Environmental standards are sets of requirements which must be fulfilled at a given time in a given environment or particular part thereof, as set out in the legislation. The quality standards usually refer to limit values.

Among the most common standards or parameters that LLDA have to enforce to safeguard the water quality within its jurisdiction are those that pertain to:

Biochemical Oxygen Demand is the amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose the organic matter in a sample of water ( such as that polluted by sewage). It is used as a measure of the degree of water pollution.

Total Suspended Solids are solids in water that can be trapped by filter. TSS can include a wide variety of material such as silt, decaying plant & animal matter, industrial wastes and sewage.

High concentration of suspended solids can cause many problems for stream health and aquatic life.