#Main Committee I: Analytical Methods – Development and Standardisation

Since its foundation in 1926, one of the aims of the Society of Water Chemistry has been to standardise test methods for assessing water quality. In 1928, a committee was set up specifically for this purpose; it is now known as “Main Committee I: Analytical Methods – Development and Standardisation”. Since then, members of the Society of Water Chemistry have played a central role, using their expertise to standardise analytical methods in the field of water and sludge testing. They help ensure that test specifications suitable for citation in legislation are available in the form of standards.

In 1935, the “Unified Physical and Chemical Methods” were published for the first time by Verlag Chemie. In 1953, a revised and expanded edition was published under the title “German Unified Methods for Water Analysis”. In 1960, the “German Unified Methods for the Examination of Water, Wastewater and Sludge” were published as a loose-leaf collection, so that individual specifications could be replaced by revised versions as required.

Since 1976, an agreement has been in place between the Division and DIN, the German Institute for Standardization, under which the unified methods are gradually being converted into DIN standards, and new unified methods are developed by the Society of Water Chemistry in collaboration with the Water Standards Committee. All DIN standards based on the unified methods are also published as part of this collection. International standards for water quality are developed under German leadership by Technical Committee 147 “Water Quality” of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO); in some cases, these are incorporated into the German body of standards as DIN-ISO standards and are then also published in this collection. European Standards (EN) for water analysis are developed under German leadership by Technical Committee 230 of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). European Standards must be adopted unchanged into the national body of standards and then supersede any conflicting DIN standards. European Standards for water analysis are generally also included in this loose-leaf collection. ISO standards adopted at European level or developed in parallel are published as DIN-EN-ISO standards.

By 2025, around 380 measurement and test methods had been standardised by one of the routes described above.

The use of the Excel files is free of charge, provided that the copyright notice is not removed and is stated.

A 0-4 – Estimation of relative or absolute measurement uncertainty
Created by: Dr. Michael Koch (University of Stuttgart)
Working aids for procedure A 0-4 "Guideline for estimating measurement uncertainty from validation data" (64th delivery 2006 of the DEV), from which the DIN ISO 11352 standard was subsequently developed. They can be used to determine the relative or absolute measurement uncertainty of analytical results simply and conveniently. Various validation data available in the laboratory, e.g. from control charts, can be entered. The result is the relative or absolute measurement uncertainty for the parameter in question.
Estimation of relative measurement uncertainty (Excel)
Estimation of absolute measurement uncertainty (Excel)

​​​A 51 – Standard addition, linearity test, weighted regression
Created by: Prof. Dr. Harald Platen (TH Mittelhessen), Dr. Karl-Heinz Bauer (Hessenwasser GmbH & Co. KG), Dr. Michael Koch (University of Stuttgart)
For procedure DIN 38402-51:2017-05 (DEV A 51), the files provide examples and working aids for calibration by means of standard addition in accordance with Section 7.7 of the standard, for estimating the linear working range in accordance with Section 6.3 or with the aid of the empirical curvature test in accordance with Annex C, and for performing weighted regression in accordance with Annex D.
Standard addition (Excel; Platen/Bauer)
Linearity test (Excel; Bauer/Koch)
Weighted regression (Excel)

A 71 – Equivalence test, Bland-Altman diagram
Created on behalf of DIN NA 119-01-03-06-AK6 by: Dr. Karl-Heinz Bauer (formerly Hessenwasser, Darmstadt), Dr.-Ing. Michael Koch (University of Stuttgart)
Working aid for testing the equivalence of two analytical methods using the Bland-Altman ratio plot in accordance with DIN 38402-71:2020-10, Section 9.
Equivalence test, Bland-Altman (Excel)

A 71 – Equivalence test, TOST procedure
Created on behalf of DIN NA 119-01-03-06-AK6 by: Prof. Dr. Harald Platen (TH Mittelhessen), Sabine Jähnichen (VKTA, Dresden)
Working aid for testing the equivalence of two analytical methods by means of the two one-sided t-test (TOST) in accordance with DIN 38402-71:2020-10, Section 8.
Equivalence test, TOST (Excel)

A 100 – Test for limit violation
Created by: Dr. Michael Winterstein (WESSLING GmbH), Prof. Dr. Karl Molt (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Working aid for procedure A100, DIN SPEC 38402-100 German standard methods for the examination of water, wastewater and sludge – General information (group A) – Part 100: Test for limit violation taking measurement uncertainty into account using statistical and empirical methods. It enables calculation of how the parameters standard uncertainty of an individual measurement (u), number of determinations (n), significance level (a) and type II error (β) affect the testing of an analytical result for compliance with an upper or lower limit value for the conformity criteria “significant underestimation”/“non-significant exceedance” or "significant exceedance"/"non-significant underestimation".
Limit violation (Excel)

Validation documents for methods published in the DEV that appeared as German Standards:

C 3 – DIN 38404-3:2005-07
Determination of absorption in the UV radiation range, spectral absorption coefficient

D 7 – DIN 38405-7:2002-04
Determination of cyanides in lightly contaminated water by ion chromatography or potentiometric titration

D 13 – DIN 38405-13:2011-04
Determination of cyanides

D 27 – DIN 38405-27:2017-10
Determination of sulphide by gas extraction

D 35 – DIN 38405-35:2004-09
Determination of arsenic – method using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS)

D 52 – DIN 38405-52:2020-11
Photometric determination of chromium(VI) dissolved in water

E 8 – DIN 38406-8:2004-10
Determination of zinc – method using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in the air–acetylene flame

E 29 – DIN 38406-29:1999-05
Determination of 61 elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The validation document refers to the German Standard which was replaced in the 66th supplement in 2006 by DIN EN ISO 17353:2005-11.

E 32 – DIN 38406-32:2000-05
Determination of iron by atomic absorption spectrometry

E33 – DIN 38406-33:2000-06
Determination of manganese by atomic absorption spectrometry

F7 – DIN 38407-7:2000-09
Determination of six polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in drinking and mineral water by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)

F13 – DIN 38407-13:2001-03
Method for the determination of selected organotin compounds by gas chromatography. The validation document refers to the German Standard which was replaced by DIN EN ISO 17353:2004.

F16 – DIN 38407-16:1999-06
Determination of aniline derivatives by gas chromatography

F20 – DIN 38407-20:2000-09
Determination of bentazone, bromoxynil and eight selected phenoxyalkanoic acids by gas chromatography and mass spectrometric detection after solid–liquid extraction and derivatisation. The validation document refers to the German Standard which was replaced by DIN EN ISO 15913:2003-05.

F22 – DIN 38407-22:2001-10
Determination of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in water by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), post-column derivatisation and fluorescence detection

F25 – DIN 38407-25:2002-02
Determination of dalapon, trichloroacetic acid and selected further haloacetic acids by gas chromatography (GC-ECD and/or GC-MS) after liquid–liquid extraction and derivatisation. The German Standard was replaced by DIN EN ISO 23631:2006 and classified as method F25 in the DEV.

F27 – DIN 38407-27:2012-10
Determination of selected phenols in groundwater and soil percolation water, aqueous eluates and percolates

F34 – DIN 38407-34:2006-05
Groups of substances determined jointly – Part 34: Determination of selected plant protection products, biocides and degradation products; method using gas chromatography (GC-MS) after solid-phase microextraction (SMPE)

F35 – DIN 38407-35:2010-10
Determination of selected phenoxyalkanoic acids and other acidic plant protection active substances by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS/MS)

F36 – DIN 38407-36:2015-09
Determination of selected plant protection active substances and other organic substances in water by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection after direct injection

F41 – DIN 38407-41:2011-06
Determination of selected volatile organic compounds in water – method using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME)

F42 – DIN 38407-42:2011-03
Determination of selected perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in water – method using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS/MS) after solid–liquid extraction

F 49 – DIN CEN/TS 16692 (DIN SPEC 38407 49):2015-09
Determination of tributyltin (TBT) in whole-water samples – method using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with SPE discs and gas chromatography with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry

F50 – DIN EN 16691:2015-12
Determination of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in whole-water samples – method using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with SPE discs in conjunction with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

F51 – DIN EN 16693:2015-12
Determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in whole-water samples – method using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with SPE discs in conjunction with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

H7 – DIN 38409-7:2005-12
Determination of acid and base capacity

H22 – DIN 38409-22:2001-02
Determination of dissolved adsorbable organically bound halogens in highly saline waters after solid-phase enrichment (SPE-AOX)

H34 – DIN EN 12260:2003-12
Determination of bound nitrogen (TNb) after oxidation to nitrogen oxides

H56 – DIN 38409-56:2009-06
Gravimetric determination of low-volatility lipophilic substances after solvent extraction

H59 – DIN 38409-59:2022-10
Determination of adsorbable organically bound fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine (AOF, AOCl, AOBr, AOI) by combustion followed by ion chromatographic measurement

K9 – DIN 38411-9:2001-10
Determination of Enterobacterial Common Antigen (ECA) for the detection of lactose-fermenting Enterobacteriaceae

L48 – DIN 38412-48:2002-09
Arthrobacter globiformis contact test for contaminated solids

L59 – DIN 38412-59:2023-01
Report on the interlaboratory test – algal growth inhibition test in a microtitre plate with unicellular freshwater green algae

M1 – DIN 38410-1:2004-10
Determination of the saprobic index in flowing waters

M 37 – DIN EN 16695:2015-12
Guidance for estimating phytoplankton biovolume

M 38 – DIN EN 16698:2015-12
Guidance for the quantitative and qualitative sampling of phytoplankton from inland waters

P3 – DIN 38413-3:2000-07
Determination of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (EDTA) by gas chromatography

P6 – DIN 38413-6:2007-02
Determination of acrylamide – method using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS/MS)

P8 – DIN 38413-8:2000-09
Determination of the dissolved complexing agents nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetrinitrilopentaacetic acid (DTPA) by liquid chromatography (LC)

P10 – DIN 38413-10:2000-06
Determination of six organic complexing agents by gas chromatography with nitrogen-sensitive and mass spectrometric detection

S14 – DIN 38414-14:2011-08
Determination of selected perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in sludge, compost and soil – method using high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS/MS)

S19 – DIN 38414-19:1999-12
Determination of steam-volatile organic acids

S23 – DIN 38414-23:2002-02
Determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and fluorescence detection

S24 – DIN 38414-24:2000-10
Determination of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)

T6 – DIN 38415-6:2001-09
Toxicity to fish. Determination of the non-acute toxic effect of wastewater on the development of fish eggs over dilution levels. The validation document refers to the German Standard which was replaced by DIN 38415-6: 2003-08 and subsequently by DIN EN ISO 15088:2009-06.