Article 5

1. For the purposes of Article 4 surface water shall be assumed to conform to the relevant parameters if samples of this water taken at regular intervals at the same sampling point and used in the abstraction of drinking water show that it complies with the parametric values for the water quality in question, in the case of: - 95 % of the samples for parameters conforming to those specified in the "I" columns in Annex II, 90 % of the samples in all other cases, and if in the case of the 5 or 10 % of the samples which do not comply: (a) the water does not deviate from the parametric values in question by more than 50 %, except for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen and microbiological parameters; there can be no resultant danger to public health; consecutive water samples taken at statistically suitable intervals do not deviate from the relevant parametric values. 2. Pending a Community policy on the matter, the frequency of sampling and the analysis of each parameter, together with the methods of measurement shall be defined by the competent national authorities which shall take into account the volume of water abstracted, the extent of the abstraction, the population served, the degree of risk engendered by the quality of the water and seasonal variations in the quality. 3. Higher values than those referred to in paragraph 2, shall not be taken into consideration in the calculation of the percentages referred to in paragraph 1 when they are the result of floods or natural disasters or abnormal weather conditions. 4. Sampling shall mean the place at which surface water is abstracted before being sent for purification treatment.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.