{"id":47475,"date":"2025-11-14T11:24:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swecobelgium.be\/services2\/water-sediment-analysis\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:24:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:24:23","slug":"water-sediment-analysis","status":"publish","type":"services","link":"https:\/\/www.swecobelgium.be\/en\/services\/water-sediment-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Sediment Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The importance of water bed and water system analysis for informed and supported solutions<\/h1>\n

A clean water bed helps to ensure good water quality. Despite some improvements having been made since 2000, it is still advisable to monitor water (bed) quality so that we can be sure that our drinking water is clean and that our waters are safe for leisure pursuits. Sweco collects and analyses data and provides sustainable solutions<\/a> for both people and the environment.<\/p>\n

The percentage of polluted to heavily polluted river and sea beds in Flanders has decreased from 80% to 27% since the year\u00a02000 [source<\/a>]. In Wallonia, the figure is 15% [source<\/a>]. The pollution in question is mainly historical and made up of heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, and zinc, in addition to pesticides, PCBs, PFAS, and other chemicals. Although things are moving in the right direction, there is still a lot of work to be done.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Drought exacerbates water bed contamination<\/h3>\n

Water beds become more contaminated during periods of drought. This is a particular problem in Belgium, which is ranked in the highest category for water stress [source<\/a>]. Soil compaction<\/strong> and erosion affect the stability of the water bed and less dilution increases the concentration of chemicals<\/strong>, such as nitrates and phosphates.<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that a contaminated water bed also has a negative impact on the water quality itself. The authorities in Flanders and Wallonia want to continue and reinforce the positive trend of improvement by implementing the Water Framework Directive and the Walloon Water Management<\/a> Plan.<\/p>\n

A proven strategy across the hydrological spectrum<\/h3>\n

Our experts take a holistic approach when examining the composition and quality of the water bed. We map out the entire water system<\/strong> to understand the dynamics between groundwater<\/a>, surface water, sediment, rainwater, soil, and so on, and to detect (operational) discharges. Our proven strategy includes:<\/p>\n