Overview
ISO 5667-1:2023 - Water quality - Sampling - Part 1 provides general principles and practical guidance for the design of sampling programmes and sampling techniques for all water matrices, including waste waters, sludges, effluents, suspended solids and sediments. It sets out high-level requirements for planning, safety, variability assessment and selection of sampling approaches, and it points users to specific parts of the ISO 5667 series (and ISO 19458) for detailed, matrix-specific procedures.
Key topics and technical focus
- Scope and objectives: Guidance on designing representative sampling programmes for monitoring, compliance, investigations and research.
- Safety and environmental considerations: Personnel safety and general environmental protection when sampling water, sludges and sediments.
- Programme design: Roles and responsibilities of sampling personnel, defining monitoring objectives, dealing with variability and identifying sampling locations.
- Variability and statistical considerations: Recognizing random and systematic variations, selecting frequency, duration and timing of sampling occasions, and principles for establishing representative sampling plans.
- Sampling techniques: Overview of spot, periodic (time- or flow-dependent), continuous, series and composite sampling; large-volume and passive sampling approaches.
- Flow measurements: When and how flow, velocity and discharge measurements support water quality goals (load calculations, dilution, mass flux).
- Sampling equipment and containers: General guidance on selection of sampling devices and containers for physical and chemical analyses.
- Quality assurance links: Cross-references to QA/QC guidance and preservation/handling standards to ensure sample integrity.
Practical applications and users
ISO 5667-1:2023 is designed for practitioners who plan, manage or perform water quality sampling, including:
- Environmental consultants and field technicians establishing monitoring programmes
- Water and wastewater utility managers assessing treatment plant performance
- Regulatory authorities and compliance officers designing surveillance and enforcement sampling
- Laboratory managers and QA staff coordinating sample preservation, handling and chain-of-custody
- Researchers and academics conducting field investigations of rivers, lakes, groundwater, marine waters, sludges and sediments
Typical uses include compliance monitoring, pollution incident investigations, baseline environmental assessments, load and mass flux calculations, and the design of long-term water quality monitoring networks.
Related standards
ISO 5667-1:2023 is the general part of a broader series. Key related documents include:
- ISO 5667-3 (preservation and handling of samples)
- ISO 5667-14 (quality assurance and quality control of sampling)
- ISO 5667-4/5/6/9/10/11/12/13/15/16/17/19/20/21/22/24/26 (matrix-specific sampling guidance)
- ISO 19458 (microbiological sampling procedures)
Using ISO 5667-1 together with these specific parts ensures legally defensible, representative and high-quality water sampling programmes. Keywords: ISO 5667-1:2023, water quality sampling, sampling programmes, sampling techniques, wastewater sampling, sediment sampling, sampling equipment, flow measurement, QA/QC.
Open preview (PDF)Water quality — Sampling — Part 1: Guidance on the design of sampling programmes and sampling techniques