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Isabel Torres de NORONHA
CITIDEP Portugal. E-mail: nop03898@mail.telepac.pt
ABSTRACT
Portuguese Regional Agencies for Environmental Protection depends on the Environmental Ministry with strong a vocation for regional and local public access. CITIDEP has analysed legal attributes, processes and type of information produced by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lisboa and Vale do Tejo. Water quality data and noise complains where the issues chosen as case-studies with the objective of displaying information on Internet. The main advantages for the public access via Internet, and simultaneously for DRA-LVT, where assessed. Both case-studies will be useful to evaluate the potential of using Internet to access information and at the same time simplify the procedures and reduce distance between public and administration services. The water quality case-study refers to results of superficial waters analisys at withdrawals points for production of water for human consumption. The main advantages of Internet access to this kind of information is maintaining actualised water quality data in a real time scale, specially from an health point of view. This procedure has the potential advantage of reducing the need time to dispose information both to consumers and administration.
Portuguese Regional Agencies for Environmental Protection (Direcção Regional do Ambiente - DRA) are decentralized departments of Environmental Ministry with a strong vocation for regional and local public access to processes and information. In fact they are the main institutions allowing prosecution of environmental policies on a regional bases, being the executive instrument of the Environmental ministry on the ground.
As a result of it's executive duties, DRA have numerous and diverse attributes on Environmental issues, (as for e.g.):
- collection of environmental quality parameters (water resources, air quality, residues);
- inventories of pollution sources;
- attribution of permits for certain uses or areas (e.g. water resources);
- participation on industrial or licensing process;
- fiscalization.
- responsible for physical implementation (construction) of environmental infrastructures;
- planning and managing regional natural resources;
- active participation on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process;
- supplying public in general and other institutions with environmental information.
As a result of all this diverse tasks DRA needs to interact with many different users and there is a huge quantity and type of information that needs to be accessed. On the other hand, potential demand for this information came for very wide entities. Therefore DRA are very dynamic institutions, with a high level of requests from different actors.
Direcção Regional do Ambiente from Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region (DRA-LVT), is responsible for the prosecution of Ministry's Environmental policies for the most populated region of Portugal. Now DRA-LVT started updating the organisation system for information, with special emphasis on the database system and other informatic systems, including making available Internet and e-mail access to it's workers.
Although DRA-LVT services have a strong component of interaction with "users" the structures to perform this kind of interaction and communication are underdeveloped.
Using the present process of reformulation of database information system, the opportunity of co-operation with information team, and the research already available about this institution, CITIDEP proposed to improve Public Access to DRA-LVT's information, using the new technologies of information, with emphasis to Internet and e-mail services.
With the project "Public Access to Information" CITIDEP aims to increase public access to information, to simplify the access procedures, minimise differences resulting from distance access as a way of improving equality of rights and opportunities and to approach institutions and citizens. On the other hand this process should facilitate and reduce the work at DRA-LVT, increasing efficiency on process management and optimisation of DRA-LVT's resources.
To accomplish these objectives there where propose two case-studies to implement new information technologies: water quality data publishing and noise complains process on Internet.
To understand how DRA-LVT functions it was needed to make a review of the legal attributes of DRA-LVT. After there was a need to understand how those attributes where accomplished, so legal attributes and procedures were verified in interviews with the responsible people of different services. That way it was possible to achieve the real list of attributions, processes, fluxes of information and potential users.
On the other hand a written inquiry has been done to understand other constrains, quantity of produced material, support of the produced material, identification of the demands and other relevant information.
Resulting from the analysis of how DRA-LVT works and also from data base information two case studies where identified to publish information: Water quality data for the production of water for public consumption and noise complains.
At regional level DRA-LVT's Direcção de Serviços da Água (DSA) is the department responsible for management of water resources . It's duties include participation on planning and managing water resources (superficial and groundwater), licensing the use of the hydric domain, participation on industrial license process and in environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. On the other hand, DSA is responsible for the inventories of different uses of hydric domain on it's region (LVT), sample and monitoring water resources. Besides DSA runs extension departments of DRA-LVT consisting in local implementation on three different places of the region Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (LVT).
As a result of all that work, DSA produces and accumulates a quantity of data and information, related with different kind of institutions and citizens.
For case-study it was selected the publication of superficial water quality data. The water quality case-study refers to superficial waters at withdrawals points for production of water for human consumption.
Water department was selected as one of the target services to apply a case-study because DSA produces and possess a large quantity of data, more than most of the other departments (CITIDEP, 1998). This service is responsible for monitoring water quality and quantity. Monitoring process includes measuring some parameters in loco, sampling water for water analysis in laboratory and statistical data treatment and analysis. Finally the results of water resources monitoring are published with different periodicity that varies with the uses of water.
The main advantages of selecting DSA, with specially emphasis on water quality data publishing on worldwideweb are:
- water quality data are used on different studies and projects;
- water quality data are already stored on databases;
- water quality, for human consumption and in the nature, it's a kind of information that public considers relevant and pays attention and should be delivered;
- DSA is obliged to publish water quality data periodically, including brochures with water quality data and classification. Publishing this data on Internet would allow to reduce or even avoid realisation of some of those brochures, or at least, it would facilitate access to data in a shorter period;
- Internet makes information readily available;
- Internet removes distance, and consequently minimise inequalities that result on distance between the public and the institutions;
- Internet is a powerful tool to reduce littoral-interior disadvantages;
- simplifies the process of accessing and acquisition of information;
- allows to maintain real tome knowledge about water quality and public health;
- facilitation of data transmission to other entities involved on the process (municipalities, National Water Institute, Environmental Protections Agency, Water Basins Commissions, ONG, citizens, and even inside DRA-LVT, which has water services in different locations;
- on DRA-LVT there are presently no infrastructures to access this kind of information (no library for public consultancy)(CITIDEP, 1998). DSA has difficulties giving information (CITIDEP, 1998);
- usually, the public that search that kind of information has enough literacy to use internet;
- usually, the public that search that kind of information has access to the adequate hardware and enough technical knowledge to use it.
It was selected to publish data about water quality on superficial waters at withdrawals points for production of water for human consumption. The main objective is to maintain knowlege of water quality at withdrawals points in real time scale, so it would be time to act, specially on the public health point of view. This process has the potential of reducing the process of make information available and eventualy to reduce the necessity of produce the monthly brochure and so it would reduce dependence on typographic work and all associated financial costs.
Displaying water quality data on superficial waters at withdrawals points for production of water for human consumption is a restrict application of publishing data on water quality. This case-study is an example of data publishing but with some adjustments it can be applied to other water uses and standards.
At DRA-LVT, DSA annually publishes the results of water quality monitoring at withdrawals points. The information on DSA brochure was the starting point to develop the case-study. The information displayed includes:
- characteristics of sampling points;
- legislation and legal standards;
- water quality annual data;
- water quality classification according with legal standards;
- water quality classification according with the kind of treatment to produce water for human consumption
The
user arrives to DRA-LVT home page:
There he selects Water Quality Services (DRH) at DSA or directly to the theme |
Home | |
| At Water
Resources Homepage he chooses Water Quality, and then Water Quality at for the production of water for human consumption. |
Water Resources | |
On this page he will find a map with the Sampling Network, which includes all (nine) withdrawals points (sampling points). On this page the user will choose the Sampling. Sites that he will see data. One of the alternatives is to choose the sample site on the map (active sample site). |
Water Quality | |
After Sample Site activation the site will retrieve last 12 months water quality information. |
Sanple Site | |
| The results will be displayed as a table or as a graphic (user will be able to choose). In case of table displaying information, the user can select another Sample Site, and new data will be retrieve on the table. On table format water quality classification will be displayed. | Table | |
On graphical format the user will have to select the parameter prior to display the results. On this display format user will be able to change the Sampling Site or another parameter. |
Graphics |
On all this pages there will be links to useful background information (e.g.):
- legislation;
- standards;
- criteria applied for water quality classification;
- sampling point characteristics.
- e-mail box WaterQual@ exclusively dedicated for water quality questions and suggestions
Water Services co-ordinate all monitoring process. Every year DSA re-selects the sampling points and the parameters to monitor. At laboratory level a scheduler is organised and sent to the four teams that sample water for analysis.
Samples are collected and bring back to laboratory. There the analysis results are inserted on a database file and sent to water resources services (DSA).
At DSA the results data are imported to a spreadsheet to perform statistical analysis and water quality classification for the last 12 months.
The results are exported to a new database file, which is the final data format.
Water services will have to up-date water quality data and classification will occur monthly.
By default the website will display only the last 12 months. This means that the string for the older month will be removed to show the most recent one. This action will enforce up-dating table contents, graph temporal series and map's pattern/colour displayed for water quality classification.
The database software currently in use already allows direct publication of some database fields directly on WWW. Consequently, up-dating the web site could be done automatically.
Alternatively, graphs and map will have to be up-dated outside the system. Supposing the most pessimistic scenario data could be sent by e-mail from the laboratory to water services (DSA). With a much reduce frequency other elements will need some up-dating, e.g., legislation, changes on sampling sites and it's characteristics.
CITIDEP, 1998 - Análse do Acesso Público à informação na Direcção Regional do Ambiente de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo e Desenho de dois Casos-Piloto. Relatório entregue à DRA-LVT em Maio de 1998.