

if the subject liable to the charge acknowledges the right to collect it;
by any official act by which the right to collect the charge is enforced against the subject liable to pay it.

The right to collect the charge expires in every case 15 years from the end of the calendar year in which it arises.

Chapter 9 Payment of Federal Contributions

Section 1 Measures

Art. 52 Nitrogen removal at wastewater treatment plants⁹⁸

The amount of the global compensatory payments made for installations and equipment for nitrogen removal (Art. 61 para. 1 WPA) is governed by the number of tonnes of nitrogen removed each year.

Insofar as it is necessary to comply with international agreements or decisions of international organisations, the extent and complexity of the measures may also be taken into account.

The amount of the global compensatory payments shall be agreed between the FOEN and the canton concerned.

Art. 52a⁹⁹ Elimination of organic trace substances at wastewater plants

Compensatory payments in respect of measures to eliminate organic trace substances under Article 61 a paragraph 1 WPA shall be made to the cantons on a case-by-case basis.

If the measure giving rise to the compensatory payment is not implemented within five years of payment being assured, the assurance is no longer valid.

If sewers are constructed instead of installations and equipment to eliminate organic trace substances, the maximum costs allowable are those that could have arisen in the event of measures being taken at the wastewater treatment plant itself.

Before the authority decides on the measure, it shall consult the FOEN.

Art. 53 Waste disposal installations

Compensatory payments made in respect of waste disposal installations eligible for financial contributions (Art. 62 paras 1 and 2 WPA) shall be made on a case-by-case basis for planning, initial establishment and extension.

Art. 54 Measures in agriculture

The amount of the global compensatory payments made in respect of measures in agriculture (Art. 62 a WPA) is governed by the properties and the number of kilograms of the substances that are prevented from washing away or leaching each year.

For measures that result in changes in farm structures, the level is also governed by the allowable costs.

The amount of the global compensatory payments shall be agreed between the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) and the canton concerned.

Art. 54a¹⁰⁰ Planning of rehabilitation measures

The amount of the global compensatory payments made for planning measures to rehabilitate waters (Art. 62 b para. 1 WPA) is governed by the length the bodies of water to which the plan relates.

The amount of the global compensatory payments shall be agreed between the FOEN and the canton concerned.

Art. 54b¹⁰¹ Implementation of rehabilitation measures

The amount of the global compensatory payments for measures to rehabilitate waters (Art. 62b para. 1 WPA) is governed by:

the length of the stretch of water that is to be rehabilitated or is opened by the removal of obstructions;
the width of the channel bed of the watercourse;
the width of the space provided for the waters that are to be rehabilitated;
the benefits of rehabilitation for nature and the landscape in comparison with the probable costs;
the benefits of rehabilitation for recreation;
the quality of the measures.

The amount of the global compensatory payments shall be agreed between the FOEN and the canton concerned.

Compensatory payments may be made individually if the measures:

cost more than five million francs;
have a supracantonal impact or concern border waters;
affect protected zones or properties listed in national inventories;
require a complex or special expert assessment due to the possible alternatives or for other reasons; or
were unforeseeable.

The contribution to the allowable costs of the measures under paragraph 3 shall amount to between 35 and 80 per cent and is governed by the criteria listed in paragraph 1.

Compensatory payments for rehabilitation shall only be made if the canton concerned has drawn up a rehabilitation plan that meets the requirements of Article 41 d .

No compensatory payments shall be granted under Article 62 b paragraph 1 WPA for measures required under Article 4 of the Federal Act of 21 June 1991 ¹⁰² on Hydraulic Engineering.

Art. 55 Initial procurement studies

Compensatory payments for ascertaining the causes of inadequate water quality in an important body of water with a view to carrying out remediation measures (Art. 64 para. 1 WPA) will be paid on a case-by-case basis insofar as the projects concern the state of the body of water and its tributaries.

The compensatory payments for the provision of fundamentals amount to 30 per cent of the allowable costs and those for the inventories on water supply installations and groundwater resources (Art. 64 para. 3 WPA) 40 per cent of the allowable costs.

Art. 56 Training of specialists and provision of information to the public

Financial assistance for the training of specialists (Art. 64 para. 2 WPA) amounts to:

a maximum of 25 per cent of the costs;
a maximum of 40 per cent of the costs in the case of projects that are particularly expensive given the number of probable participants.

Financial assistance for the provision of information to the public (Art. 64 para. 2 WPA) may be granted to projects if:

they are of significance for Switzerland as a whole; and
provided the information documents are made available for distribution throughout Switzerland.

The financial assistance for the provision of information to the public amounts to:

a maximum of 40 per cent the costs for the preparation of documents;
a maximum of 20 per cent the costs for the conduct of information campaigns.

The FOEN shall grant financial assistance for the training of specialists and for the provision of information to the public on a case-by-case basis.

Art. 57 Risk guarantee

A risk guarantee for promising new forms of installations and equipment (Art. 64 a WPA), that perform a public service may be granted provided company guarantees are not available.

The risk guarantee applies to the costs incurred in rectifying defects or if necessary for the reconstruction of the installations and equipment in the first five years after beginning operations must, provided they are not made necessary through the fault of the person responsible for the installation or equipment.

The risk guarantee amounts to at least 20 but no more than 60 per cent of the costs in accordance with paragraph 2.

For the procedure, Articles 61c and 61d apply by analogy.

Art. 58¹⁰³ Allowable costs

Allowable costs are those costs that are genuinely incurred and are directly connected with implementing projects giving rise to entitlement to financial contributions.

The costs of the following are allowable for compensatory payments pursuant to Articles 52 and 52a:

the construction of installations and equipment for nitrogen removal;
the measures to eliminate organic trace substances;
the construction and operations of pilot project installations to implement measures to remove nitrogen and eliminate organic trace substances;
the construction of sewers instead of installations and equipment to remove nitrogen and eliminate organic trace substances.

Costs that are not allowable under Articles 52 and 52 a are in particular fees and taxes and the cost of acquiring land.

The costs of the following are allowable for compensatory payments pursuant to Article 54b:

compiling the basic data and planning measures;
implementing measures;
acquiring land, easements and formal and de facto expropriation;
marking.

The following in particular are not allowable with regard to compensatory payments pursuant to Article 54b:

any fees incurred;
the cost of creating significant added value that is generated independently of the rehabilitation achieved by the measures;
administrative costs.

Section 2 Procedure for Making Global Compensatory Payments

Art. 59 Application

The canton shall submit the application for global compensatory payments to the competent federal office (Art. 60 para. 1).

The application must include information on:

the programme goals to be achieved and in the case of compensatory payments for measures in agriculture information on the goals to be achieved in the canton as a whole;
the measures probably required to achieve the goals and how they are to be implemented;
the effectiveness of the measures.

Art. 60 Programme agreement

The following authorities are responsible for concluding the programme agreement:

¹⁰⁴ the FOEN for compensatory payments to wastewater treatment plants and for the planning and conduct of measures to rehabilitate waters;
the FOAG for compensatory payments for measures in agriculture.

The programme agreement shall be concluded for a specific territory. The subject matter of the programme agreement shall in particular be:

the strategic programme goals that must be jointly achieved;
the obligations of the Canton;
the federal subsidy to be provided;
controlling.

The duration of the programme agreement amounts in the case of compensatory payments to:

measures in agriculture: normally 6 years;
other measures: 4 years.¹⁰⁵

The competent Federal Office shall issue guidelines on the procedure in the case of programme agreements and on the information and documents on the subject matter of the programme agreement.

Art. 61 Payment

Global compensatory payments are paid out in instalments.

Art. 61a Reporting and controls

The canton shall report annually to the competent Federal Office on the use of the global compensatory payments.

The competent Federal Office shall verify by random sample:

the implementation of individual measures in accordance with the programme goals;
the use of the contributions paid out.

Art. 61b Inadequate fulfilment and misuse

The competent Federal Office shall withhold all or part of the instalment payments during the programme if the canton:

fails to fulfil its reporting duty (Art. 61a para. 1);
fails to meet its obligations to a substantial extent through its own fault.

If on conclusion of the programme it emerges that the canton has failed to meet its obligations, the competent Federal Office shall require the canton to rectify the situation; it shall set the Canton an appropriate deadline for doing so.

If installations or equipment for which compensatory payments have been made are used for a purpose other than that intended, the competent Federal Office may require the canton to stop or remedy the misuse within a reasonable period.

If the defects are not rectified or if the misuse does not stop or is not remedied, the payments may be reclaimed in accordance with Articles 28 and 29 of the Subsidies Act of 5 October 1990 ¹⁰⁶ .

Section 3 Procedure for Making Compensatory Payments or Granting Financial Assistance in Specific Cases

Art. 61c Application

The application for financial assistance or compensatory payments in specific cases is submitted to the FOEN.

It shall issue guidelines on the information and documents to be included in the application.

Art. 61d Granting and payment of contributions

The FOEN shall specify the contributions in a ruling or enter into an agreement with the recipient of the contributions for this purpose.

It shall pay out the contributions according to how the project is progressing.

Art. 61e Inadequate fulfilment and misuse

If the recipient of a promised compensatory payment or financial assistance despite being warned fails to carry out a measure not or does so inadequately, the compensatory payment or financial assistance shall not be paid out or shall be reduced.

If compensatory payments or financial assistance have been paid out and the recipient despite being warned fails to carry out a measure not or does so inadequately, the payments may be reclaimed in accordance with Articles 28 and 29 of the Subsidies Act ¹⁰⁷ .

If installations or equipment for which compensatory payments or financial assistance have been paid out are used for a purpose other than that intended, the FOEN may require the canton to stop or remedy the misuse within a reasonable period.

If the misuse is not stopped or remedied, the payments may be reclaimed in accordance with Article 29 of the Subsidies Act.

Art. 61f Reporting and controls

Reporting and controls in relation to compensatory payments and financial assistance in specific cases are governed by analogy by Article 61 a .

Chapter 10 Commencement

Art. 62

This Ordinance comes into force on 1 January 1999.

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 18 October 2006¹⁰⁸

Installations and parts of installation that were constructed in accordance with the regulations before this Amendment comes into force may continue to be operated if they are fit for operation and do not represent a specific risk to the waters; single wall underground storage tanks for liquids which may pollute water may continue to be used until 31 December 2014 at the latest.

Transitional Provisions to the Amendment of 4 May 2011¹⁰⁹

The cantons shall specify the space provided for waters in accordance with Articles 41 a and 41 b by 31 December 2018. ³ Instead of the criteria under Article 54 b paragraph 1 letters a and b, the level of the compensatory payments for rehabilitation operations carried out on watercourses before 31 December 2028 may be determined by the extent of the measures. ¹¹⁰ ⁴ Article 54 b paragraph 5 does not apply to rehabilitation operations carried out before 31 December 2015.

² Until they have specified the space provided for waters, the regulations on installations in accordance with Article 41c paragraphs 1 and 2 apply along waters with a margin on each side with a width in each case of:

8 m plus the width of the existing channel bed in the case of watercourses with a channel bed of no more than 12 m width;
20 m in the case of watercourses with an existing channel bed of more than 12 m width;
20 m in the case of standing waters with a surface area of more than 0.5 ha.

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 25 May 2011¹¹¹

The cantonal authority may grant an exception under Article 25 paragraph 1 until 31 December 2015 at the latest to farms that no longer meet the requirements of Article 25 paragraph 3 letters c and d, as a result of the ban on the feeding of slaughterhouse and butcher's by-products and left-over food, provided these farms prove that they have used slaughterhouse and butcher's by-products and left-over food as feed and cannot compensate for the loss of such feed by using other food by-products.

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 4 November 2015¹¹²

² For groundwater wells and groundwater recharge installations in highly heterogeneous karst and fissured rock aquifers, Zones S _h and S _m in terms of Annex 4 number 125 need not be designated if the groundwater protection zones and areas of contribution were designated under the previous law and have not been modified to a substantial extent.

¹ The cantons shall ensure that the implementation of all the measures required to comply with the requirements of Annex 3.1 clause 2 no 8 begin by 31 December 2035 at the latest. They shall fix the last possible date for implement the measures according to their urgency and in doing so take account of the following:

the remediation and renewal cycles of the wastewater treatment plants;
the size of the wastewater treatment plants;
the volume of wastewater in the receiving waters;
the length of the flow section in waters that are affected by the discharge of wastewater.

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 16 December 2022¹¹³

The cantons shall survey and inspect the filling and washing stations in accordance with Article 47 a for the first time by 31 December 2026 at the latest. Any defects identified shall be remedied immediately, but no later than 31 December 2028, depending on the severity of the risk of pollution to the waters. Until the completion of these initial checks, reporting (Art. 47 a para. 3) shall be carried out annually.

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 29 October 2025¹¹⁴

The cantonal authority must revise the sludge disposal plan in accordance with Article 18 paragraph 2 letter c by 1 January 2028 and submit the same to the FOEN.

Annex 1

(Art. 1)

Ecological Objectives for Waters

1 Surface waters

¹ The communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms in surface waters and the surroundings influenced by them shall:

be close to nature and appropriate to the location as well as reproducing and regulating themselves;
show a diversity and frequency of species that are specific to unpolluted or slightly polluted waters of the type in question.

² The hydrodynamics (bed load transport rate, and flow regimes) and the morphology should be near-natural. In particular, they should guarantee unreservedly the self-cleaning processes, the natural exchange of substances between water and the channel bed as well as the interactions with the surroundings.

³ The water quality shall be such that:

the temperature conditions are near-natural;
the water, suspended matter and sediments contain no persistent synthetic substances;
other potential water pollutants which could enter the water as a result of human activities:–do not accumulate in the plants, animals, micro-organisms, suspended matter or sediments,–do not have any harmful effects on the communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms and on the use of the water,–do not cause an unnaturally high production of bio-mass,–do not harm the biological processes that fulfil the basic physiological needs of plant and animal life, such as the metabolic processes, the reproductive processes and the olfactory orientation of animals,–occur in the body of water in concentrations that are within the range of natural concentrations where they are already present naturally,–occur in the body of water only in near-zero concentrations where they are not naturally present.

2 Underground waters

¹ The biotic community of underground waters shall:

be close to nature and appropriate to the location;
be specific to unpolluted or only slightly polluted waters.

² The aquifer (flow section, permeability), the upper and lower confining beds and the hydro-dynamism of the groundwater (groundwater levels, flow regime) should correspond to near natural conditions. In particular, the self-cleaning processes and the interactions between water and its surroundings should be guaranteed unreservedly.

³ The groundwater quality shall be such that:

the temperature conditions are near natural;
the water contains no persistent synthetic substances;
other potential water pollutants which could enter the water as a result of human activities:–do not accumulate in the biotic community or in the inert matter of the aquifer,–occur in concentrations that are within the range of natural concentrations where these are already present in natural state groundwater,–do not occur in groundwater where they are not present naturally,–have no harmful effects on the use of the groundwater.

Annex 2¹¹⁵

(Art. 6, 8, 13 and 47)

Requirements on Water Quality

1 Surface waters

11 General requirements

¹ The water quality must be such that:

no visible colonies of bacteria, fungi or protozoa and no unnatural proliferation of algae or higher water plants are formed in any waters;
fish-spawning grounds are preserved;
after application of appropriate treatment, the water complies with requirements of the legislation on foodstuffs;
groundwater is not contaminated by infiltration of water;
the hygiene requirements for bathing are met at sites where bathing is expressly permitted by the authorities or where a large number of people normally bathe and the authorities do not advise against it;
substances that enter waters as a result of human activities do not detrimentally affect the reproduction, development and health of sensitive plants, animals and microorganisms.

² After wastewater has undergone homogeneous mixing with the body of water the mixture must not result in:

the formation of mud;
any turbidity, discoloration or foam, except in the event of heavy rainfall;
any noticeable alteration in the odour of the water in comparison with its natural state;
any lack of oxygen or unfavourable pH values.

³ The following numerical requirements apply to every water flow after thorough mixing of the wastewater discharged into the receiving waters; a reserve may be made for particular natural conditions such as water discharge from mires, rare high-water peaks or rare low-water events.

No	Parameter	Requirements
1	Nitrogen compounds
	Nitrate (NO₃^– - N)	For waters which serve as a source of drinking water: 5.6 mg/l N (corresponds to 25 mg/l nitrate)
2	Heavy metals
	Lead (Pb)	0.01 mg/l Pb (total)¹ 0.001 mg/l Pb (dissolved)
	Cadmium (Cd)	0.2 µg/l Cd (total)¹ 0.05 µg/l Cd (dissolved)
	Chromium(Cr)	0.005 mg/l Cr (total)¹ 0.002 mg/l Cr (III and VI)
	Copper (Cu)	0.005 mg/l Cu (total)¹ 0.002 mg/l Cu (dissolved)
	Nickel (Ni)	0.01 mg/l Ni (total)¹ 0.005 mg/l Ni (dissolved)
	Mercury (Hg)	0.03 µg/l Hg (total)¹ 0.01 µg/l Hg (dissolved)
	Zinc (Zn)	0.02 mg/l Zn (total)¹ 0.005 mg/l Zn (dissolved)
3	Medicinal products
	Azithromycin (CAS No 83905-01-5)	0.18 µg/l 0.019 µg/l (continuous)²
	Clarithromycin (CAS No 81103-11-9)	0.19 µg/l 0.12 µg/l (continuous)²
	Diclofenac (CAS No 15307-86-5)	0.05 µg/l (continuous)²
4	Organic pesticides (Biocidal products and plant protection products)
		For waters which serve as a source of drinking water:	For waters which do not serve as a source of drinking water:
		0.1 µg/l per individual substance, unless otherwise specified below.	0.1 µg/l per individual substance, unless otherwise specified below.
	Azoxystrobin (CAS No 131860-33-8)		0.55 µg/l 0.2 µg/l (continuous)²
	Chlorpyrifos (CAS No 2921-88-2)	0.0044 µg/l 0.00046 µg/l (continuous)²	0.0044 µg/l 0.00046 µg/l (continuous)²
	Cypermethrin (CAS No 52315-07-8)	0.00044 µg/l 0.00003 µg/l (continuous)²	0.00044 µg/l 0.00003 µg/l (continuous)²
	Cyprodinil (CAS No 121552-61-2)		3.3 µg/l 0.33 µg/l (continuous)²
	Diazinon (CAS No 333-41-5)	0.02 µg/l 0.012 µg/l (continuous)²	0.02 µg/l 0.012 µg/l (continuous)²
	Diuron (CAS No 330-54-1)	0.07 µg/l (continuous)²	0.25 µg/l 0.07 µg/l (continuous)²
	Epoxiconazole (CAS No 133855-98-8)		0.24 µg/l 0.2 µg/l (continuous)²
	Imidacloprid (CAS No 138261-41-3)	0.013 µg/l (continuous)²	0.1 µg/l 0.013 µg/l (continuous)²
	Isoproturon (CAS No 34123-59-6)		1.7 µg/l 0.64 µg/l (continuous)²
	MCPA (CAS No 94-74-6)		6.4 µg/l 0.66 µg/l (continuous)²
	Metazachlor (CAS No 67129-08-2)	0.02 µg/l (continuous)²	0.28 µg/l 0.02 µg/l (continuous)²
	Metribuzin (CAS No 21087-64-9)	0.058 µg/l (continuous)²	0.87 µg/l 0.058 µg/l (continuous)²
	Nicosulfuron (CAS No 111991-09-4)	0.0087 µg/l (continuous)²	0.23 µg/l 0.0087 µg/l (continuous)²
	Pirimicarb (CAS No 23103-98-2)	0.09 µg/l (continuous)²	1.8 µg/l 0.09 µg/l (continuous)²
	S-Metolachlor (CAS No 87392-12-9)		3.3 µg/l 0,69 µg/l (continuous)²
	Terbuthylazine (CAS No 5915-41-3)		1.3 µg/l 0.22 µg/l (continuous)²
	Terbutryn (CAS No 886-50-0)	0.065 µg/l (continuous)²	0.34 µg/l 0.065 µg/l (continuous)²
	Thiacloprid (CAS No 111988-49-9)	0.08 µg/l 0.01 µg/l (continuous)²	0.08 µg/l 0.01 µg/l (continuous)²
	Thiamethoxam (CAS No 153719-23-4)	0.042 µg/l (continuous)²	1.4 µg/l 0.042 µg/l (continuous)²
The dissolved concentration is determinant. If the value specified for the total concentration is respected, it may be assumed that the value for the dissolved concentration is also respected. Concentration averaged over a period of 2 weeks.

12 Additional requirements for watercourses

¹ The water quality must be such that:

no visible iron sulphide patches form in the channel bed, unless due to particular natural conditions;
nitrite and ammonia concentrations do not interfere with the reproduction development and health of sensitive organisms, such as salmonidae.

² The oxygen content on the channel bed must not be adversely affected by:

increased oxygen consumption due to an unnatural excess of oxidisable substances;
a reduced permeability of the bottom resulting from unnaturally high sedimentation of fine particles (clogging) or artificial sealing.

³ The hydrodynamics, morphology and temperature conditions of the water must not be so changed by water withdrawals, water discharges and building activities that its self-purification capacity is reduced or the water quality in the body of water is made insufficient to sustain communities specific to it.

⁴ The introduction or the withdrawal of heat must not alter the temperature in a watercourse by more than 3 °C above or below the temperature in its as near natural as possible state, or, in trout water stretches, by more than 1.5 °C; furthermore, the water temperature must not exceed 25C°. These requirements apply after thorough mixing.

⁵ The following numerical requirements apply to every water flow after thorough mixing of the wastewater discharged into the receiving waters; a reserve may be made for particular natural conditions such as water discharge from mires, rare high-water peaks or rare low-water events.

No.	Parameter	Requirements
1	Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅)	2 to 4 mg/l O₂ The lower value applies to waters which are naturally only slightly polluted.
2	Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)	1 to mg/l C The lower value applies to waters which are naturally only slightly polluted.
3	Ammonium (sum of NH₄⁺‑ N and NH₃- N)	at temperatures: – above 10 °C: 0.2 mg/l N – below 10 °C: 0.4 mg/l N

No.

Parameter

Requirements

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅)

2 to 4 mg/l O₂

The lower value applies to waters which are naturally only slightly polluted.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)

1 to mg/l C

The lower value applies to waters which are naturally only slightly polluted.

Ammonium (sum of NH₄⁺‑ N and NH₃- N)

at temperatures:

– above 10 °C: 0.2 mg/l N
– below 10 °C: 0.4 mg/l N

13 Additional requirements for standing waters

The morphology and functions of the upper layers of sediments which are essential for providing the water quality required to preserve the communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms must not be durably altered by changes made to the terrain (e.g. dredging, movement of excavated material within the expanse of water, levelling or backfilling of banks, reinforcement of banks or creation of dikes).

² The nutrient content should allow at most an average production of biomass; subject to particular natural circumstances.

³ For lakes, moreover, the following applies:

the regulation of the lake waters, the discharge and extraction of water, the use of water for cooling and for the extraction of heat, should not alter the natural regime of temperatures or the distribution of nutrients within the expanse of water, nor should it disrupt conditions for living and reproduction of organisms, particularly in the riparian zone;
the oxygen content of the water should at no time and at no lake depth amount to less than 4 mg/l O₂; in addition, it must be sufficient for sensitive animals such as worms to be able to inhabit the lake bottom throughout the year and in numbers as close as possible to natural abundance, subject to particular natural conditions.

2 Underground waters

21 General requirements

The concentration of substances in the groundwater for which requirements are specified in No 22 should not continually increase.

² The quality of the groundwater must be such that it does not pollute surface water after exfiltration.

³ The introduction or withdrawal of heat must not alter the temperature of the groundwater by more than 3 °C above or below the temperature in its natural state; this does not apply to very local changes in temperature.

⁴ Infiltration of wastewater into underground waters must not result in:

any disturbing change in the odour of the water;
any lack of oxygen or unfavourable pH values;
any turbidity or discoloration, except in the case of consolidated rock groundwater.

⁵ Infiltration installations, withdrawals of water and other interventions connected with construction work must not, insofar as possible, damage the protective upper confining bed, or alter the hydrodynamics in such a way as to have detrimental effects on the quality of water.

22 Additional requirements for groundwater which is used for drinking water or is intended as such

The water quality must be suchthat after the use of basic water conditioning, it complies with the requirements of the foodstuffs legislation.

² The following numerical requirements apply, subject to the particular natural circumstances. For substances originating from polluted sites, these requirements do not apply in the downstream area where the greater part of these substances is degraded or retained.

No.	Parameter	Requirement
1	Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)	2 mg/l C
2	Ammonium (sumof NH₄⁺‑ N and NH₃ ‑ N)	In oxic conditions: 0.08 mg/l N (corresponds to 0.1 mg/l ammonium) In anoxic conditions: 0.4 mg/l N (corresponds to 0.5 mg/l ammonium)
3	Nitrate (NO₃^–- N)	5.6 mg/l N (corresponds to 25 mg/l nitrate)
4	Sulphate (SO₄²^– )	40 mg/l SO₄^{2 –}
5	Chloride (Cl ^–)	40 mg/l Cl^–
6	Aliphatic hydrocarbons	0.001 mg/l per single substance
7	Monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons	0.001 mg/l per single substance
8	Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)	0.1 µg/l per single substance
9	Volatile organic halogens (VOX)	0.001 mg/l per single substance
10	Adsorbable organic halogens (AOX)	0.01 mg/l X
11	Organic pesticides (biocidal products and plant protection products )	0.1 µg/l per single substance.

Annex 3

Requirements for the Discharge of Polluted Wastewater

Annex 3.1¹¹⁶

(Art. 6 para. 1)

Discharge of communal wastewater into waters

1 Definition and principles

¹ Communal wastewater includes:

domestic wastewater (wastewater from households and similar wastewater);
precipitation water running off built-up or sealed surfaces and discharged along with domestic wastewater.

² The following requirements apply to communal wastewater from wastewater treatment plants treating in excess of 200-population equivalent (PE ¹¹⁷ ). They apply at the site of discharge and for the standard operation of the plant, subjectto exceptional situations such as unusually heavy rainfall.

³ For communal wastewater from wastewater treatment plants with 200 PE or fewer and for wastewater from overflows from combined systems , the authorities determine the requirements from case to case taking local conditions into consideration.

⁴ If the wastewater from a central wastewater treatment plant also contains industrial wastewater (Annex 3.2) or other polluted wastewater (Annex 3.3), the authorities shall specify the requirements for discharge into waters in their authorisation, if necessary in derogation from the requirements listed in Nos 2 and 3, in such a way that no more potential water pollutants are discharged with the wastewater than would be the case if the different wastewaters were treated separately in compliance with the requirements of the corresponding Annexes.

2 General requirements

No.	Parameter	Requirements
1	Total suspended solids	For wastewater from plants of less than 10 000 PE the following requirements apply: discharge concentration: 20 mg/l For wastewater from plants from 10 000 PE the following applies: discharge concentration: 15 mg/l
2	Chemical oxygen demand (COD)	For wastewater from plants of less than 10 000 PE the following requirements apply: discharge concentration: 60 mg/l O₂ and removal efficiency, with respect to raw wastewater: 80% For wastewater from plants of 10.000 PE or over the following requirements apply: discharge concentration: 45 mg/l O₂ and removal efficiency, with respect to raw wastewater: 85%
3	Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)	For wastewater from plants of 2000 PE or over the following requirements apply: – discharge concentration: 10 mg/l and – removal efficiency: 85%, expressed as If the value is not complied with, the authorities shall assess the substances, determine their origin and if necessary specify the required procedures in accordance with Annexes 3.2 and 3.3.
4	Transparency(Snellen method)	30 cm
5	Ammonium (sum of NH₄⁺‑ N and NH₃- N)	If the ammonium concentrations in the wastewater are potentially detrimental to the water quality of a watercourse, the following requirements apply if the wastewater temperature is higher than 10 °C; discharge concentration: 2 mg/l N and removal efficiency: 90 %, expressed as In these cases nitrification must be carried out throughout the year: Remark: Kjeldahl nitrogen is the sum of the nitrogen inform the ammonium, ammonia and organic nitrogen.
6	Nitrite (NO₂^– - N)	0.3 mg/l N (guide value)
7	Adsorbable organic halogen (AOX)	0.08 mg/l X. If the value is not complied with, the authorities shall assess the substances, determine their origin and if necessary specify the required procedures in accordance with Annexes 3.2 and 3.3.
8	Organic substances that can pollute waters even in low concentrations (organic trace substances)	The removal efficiency with respect to raw wastewater and measured using selected substances must amount to 80 % for wastewater from: plants with 80 000 or more connected residents; plants with 24 000 or more connected residents in the catchment area of lakes; the canton may authorise exceptions if the benefit of removal for the environment and for the drinking water supply is negligible; plants with 8000 or more connected residents that discharge into a watercourse containing more than 10 % wastewater untreated for organic trace substances; the canton shall identify the plants that must take measures as part of a plan for the catchment area; other plants with 8000 or more connected residents if removal is required due to special hydrogeological conditions; ...¹¹⁸ The Department shall specify the substances to be used to measure the removal efficiency in an ordinance, and how efficiency is calculated.
9	Biochemical oxygen demand (Bod₅, with nitrification inhibition)	For wastewater from plants with less than 10 000 PE for which the Bod₅ concentrations in the wastewater have a detrimental effect on the water quality of a watercourses the following applies: discharge concentration: 20 mg/l O₂ and removal efficiency with respect to raw wastewater: 90 % For wastewater from plants from 10 000 PE for which the Bod₅ concentrations in the wastewater have a detrimental effect on the water quality of a watercourses the following applies: discharge concentration: 15 mg/l O₂ and removal efficiency with respect to raw wastewater: 90 %

3 Additional requirements for discharge into sensitive waters

No.	Parameter	Requirements
1	Total phosphorus (after conversion to dissolved orthophosphate)	For wastewater from plants in the catchment area of lakes, situated on watercourses downstream of lakes, if this is required for the protection of the watercourse, and of 10.000 PE or over, situated on watercourses in the catchment area of the Rhine downstream of lakes, the following requirements apply: discharge concentration: 0.8 mg/l P and removal efficiency, with respect to raw wastewater: 80%
2	Total nitrogen	In plants for which no discharge concentration and no removal efficiency for total nitrogen is specified, must be operated in such a way that during wastewater purification and sludge treatment as much nitrogen as possible is eliminated. All structural modifications which are possible at no great cost must be undertaken; this applies particularly to plants that already carry out nitrification. Prior to 28 February 2002, cantons in the catchment area of the Rhine shall work out a plan on how to reduce discharges of nitrogen by 2600 tonnes compared to 1995 with effect from the year 2005 onwards. Plants that are earmarked in this plan for nitrogen elimination must be operational by 2005 at the latest.

No.

Parameter

Requirements

Total phosphorus

(after conversion to dissolved orthophosphate)

For wastewater from plants

in the catchment area of lakes,
situated on watercourses downstream of lakes, if this is required for the protection of the watercourse, and
of 10.000 PE or over, situated on watercourses in the catchment area of the Rhine downstream of lakes,

the following requirements apply:

discharge concentration: 0.8 mg/l P and
removal efficiency, with respect to raw wastewater: 80%

Total nitrogen

In plants for which no discharge concentration and no removal efficiency for total nitrogen is specified, must be operated in such a way that during wastewater purification and sludge treatment as much nitrogen as possible is eliminated. All structural modifications which are possible at no great cost must be undertaken; this applies particularly to plants that already carry out nitrification.

Prior to 28 February 2002, cantons in the catchment area of the Rhine shall work out a plan on how to reduce discharges of nitrogen by 2600 tonnes compared to 1995 with effect from the year 2005 onwards. Plants that are earmarked in this plan for nitrogen elimination must be operational by 2005 at the latest.

4 Frequency of sampling and admissible divergences

41 Frequency of sampling

The requirements under Nos 2 and 3 refer to an examination period of one year and to continuous sampling, conducted at regular intervals on different days of the week. With regard to organic trace substances, the samples must be taken over 48 hours and with regard to other parameters over 24 hours.

² The number of samples per year depends on the size of the plant:

Plants of less 2000 PE	The cantonal authorities shall specify the minimum number of samples to be analysed on a case by case basis.
Plants of 2000 PE or over	In the first year after the commissioning or extension of the plant at least twelve samples. In the following years at least four samples if the wastewater complied with the requirements in the first year. If the wastewater does not comply with the requirements in any year, a further twelve samples at least must be analysed the following year. With regard to organic trace substances, at least eight samples must be analysed instead of at least twelve.
Plants of 10 000 PE and over	At least twelve samples per year. With regard to organic trace substances, from the second year after the commissioning or extension of the plant at least six samples must be analysed if the wastewater complied with the requirements in the first year; If the wastewater does not comply with the requirements in any year, a further twelve samples at least must be analysed the following year.
Plants of 50 000 PE and over	At least 24 samples per year. With regard to organic trace substances, from the second year after the commissioning or extension of the plant at least twelve samples must be analysed if the wastewater complied with the requirements in the first year; If the wastewater does not comply with the requirements in any year, a further 24 samples at least must be analysed the following year.

42 Admissible non-compliant samples

The maximum number of non-compliant samples admissible depends on the total number of samples as indicated in the table below.

² The following values must never be exceeded:

Total suspended solids 50 mg/l
Chemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) 120 mg/l
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 20 mg/l
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) 40 mg/l

³ The following annual averages must not be exceeded:

Phosphorus in plants of 10 000 PE and over 0.8 mg/l P

Table: admissible number of non-compliant samples

Number of samples per year	Admissible number of non‑compliant samples	Number of samples per year	Admissible number of non‑compliant samples
4– 7	1	172–187	14
8– 16	2	188–203	15
17– 28	3	204–219	16
29– 40	4	220–235	17
41– 53	5	236–251	18
54– 67	6	252–268	19
68– 81	7	269–284	20
82– 95	8	285–300	21
96–110	9	301–317	22
111–125	10	318–334	23
126–140	11	335–350	24
141–155	12	351–365	25
156–171	13

Annex 3.2¹¹⁹

(Art. 6 para. 1 and 7 para. 1)

Discharge of industrial wastewater into waters or into public sewer systems

1 Definition and principles

¹ Industrial wastewater includes:

wastewater from industrial plants;
comparable wastewater, such as that from laboratories and hospitals.

² Any person who discharges industrial wastewater must, during production processes and wastewater treatment take the require state-of-the-art measures to avoid polluting waters. In particular, they must ensure that:

as little wastewater is generated and as few potential water pollutants are discharged as is technically and operationally feasible and economically acceptable;
unpolluted wastewater and cooling water are separated from polluted wastewater;
polluted wastewater is neither diluted nor mixed with other wastewater in order to comply with the requirements; dilution or mixing is permitted if this is appropriate for the treatment of the wastewater and as a result no more potential water pollutants are discharged than would be the case if the wastewaters were treated separately.

³ At the site of discharge, when discharging wastewater into waters or public sewers they must comply with:

the general requirements in accordance with No 2; and
the special requirements for specific substances in accordance with No 3 for wastewater from certain industrial sectors.

⁴ If the person responsible for the concern can prove that they have taken the required state-of-the-art measures mentioned in paragraph 2, and that compliance with the general requirements specified in No 2 would be disproportionate, the authorities shall specify less stringent values.

⁵ If the required state-of-the-art measures mentioned in paragraph 2 make it possible to comply with more stringent requirements than those specified in Nos 2 and 3, the authorities shall apply more stringent values based on the information received from the person responsible for the concern and after having heard this person.

⁶ If Nos 2 and 3 contain no requirements for specific potential water pollutants, the authorities shall specify the necessary requirements based on the state of the art in the authorisation. In so doing they shall take account of international or national standards, directives published by the FOEN or standards drawn up by the industrial sector concerned in collaboration the FOEN.

⁷ If industrial wastewater also containing communal wastewater (Annex 3.1) or other polluted wastewater (Annex 3.3) is discharged into a body of water, the authorities shall specify the requirements in the authorisation in such a way that no more potential water pollutants are discharged with the wastewater than would be the case if the different wastewaters were treated separately in compliance with the requirements of the corresponding Annexes.

2 General requirements

No.	Parameter	Column 1: requirements for discharge into waters	Column 2: requirements for discharge into public sewers
1	pH	6.5 to 9.0	6.5 to 9.0; divergences are admissible if there is sufficient mixing with other wastewaters in the sewers.
2	Temperature	At most 30 °C. The authorities may allow minor short-term excesses in summertime.	At most 60 °C. The temperature in the sewer system must not exceed 40 °C after mixing.
3	Transparency (Snellen method)	30 cm	–
4	Total suspended solids	20 mg/l	–
5	Arsenic(As)	0.1 mg/l As (total)	0.1 mg/l As (total)
6	Lead (Pb)	0.5 mg/l Pb (total)	0.5 mg/l Pb (total)
7	Cadmium (Cd)	0.1 mg/l Cd (total)	0.1 mg/l Cd (total)
8	Chromium (Cr)	2 mg/l Cr (total); 0.1 mg/l Cr-VI	2 mg/l Cr (total)
9	Cobalt (Co)	0.5 mg/l Co (total)	0.5 mg/l Co (total)
10	Copper (Cu)	0.5 mg/l Cu (total)	1 mg/l Cu (total)
11	Molybdenum (Mo)	–	1 mg/l Mo (total)
12	Nickel (Ni)	2 mg/l Ni (total)	2 mg/l Ni (total)
13	Zinc (Zn)	2 mg/l Zn (total)	2 mg/l Zn (total)
14	Cyanide (CN^–)	0.1 mg/l CN^– (free and easily releasable cyanide)	0.5 mg/l CN^– (free and easily releasable cyanide)
15	Total hydrocarbons	10 mg/l	20 mg/l
16	Volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons(VOCl)or volatile organic halogens (VOX)	0.1 mg/l Cl or 0.1 mg/l X	0.1 mg/l Cl or 0.1 mg/l X

3 Special requirements for specific substances from certain industrial sectors

In addition to the following requirements, the internationally agreed decisions and recommendations approved by the Federal Council or the Department in under Article 51 apply to the whole of Switzerland. ¹²⁰

31 Foodstuff processing

No.

Sector/process

Column 1: requirements for discharge into waters

Column 2: requirements for discharge into public sewers

Milk processing
Fruit and vegetable processing
Manufacture and bottling of soft drinks
Potato processing
Meat processing
Breweries
Manufacture of alcohol and alcoholic drinks
Manufacture of fodder from plant products
Manufacture of leather glue, gelatine and bone glue
Malt factories
Fish processing

Requirements for communal wastewater in accordance with Annex 3.1 apply.

Excepted are the requirements for total phosphorus in cases in where phosphorus must be added in the wastewater treatment plant for the biological treatment step.

In fat and oil processing plants, separators must be fitted if necessary.

32 Secondary iron and steel industry

No.	Sector/process	Parameter/requirements for discharge into waters and public sewers
1	Continuous casting	Process water: at least 95 per cent recirculation Total suspended solids: 10 g/t processed steel ( daily average) Oil: 5 g/t processed steel (daily average)
2	Cold rolling	Total suspended solids: 10 g/t processed steel (daily average) Oil: 5 g/t processed steel (daily average)
3	Hot rolling	Process water: at least 95 per cent recirculation Total suspended solids: 50 g/t processed steel (daily average) Oil: 10 g/t processed steel (daily average)
4	Pickling plants	Cadmium (Cd): 0.2 mg/l Cd (daily average) or Chromium (Cr): 0.1 mg/l Cr-VI (daily average) 1 mg/l Cr (total) (daily average) Nickel (Ni): 1 mg/l Ni (daily average) Zinc (Zn): 2 mg/l Zn (daily average) Acid regeneration: Acid regeneration for reduction of nitrate discharge from pickling plants using more than 20 tonnes of nitric acid per year, or other equivalent measures

For plants that were commissioned before 1 January 1993, the authorities shall specify the requirements on a case-by-case basis.

33 Surface treatment / electroplating

No.	Sector/ process	Parameter / requirements for discharge into waters and public sewers
1	Use of 1,2-dichloroethane to degrease metals	1,2-dichloroethane: 0.1 mg/l (monthly average) 0.2 mg/l (daily average)
2	Use of trichloroethene to degrease metals	Trichloroethene: 0.1 mg/l (monthly average) 0.2 mg/l (daily average)
3	Use of tetrachloroethene to degrease metals	Tetrachloroethene: 0.1 mg/l (monthly average) 0.2 mg/l (daily average)
4	Surface treatment	Volatile organic halogens (VOX): 0.1 mg/l VOX (daily average) Cyanide (CN^–): 0.2 mg/l CN^– (unbound) (daily average) Mercury (Hg): 0.05 mg/l Hg (daily average) or 0.03 kg Hg per tonne of mercury used (daily average) Cadmium (Cd): 0.2 mg/l Cd (daily average) or 0.3 kg Cd per tonne of cadmium used (daily average) Chromium (Cr): 0.1 mg/l Cr-VI (daily average) 0.5 mg/l Cr (total) (daily average)^a Lead (Pb): 0.5 mg/l Pb (daily average)^a Copper (Cu): 0.5 mg/l Cu (daily average)^a Nickel (Ni): 0.5 mg/l Ni (daily average)^a Zinc (Zn): 0.5 mg/l Zn (daily average); in justified cases the authorities may admit up to 2 mg/l Zn (daily average) Silver (Ag): 0.1 mg/l Ag (daily average) Tin (Sn): 2 mg/l Sn (daily average).
For surface treatment plants discharging small quantities of metals (defined as: sum of total chromium, lead, copper, nickel and zinc less than 200 g/day), the authorities may admit up to 2 mg/l (monthly average).

34 Chemical industry

No.	Sector/process	Parameter/requirements on discharge into waters and public sewers
1	Manufacture of chlorine by chlorine-alkali electrolysis	Mercury (Hg): Use of mercury-free processes. for existing plants applies: 0.5 g Hg per tonne of chlorine production capacity in monthly average 2.0 g Hg per tonne of chlorine production capacity (daily average)
2	Production of cadmium pigments	Cadmium (Cd): 0.2 mg/l Cd (monthly average) 0.4 mg/l Cd (daily average)

No.

Sector/process

Parameter/requirements on discharge into waters and public sewers

Manufacture of chlorine by chlorine-alkali electrolysis

Mercury (Hg):

Use of mercury-free processes.

for existing plants applies:

0.5 g Hg per tonne of chlorine production capacity in monthly average
2.0 g Hg per tonne of chlorine production capacity (daily average)

Production of cadmium pigments

Cadmium (Cd):

0.2 mg/l Cd (monthly average)
0.4 mg/l Cd (daily average)

35 Manufacture of paper, cardboard and pulp

No.	Sector/process	Parameter/requirements on discharge into waters	Parameter/requirements on discharge into public sewers
1	Production of paper or cardboard	Total suspended solids: 1 kg per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average) or 50 mg/l (daily average) Chemical oxygen demand (COD)/dissolved organic carbon (DOC): according to type of paper: 2,5–5 kg COD per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average) or 1,5–2,5 kg DOC per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average) Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅): according to type of paper: 0.5–1 kg per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average); in justified cases the authorities may instead of the above-mentioned requirement admit a value of 25 mg/l BOD₅ (daily average).	The authorities set the requirements from case to case

No.

Sector/process

Parameter/requirements on discharge into waters

Parameter/requirements on discharge into public sewers

Production of paper or cardboard

Total suspended solids:

1 kg per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average) or 50 mg/l (daily average)

Chemical oxygen demand (COD)/dissolved organic carbon (DOC):

according to type of paper: 2,5–5 kg COD per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average) or 1,5–2,5 kg DOC per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average)

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅):

according to type of paper: 0.5–1 kg per tonne production of paper or cardboard (daily average); in justified cases the authorities may instead of the above-mentioned requirement admit a value of 25 mg/l BOD₅ (daily average).

The authorities set the requirements from case to case

No.	Sector/process	Parameter/requirements on discharge into waters
2	Production of sulphite pulp	(BOD₅): 5 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) Chemical oxygen demand (COD): 35 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) 70 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) for plants which were commissioned before 1.1.1997 If the correlation between the COD and the total organic carbons (TOC) is given and proved, monitoring may be carried out on the TOC instead of on the COD. Total suspended solids: 4.5 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) 8.0 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) from 1.1.2000 for plants which were commissioned before 1.1.1997 and did not increase their production capacity after 1.1.1997 by more than 50 per cent. Adsorbable organic halogens (AOX), for plants which do not produce exclusively chlorine-free bleached pulp: 0.5 kg per tonne production of bleached air dry pulp (monthly average) Molecular chlorine ratio: less than 0.05 to 0.1, according to type of pulp

No.

Sector/process

Parameter/requirements on discharge into waters

Production of sulphite pulp

(BOD₅):

5 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average)

Chemical oxygen demand (COD):

35 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average)
70 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) for plants which were commissioned before 1.1.1997

If the correlation between the COD and the total organic carbons (TOC) is given and proved, monitoring may be carried out on the TOC instead of on the COD.

Total suspended solids:

4.5 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average)
8.0 kg per tonne production of air dry pulp (monthly average) from 1.1.2000 for plants which were commissioned before 1.1.1997 and did not increase their production capacity after 1.1.1997 by more than 50 per cent.

Adsorbable organic halogens (AOX), for plants which do not produce exclusively chlorine-free bleached pulp:

0.5 kg per tonne production of bleached air dry pulp (monthly average)

Molecular chlorine ratio:

less than 0.05 to 0.1, according to type of pulp

36 Public utilities and waste disposal plants

No.	Sector / process	Column 1: requirements on discharge into waters	Column 2: requirements on discharge into public sewers
1	Filter water from water treatment	Total suspended solids: 30 mg/l (daily average) (guide value)	No special requirements
2	Waste incineration plants	Antimony (Sb): 0.1 mg/l Sb^a Arsenic (As): 0.1 mg/l As^a Lead (Pb): 0.1 mg/l Pb^a Cadmium (Cd): 0.05 mg/l Cd^a Chromium (total Cr): 0.1 mg/l Cr^a Copper (Cu): 0.1 mg/l (Cu)^a Nickel (Ni): 0.1 mg/l Ni^a Zinc (Zn): 0.1 mg/l Zn^a Mercury (Hg): 0.001 mg/l Hg^a Dissolved organic carbon (DOC): 10 mg/l DOC	Antimony (Sb): 0.1 mg/l Sb^a Arsenic (As): 0.1 mg/l As^a Lead (Pb): 0.1 mg/l Pb^a Cadmium (Cd): 0.05 mg/l Cd^a Chromium (total cr): 0.1 mg/l Cr^a Copper (Cu): 0.1 mg/l Cu^a Nickel (Ni): 0.1 mg/l Ni^a Zinc (Zn): 0.1 mg/l Zn^a Mercury (Hg): 0.001 mg/l Hg^a Sulphate: If there is a risk of corrosion in the public sewers, the authorities shall specify a value for admissible sulphate concentrations in each individual case.
3	Processing wastes containing mercury	Mercury (Hg): 0.05 mg/l Hg in monthly average 0.1 mg/l Hg in daily average	Mercury (Hg): 0.05 mg/l Hg in monthly average 0.1 mg/l Hg in daily average
4	Desilverisation of fixative baths	Silver (Ag): The authorities set the requirements from case to case.	Silver (Ag): 5 mg/l Ag
5	Desilverisation of bleach- hardeners	Silver (Ag) and bleaching agents: The authorities shall apply the requirements in each individual case.	Silver (Ag) and bleaching agents: 5 mg/l Ag Poorly biodegradable bleaching agents (especially Fe-EDTA -complex and EDTA-surplus): the authorities set the requirements from case to case.
Guide value for requirements on discharge to be specified by the authorities on a case by case basis depending on the actual conditions.

37 Other sectors

No.	Sector/ process	Column: requirements on discharge into waters	Column 2: requirements on discharge into public sewers
1	Photographic processes	Silver (Ag): the authorities set the requirements from case to case.	Silver (Ag): 50 mg/l Ag in cases where annual consumption of fixative bath does not exceed 1000 l/a 5 mg/l Ag in cases where consumption of fixative bath is in excess of 1000 l/a
2	Manufacture of primary batteries containing mercury	Mercury (Hg): 0.05 mg/l Hg (monthly average) 0.1 mg/l Hg (daily average) 0.03 g/kg Hg per kg of mercury used (monthly average) 0.06 g/kg Hg per kg of mercury used (daily average)
3	Manufacture of other primary batteries and secondary batteries	Cadmium (Cd): 0.2 mg/l Cd (monthly average) 0.4 mg/l Cd (daily average)
4	Processes requiring use of pathogenic micro-organisms	–	Pathogenicmicro‑organisms: inactivation
5	Dental surgeries and clinics	Amalgam: The authorities specify the requirements on a case to case basis.	Amalgam: Treatment units in which amalgam is processed, shall be equipped with an amalgam separator with a removal efficiency of at least 95%.

Annex 3.3¹²¹

(Art. 6 para. 1 and 7 para. 1)

Discharge of Other Polluted Wastewater into Waters or into Public Sewers

1 General requirements

For polluted wastewater other than communal or industrial wastewater, the authorities shall determine the requirements on discharge on the basis of the characteristics of the wastewater, the state of the art and the condition of the body of waters concerned. In so doing they shall take account of international or national standards, directives published by the FOEN or standards worked out by the sector concerned in co-operation with the FOEN.

² Precipitation water running off built-up or sealed surfaces and not mixed with other polluted wastewater is also regarded as other polluted wastewater.

³ In order that the state of the art be maintained, polluted wastewater from sectors, processes and plants, must comply at least with the requirements of No 2; numerical requirements apply at the site of discharge.

2 Special requirements

21 Continuous cooling installations

Plants with continuous cooling installations must be designed and operated according to the state of the art so that as little heat as possible is generated and the waste heat is recovered as far as possible.

² Dissolved organic carbon in the cooling water (DOC) may be increased by at most 5 mg/l DOC.

³ If potential water pollutants are added to the cooling water (e.g. biocides), requirements for discharge of these substances shall be specified.

⁴ In addition, for discharge into watercourses and stretches of standing water on rivers, the following apply:

the temperature of the cooling water may amount to a maximum of 30 °C; in derogation, the authority may permit the temperature to amount to a maximum of 33 °C if the temperature of the waters from which the withdrawal is made exceeds 20 °C; if the water temperature exceeds 25 °C, the authority may permit exceptions if the increase in the water temperature amounts to a maximum of 0.01 °C per discharge or the discharge comes from an existing nuclear power plant;
a watercourse must not warm up by more than 3 °C above or below the temperature in its as near natural as possible state, or, in trout water stretches, by more than 1.5 °C; furthermore, the water temperature must not exceed 25 °C;
the spillway construction must guarantee rapid mixing;
the waters must be warmed up slowly enough to avoid any harmful effects on communities of plants, animals and micro-organisms.

⁵ When discharging into lakes, additional requirements in accordance with paragraphs 1–3 of the discharge conditions shall be determined on a case by case basis according to local conditions, in particular concerning the temperature of the cooling water, the depth and type of discharge.

⁶ When discharging into public sewers, in addition to the requirements in accordance with paragraphs 1–3, the temperature of the wastewater discharged may not exceed 60 °C and the temperature in the sewer systems may not exceed 40 °C after mixing.

22 Closed-circuit cooling installations

¹ When discharging mud-loaded water from closed-circuit cooling installations into a body of water the following values may not be exceeded:

temperature: 30 °C;
total suspended solids: 40 mg/l;
dissolved organic carbon (DOC): 10 mg/l.

² If potential water pollutants are added to the cooling water, requirements for such substances shall be specified.

23 Construction sites

Wastewater from construction sites may be discharged into a body of water or public sewers if it complies with the general requirements for industrial wastewater in accordance with Annex 3.2 number 2.

² In addition, the following values may not be exceeded when discharging into a body of water:

AOX: 0.08 mg/l X;
nitrite: 0.3 mg/l N.

24 Façade and tunnel cleaning

Wastewater from façade or tunnel cleaning may be discharged into a body of water only if it contains no detergent and has been sufficiently purified in a plant.

² It may be discharged into public sewers if it does not make the recovery of the sludge difficult and if the treatment efficiency of the plant is sufficient to eliminate potential water pollutants.

25 Landfills

¹ Landfill leachate may be discharged into waters if:

it complies with the general requirements for industrial wastewater in accordance with Annex 3.2 number 2;
the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) does not exceed 20 mg/l O₂; and
dissolved organic carbon (DOC) does not exceed 10 mg/l C.

² It may be discharged into a public sewer if it complies with the general requirements in accordance with Annex 3.2 number 2.

³ The authorities shall determine on a case by case basis whether the values specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 must be adapted and if additional requirements must be issued due to the composition of the leachate or the condition of the of waters in question.

26 Gravel conditioning

¹ Water from gravel washing may be discharged into a body of water if:

it complies with the general requirements for industrial wastewater in accordance with Annex 3.2 number 2;
the pH does not exceed 9.

² It shall not be discharged into a public sewer.

27 Fish farms

Only feedstuff low in phosphorus may be used on fish farms.

² Plants must be de-sludged according to directions of the authorities.

³ Water discharged from the plant may not contain more than 20 mg/l (guide value) of total suspended solids.

⁴ If therapeutic or other potential water pollutants are used, in particular in order to maintain the health of fish, the authorities shall specify the requirements for the protection of the body of water on a case by case basis.

28 Swimming pools

Water from swimming pools may be discharged into a body of water only if it does not contain more than 0.05 mg/l (guide value) of disinfectant (e.g. active chlorine).

Annex 4¹²²

(Art. 29 and 31)

Planning the Protection of Waters

1 Description of water protection areas at particular risk and determination of groundwater protection zones and areas

11 Particularly endangered water protection areas

111 Water protection area A_u

The water protection area A _u comprises the exploitable underground waters as well as the marginal areas necessary for their protection.

² An underground body of water is exploitable or suitable for procurement of water if the water in its natural or enriched state:

is available in sufficient quantity to be exploitable, demand not being taken into account; and
complies with the requirements of the foodstuff legislation for drinking water, if necessary after basic treatment.

112 Water protection area A_o

The water protection area A _o comprises the surface waters and their riparian zone, as far as these are required for guaranteeing special use.

113 Area of contribution Z_u

The area of contribution Z _u comprises the region from which, at low water level, about 90 per cent of the groundwater originates that may be at most withdrawn at the groundwater well. If this area can be determined only with disproportionate expense, the area of contribution Z _u comprises the entire catchment area of the groundwater well.

114 Area of contribution Z_o

The area of contribution Z _o comprises the catchment area from which the major part of the pollution of the surface waters originates.

12 Groundwater protection zones

121 General

¹ Groundwater protection zones consist of Zones S1 and S2 and:

in the case of unconsolidated sediment and weakly heterogeneous karst and fissured-rock aquifers: Zone S3;
in the case of strongly heterogeneous karst and fissured-rock aquifers: Zones S_h and S_m; Zone S_m must not be designated in the case of karst and fissured rock groundwater if designation as an area of contribution Z_u can ensure equivalent protection.

² In the case of extraction wells, the dimensioning of groundwater protection zones is determined by the maximum quantity that could be extracted.

122 Zone S1

Zone S1 is intended to prevent damage to and pollution of groundwater wells and rechargeinstallations as well as their immediate surroundings.

² In the case of strongly heterogeneous karst and fissured-rock aquifers, it should also prevent the pollution of the immediate environment of geological structures where concentrated surface water enters the subsoil (sinkholes) and where there is a risk to sources of drinking water.

³ It comprises the groundwater well or recharge installation and the immediate surroundings of the installations. In the case of karst or fissured rock groundwater, it also comprises the immediate environment of sinkholes where there is a risk to sources of drinking water.

123 Zone S2

¹ Zone S2 is intended to prevent:

the groundwater being polluted by excavations and underground works near to groundwater wells or recharge installations; and
the groundwater well inflow being obstructed by underground installations.

² In the case of unconsolidated sediment and weakly heterogeneous karst and fissured-rock aquifers, it should also prevent pathogens and substances that may pollute water from entering the groundwater well in such quantities that there is a risk to sources of drinking water.

³ They shall be separated around groundwater wells or recharge installations and shall be dimensioned in such a way that:

the distance from Zone S1 to the outer border of Zone S2 shall amount to at least 100 m in the upstream direction; it may be less if hydrogeological investigations prove that the groundwater well or recharge installation are equally well protected by intact and relatively impermeable cover layers; and
in the case of unconsolidated sediment and weakly heterogeneous karst and fissured-rock aquifers the flow duration of the groundwater from the outer border of Zone S2 to the groundwater well or the recharge installation will be at least ten days.

124 Zone S3

Zone S3 is intended to guarantee that in the case of imminent dangers (e.g. accidents with substances which may pollute water) enough space and time is available for the necessary measures.

² The distance from the outer border of Zone S2 to the outer border of Zone S3 is as a rule at least as great as the distance from zone 1 to the outer border of Zone S2.

125 Zones S_h and S_m

¹ Zones S_h and S_m are intended to prevent:

groundwater from being polluted by the construction and operation of installations and output of substances; and
the hydrodynamics of the groundwater being adversely affected by building activities.

² Zone S _h includes areas of high vulnerability in the catchment area of a groundwater well.

³ Zone S _m includes areas of at least moderate vulnerability in the catchment area of a groundwater well.

⁴ The vulnerability is determined on the basis of the properties of the covering (soil and protective layer) and of the karst or fissured rock system and the infiltration conditions.

13 Groundwater protection area

Groundwater protection areas are demarcated in such a way as to enable the locations of the groundwater wells and recharge installations to be determined appropriately and to demarcate the groundwater protection zones accordingly.

2 Measures for the protection of waters

21 Protection of areas particularly at risk

211 Water protection areas A_u and A_o

In the water protection areas A _u and A _o, no installations may be constructed that constitute a special risk to a body of water; in particular, the construction of storage tanks with more than 250 000 l usable volume and containing liquids that may pollute waters already in small quantities is not permitted. The authority may permit exceptions for good cause.

² In water protection area A _u, _{_,} no installations may be constructed which lie below the average groundwater level. The authorities may grant exemptions where the flow-through capacity of the groundwater is reduced by a maximum of 10 per cent when compared with its state when uninfluenced by the plant in question.

³ For the excavation of gravel, sand and other material in water protection area A_u:

a protective layer of material must be left that is at least 2 m above the highest maximum ten-year groundwater level; in the case of a recharge installation, the actual level of the water table applies if it is higher than the maximum ten-year high;
the excavation area shall be limited in such a way that natural groundwater recharge is guaranteed;
after excavation, the soil shall be restored so that it offers the same protection as in its original state.

212 Areas of contribution Z_u and Z_o

If, due to soil use, waters are polluted in the areas of contribution Z_u and Z_o by runoff and leaching of substances such as plant protection products or fertilisers, the cantons shall specify the measures required for waters protection. For example:

restrictions of use for plant protection products and fertilisers specified by the cantons in accordance with Annexes 2.5 number 1.1 paragraph 4 and 2.6 number 3.3.1 paragraph 3 of the Chemicals Risk Reduction Ordinance of 18 May 2005¹²³ (ORRChem);
limiting the areas for production of large crops and vegetables;
limiting crop selection and rotation as well as farming techniques;
refraining from ploughing grasslands in autumn;
refraining from converting pasture into arable land;
maintaining permanent plant cover on the soil in all circumstances;
only using mechanical aids, techniques, equipment and cultural methods that are particularly adapted.

22 Groundwater protection zones

221 Zone S3

¹ In Zone S3, the following are not permitted:

industrial and commercial plants that place groundwater at risk;
constructions that decrease the storage volume or the flow capacity of the aquifer; the authority may permit exceptions for good cause if a risk to drinking water sources can be excluded;
infiltration of wastewater, except for infiltration of non-polluted wastewater from roof tops (Art. 3 para. 3 letter a) through a biologically active soil;
substantial reductions in the protective covering (soil and protective layer);
pipelines which are subject to the Pipelines Act of 4 October 1963¹²⁴; gas pipelines are exempt;
circuits that remove heat from or add heat to the subsoil;
underground storage tanks and pipes containing liquids which may pollute water;
storage tanks containing liquids which may pollute water with more than 450 l of usable volume in each protective structure; exempted therefrom are free-standing storage tanks with heating oil or diesel that supply energy to buildings or facilities for no more than two years; the total usable volume may amount to a maximum of 30 m³ for each protective structure;
operating plants containing liquids which may pollute water with more than 2000 l of usable volume; exempted therefrom are plants that are permitted in Zone S3 under Article 7 paragraph 2 of the Low Current Installations Ordinance of 30 March 1994¹²⁵ or Article 7 paragraph 2 of the Heavy Current Installations Ordinance of 30 March 1994¹²⁶.

² The application of plant protection substances, wood protection substances, as well as fertilisers and similar products, is governed by Annexes 2.4 numbers 1, 2.5 and 2.6 ORRChem.

221bis Zone S_m

¹ The following are not permitted in Zone S_m:

industrial and commercial plants that place groundwater at risk;
building activities that have detrimental effects on the hydrodynamics of the groundwater;
infiltration of wastewater, with the exception of the infiltration of non-polluted wastewater (Art. 3 para. 3) through a biologically active layer of soil and of polluted communal wastewater from small treatment plants in compliance with the requirements of Article 8 paragraph 2, if the cost of discharging the communal wastewater from the protection zone would disproportionate and a risk to drinking water sources can be excluded;
substantial reductions in the protective covering (soil and protective layer);
pipelines subject to the Pipelines Act of 4 October 1963; exempted therefrom are gas pipelines;
circuits that remove heat from or add heat to the subsoil;
underground storage tanks and pipes containing liquids which may pollute water;
storage tanks containing liquids which may pollute water with more than 450 l of usable volume in each protective structure; exempted therefrom are free-standing storage tanks with heating oil or diesel that supply energy to buildings or facilities for no more than two years; the total usable volume may amount to a maximum of 30 m³ for each protective structure;
operating plants containing liquids which may pollute water with more than 2000 l of usable volume; exempted therefrom are plants that are permitted in Zone S3 under Article 7 paragraph 2 of the Low Current Installations Ordinance of 30 March 1994 or Article 7 paragraph 2 of the Heavy Current Installations Ordinance of 30 March 1994.

² The application of plant protection substances, wood protection substances, as well as fertilisers and similar products, is governed by Annexes 2.4 numbers 1, 2.5 and 2.6 ORRChem.

221ter Zone S_h

¹ In Zone S_h, the requirements of Number 221^bis apply; in addition, the following are not permitted:

plants and activities that place groundwater at risk;
the infiltration of wastewater, with the exception of the infiltration of non-polluted wastewater (Art. 3 para. 3) through a biologically active layer of soil.

² For the application of wood protection substances, plant protection substances and fertilisers, Annexes 2.4 numbers 1, 2.5 and 2.6 ORRChem apply.

222 Zone S2

¹ In Zone S2, requirements in accordance with No 221 apply; in addition subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, the following are not permitted:

the construction of installations; the authorities may permit exceptions for good cause, provided there is no risk to the exploitation of drinking water;
excavations that cause detrimental change to the protective covering (soil and protective layer);
infiltration of wastewater;
other activities that place groundwater at risk.

² For the application of wood protection substances, plant protection substances and fertilisers, Annexes 2.4 numbers 1, 2.5 and 2.6 ORRChem apply.

223 Zone S1

In Zone S1, the only construction work and other activities permitted are those connected with the supply of drinking water, except for the cutting of grass which is then left on site.

23 Groundwater protection areas

Construction work and other activities carried on in groundwater protection areas must comply with requirements set out in No 222 paragraph 1.

² If the position and the extent of the future outer protection zone (Zone S3) are known, the corresponding areas must comply with the requirements set out in No 221 paragraph 1.

Annex 4a¹²⁷

(Art. 41 f and 42 b )

Planning Remediation Measures for Hydropeaking and Bed Load Budget

1 Definition

There are special conditions in particular if:

two or more installations cause serious harm in the same catchment area; and
the degree of harm caused by each individual installation cannot yet be assessed.

2 Planning stages for the remediation of hydropeaking

¹ The cantons shall submit an interim report to the FOEN by 30 June 2013. The report shall contain:

for each catchment area, a list of the existing hydropower plants that may cause flow fluctuations (pumped-storage power plants and run-of-river power plants);
information as to which hydropower plants on which stretches of water are seriously harming the indigenous flora and fauna and their habitats due to hydropeaking;
an assessment of the ecological potential of the seriously harmed stretches of water and of the degree of harm;
for each hydropower plant that is seriously harming indigenous flora and fauna and their habitats due to hydropeaking: possible remediation measures, their assessment and a list of the measures to be taken and information on the coordination of these measures in the catchment area;
for hydropower plants for which no decision can yet be made on the remediation measures to be taken under letter d due to special circumstances: a deadline by which the information under letter d must be submitted to the FOEN.

² They must submit the agreed plan to the FOEN by 31 December 2014. It shall contain:

a list of the hydropower plants whose responsible person must take measures to remediate serious harm to the indigenous flora and fauna and their habitats due to hydropeaking, with information on the remediation measures to be taken and the deadlines by which these must be planned and implemented. The deadlines are governed by the urgency of the need for remediation;
Information on how the remediation measures in the catchment area of the body of water concerned will be coordinated with other measures to protect natural habitats and against flooding;
for hydropower plants for which no decision can yet be made on the remediation measures due to special circumstances: a deadline by which the canton shall specify whether and if applicable which remediation measures must be planned and implemented and by when.

3 Planning stages in the case of the remediation of the bed load budget

¹ The cantons shall submit and interim report to the FOEN by 31 December 2013. It shall contain:

a list of stretches of water where the indigenous flora and fauna and their habitats, the groundwater regimen or flood protection are seriously harmed by a change in the bed load budget;
an assessment of the ecological potential of the seriously harmed stretches of water and of the degree of the harm;
a list of all hydropower plants on the seriously harmed stretches of water as well as other installations causing serious harm to the stretches of water under letter a;
a list of the installations whose responsible person must probably take remediation measures, with information on the feasibility of the remediation measures and on the coordination of these measures in the catchment area.

² They shall submit the agreed plan to the FOEN by 31 December 2014. It shall contain:

a list of the installations whose responsible person must take measures to remediate serious harm to the indigenous flora and fauna and their habitats, the groundwater regimen or flood protection due to a change in the bed load budget and the deadlines by which the measures must be planned and be implemented. The deadlines are governed by the urgency of the need for remediation;
information on how other measures to protect natural habitats and against flooding shall be taken into account in the remediation of the bed load budget;
for installations for which no decision can yet be made on the remediation measures due to special circumstances: a deadline by which the canton shall specify whether and if applicable by when remediation measures must be planned and implemented.

Annex 5

(Art. 62)

Repeal and Amendment of Previous Law

1.

The following are repealed:

General Water Protection Ordinance of 19 June 1972¹²⁸;
Ordinance of 8 December 1975¹²⁹ on Wastewater Discharge;
Ordinance of 22 October 1981¹³⁰ on Zone Surveys for Protection of Bodies of Water;
Regulations of 9 August 1972¹³¹ of the Federal Water Protection Commission.

2.-5.

… ¹³²

Waters Protection Ordinance (WPO)

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Art. 1 Purpose and principle

Art. 2 Scope

Chapter 2 Disposal of Wastewater

Section 1 Differentiation between Polluted and Non-Polluted Wastewater

Art. 3

Section 2 Drainage Planning

Art. 4 Regional drainage planning

Art. 5 Communal drainage planning

Section 3 Discharge of Polluted Wastewater

Art. 6 Discharge into waters

Art. 7 Discharge into public sewers

Art. 8 Infiltration

Art. 9 Wastewater of specific origin

Art. 10 Prohibition of waste disposal with wastewater

Section 4 Construction and Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants

Art. 11 Separation of wastewater in buildings

Art. 12 Connection to sewers

Art. 13 Expert operation

Art. 14 Operational reports

Art. 15 Supervision by the authorities

Art. 16 Measures with reference to exceptional events

Art. 17 Reporting on exceptional events

Chapter 3 Disposal of Sludge

Art. 18 Sludge disposal plan

Art. 19 Storage facilities

Art. 20 Inspection and obligation to report

Art. 21 Supply

Chapter 4 Requirements for Animal Husbandry Farms

Art. 22 Animal husbandry farms

Art. 23 Livestock units (LU)

Art. 24 Normal local farming area

Art. 25 Exceptions to the requirements relating to agricultural land

Art. 26 and 2729

Art. 28 Inspection of storage facilities for farm manure and liquid digestate30

Chapter 5 Protection for Waters in terms of Area Planning

Art. 29 Designation of water protection areas and determination of groundwater protection zones and areas

Art. 30 Water protection maps

Art. 31 Protection measures

Art. 32 Authorisations for installations and activities in areas particularly at risk

Art. 32a40 Inspection of storage installations for liquids which may pollute waters

Chapter 6 Maintaining Appropriate Rates of Residual Water Flow

Art. 33 Water withdrawals from watercourses

Art. 33a44 Ecological potential

Art. 34 Protection and utilisation plan

Art. 35 Residual flow report

Art. 36 Inventory of existing water withdrawals

Art. 37 List of water withdrawals not listed in the inventory

Art. 38 Remediation report

Art. 39 Information obligation

Art. 40 Submission, updating and accessibility of inventories, lists and remediation reports

Art. 41 Water withdrawals under licences already granted

Chapter 7 Prevention and Remediation of Other Harmful Effects on Waters47

Section 1 Space provided for Waters and Rehabilitation of Watercourses

Art. 41a Space provided for watercourses

Art. 41b Space provided for standing waters

Art. 41c Extensive structuring and management of the space provided for waters

Art. 41cbis58 Farming land with the quality of crop rotation areas in the space provided for waters

Art. 41cter60 Preservation or restoration of the natural course

Art. 41cquater61 Ecological development and maintenance

Art. 41d Planning of rehabilitation projects

Section 2 Hydropeaking

Art. 41e Serious harm due to hydropeaking

Art. 41f Planning remediation measures for hydropeaking

Art. 41g Remediation measures for hydropeaking

Section 3 Flushing out and Emptying of Impoundments65

Art. 42 ...66

Section 4 Bed Load Budget67

Art. 42a68 Serious harm due to change in the bed load budget

Art. 42b69 Planning the measures to remediate the bed load budget

Art. 42c70 Measures to remediate the bed load budget

Art. 43 Extraction of gravel, sand and other materials from watercourses

Section 5 Drainage Water from Underground Buildings73

Art. 44 ...74

Chapter 8 Enforcement

Art. 4575 Enforcement by cantonal and federal authorities

Art. 46 Co-ordination77

Art. 47 Procedures for polluted waters

Art. 47a83 Inspection of filling and washing stations

Art. 26 and 27²⁹

Art. 28 Inspection of storage facilities for farm manure and liquid digestate³⁰

Art. 32a⁴⁰ Inspection of storage installations for liquids which may pollute waters

Art. 33a⁴⁴ Ecological potential

Chapter 7 Prevention and Remediation of Other Harmful Effects on Waters⁴⁷

Art. 41c^bis⁵⁸ Farming land with the quality of crop rotation areas in the space provided for waters

Art. 41c^ter⁶⁰ Preservation or restoration of the natural course

Art. 41c^quater⁶¹ Ecological development and maintenance

Section 3 Flushing out and Emptying of Impoundments⁶⁵

Art. 42 ...⁶⁶

Section 4 Bed Load Budget⁶⁷

Art. 42a⁶⁸ Serious harm due to change in the bed load budget

Art. 42b⁶⁹ Planning the measures to remediate the bed load budget

Art. 42c⁷⁰ Measures to remediate the bed load budget

Section 5 Drainage Water from Underground Buildings⁷³

Art. 44 ...⁷⁴

Art. 45⁷⁵ Enforcement by cantonal and federal authorities

Art. 46 Co-ordination⁷⁷

Art. 47a⁸³ Inspection of filling and washing stations

Art. 48a⁸⁶ Reporting of limit value exceedances

Art. 49a⁸⁸ Geoinformation

Art. 50⁹⁰

Art. 51 International decisions, recommendations and commissions⁹¹

Art. 52 Nitrogen removal at wastewater treatment plants⁹⁸

Art. 52a⁹⁹ Elimination of organic trace substances at wastewater plants

Art. 54a¹⁰⁰ Planning of rehabilitation measures

Art. 54b¹⁰¹ Implementation of rehabilitation measures

Art. 58¹⁰³ Allowable costs

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 18 October 2006¹⁰⁸

Transitional Provisions to the Amendment of 4 May 2011¹⁰⁹

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 25 May 2011¹¹¹

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 4 November 2015¹¹²

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 16 December 2022¹¹³

Transitional Provision to the Amendment of 29 October 2025¹¹⁴

Annex 2¹¹⁵

Annex 3.1¹¹⁶

Annex 3.2¹¹⁹