The UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6

The UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6 supports countries in monitoring water- and sanitation-related issues within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in compiling country data to report on global progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

 The 2020 Data Drive is part this Integrated Monitoring Initiative for Sustainable Development Goal 6 (IMI-SDG6)

and involves countries collecting and reporting data on various SDG 6 indicators to multiple UN agencies. The United Nation Environment Programme is supporting countries to report on SDG indicator 6.3.2.

SDG Indicator 6.3.2: "Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality"

Target 6.3 sets out to improve ambient water quality – this page explains why and how to monitor progress towards the indicator 6.3.2 under this target, and what support is available for countries to do so. 

The indicator tracks the percentage of water bodies in a country with good ambient water quality.

“Good” indicates an ambient water quality

For indicator 6.3.2 overall water quality is estimated based on a core set of parameters which inform on major water quality impairments present in many parts of the world:

• dissolved oxygen (surface water)
• electrical conductivity (surface water and groundwater)
• nitrogen/nitrate (surface water and groundwater)
• phosphorus (surface water)
• pH (surface water and groundwater)

The methodology calls for in-situ measurements of these water quality parameters. The measured values are compared to national target levels for the different parameters, and if values do not exceed the target level, the water body is classified as good.

that does not damage ecosystem function and human health according to core ambient water quality parameters. These parameters are organised into groups (oxygen, salinity, nitrogen, phosphorous, pH) that use simple to measure characteristics of water in order to create a globally comparable picture of a country's pressures on the quality of its freshwater bodies. 

In addition to this simple water quality index, the methodology for 6.3.2 is flexible enough to allow countries to submit other relevant data that maybe of national concern and uses alternative sources of data, such as satellite-based Earth Observation, Citizen Science initiatives, modeling or biological approaches.

Link to Guidance and Support Resources