This document specifies the general requirements for sampling, preservation, handling, transport and storage of all water samples for physicochemical, chemical, hydrobiological and microbiological analyses and determination of radiochemical analytes and activities.

Guidance on the validation of storage times of water samples is provided in ISO/TS 5667‑25.

This document is not applicable to water samples intended for ecotoxicological assays, biological assays (which is specified in ISO 5667‑16), passive sampling (which is specified in ISO 5667‑23) and microplastics (which is specified in ISO 5667‑27).

This document is particularly appropriate when samples cannot be analysed on site and have to be transported to a laboratory for analysis.