A coastal or lagoon monitoring programme should begin with the management question: which flows, levels or water-quality changes must be understood, and what decision will the observations support? The answer determines the monitoring locations, variables, duration and quality controls.
STREAM’s scope-planning approach connects the receiving water, exchange channels, drainage inputs and field-access constraints. This guide describes a method; it does not publish a client dataset or claim that a particular monitoring campaign has been completed.
Map the water pathways first
Identify sea connections, gravity drains, pumping inputs, upstream storage and relevant abstractions. Check whether mapped connections are open and hydraulically connected under the conditions of interest. Record which conclusions come from current field observations and which remain assumptions.
Water level and discharge answer different questions
A water-level record describes stage. Discharge describes the volume passing a section per unit time. A stage record alone is not a discharge series unless a suitable and checked relationship or calculation supports conversion. WMO distinguishes stage recording, discharge recording and water-quality observations.
What should the monitoring plan specify?
| Component | Scope decision |
|---|---|
| Levels | Locations, shared vertical reference, recording interval and comparison with receiving-water conditions. |
| Channel flows | Section geometry, direction convention, measurement method and conditions to be represented. |
| Water quality | Variables justified by the question, field or laboratory methods, sampling and quality controls. |
| Operations | Access, permissions, power, communications, inspections and maintenance responsibilities. |
| Data | Time zone, units, coordinates, identifiers, quality flags and delivery format. |
Represent timing and changing conditions
Sea exchange and drainage can change during a monitoring period. Specify the conditions the programme needs to capture rather than assuming that a small number of visits represents every season or event. Where measurements are compared between locations, align clocks and record the time reference. Keep the sign convention for inflow and outflow explicit.
Build quality control into the work
Maintain station and instrument records, field sheets, survey references and a record of checks. Preserve measured values alongside flags and explain corrections or estimates. WMO’s observing-station guidance highlights metadata, documented changes and routine quality control. The precise acceptance criteria should be agreed for the assignment.
What should the client receive?
An agreed deliverable can include the monitoring design, location register, field records, checked time series, quality flags, maps and a technical interpretation. A water-balance or model application needs an explicit account of coverage, gaps and uncertain terms. Equipment supply, installation, laboratory work and operational warning responsibilities are separately defined in the scope.
For an initial enquiry, send the study boundary, management question, existing records, required variables, duration and access constraints. See monitoring services, data services and technical resources.
Technical sources
- WMO: hydrological station definitions.
- WMO: observing-station metadata and quality-control criteria. These recognition criteria provide reference context; no centennial-station status or WMO certification is claimed.
Discuss your project
Send the location, decision to be supported, available records and required timetable through our project enquiry page. Technical contact: Dr.-Ing. Klodian Zaimi, founder and Principal Technical Expert of STREAM Sh.p.k.
Prepared by STREAM. Reviewed on 2 November 2026. This guide helps define a study scope; site-specific conclusions require appropriate observations, modelling and technical review.