Water Talk 1-2/2011

1. 1-2 2011
Vol. 11 December 2011
GWP Latvia develops river Calendar of Events
management guidelines World Water Day
GWP LATVIA AND ITS PARTNER NON GOVERN- are good swimmers. The river partially belongs to 22 March 2012
MENTAL ORGANIZATION DAUGAVAS SAVIENIBA the Natura 2000 network. There is a reserve of Water and Food Security
PREPARE A GUIDELINE FOR PRACTICAL MAN- “Vitrupes ieleja” (Valley of Vitrupe).
AGEMENT OF WATER STREAMS. Baltic Sea Day
The Guidelines available in Latvian language, is 22 March 2012
the first attempt in the country to explain prac- Baltic Sea Region
tical methods of river basin management. It ad-
dresses major problems of Latvian streams such World Water Forum 6
as pollution by nitrogen and phosphorus, sedi- 12-17 March 2012
mentation, deterioration of buffer zones around Marseille, France
Need for such guidance has emerged up during streams and others.
implementation of a pilot project in the Venta International Sava Day
and Vitrupe River basins where several challen- 1 June 2012
ges related to ecological, hydro-chemical and Sava River Basin
morphological features of rivers emerged.
Danube Day
Main objective of the project, implemented 29 June 2012
from period of April – November 2011, was to Danube River Basin
train volunteers and carry out practical works
to limit algae overgrowth, remove sediment and World Water Week in Stockholm
wooden debris and improve potential spawning 26-31 August 2012
sites for salmon, sea trout and lampreys. Pro- Stockholm, Sweden
ject team organized training for river managers Water and Food Security
and voluntary river keepers followed by activ-
ities to improve hydro-morphological and bio-
logical functions of the Venta and Vitrupe Riv- • Construction of riffle areas in rivers to increase
ers. The project was implemented by company levels of oxygen proposed through innovative
“L.U.Consulting” in cooperation with GWP Lat- It also provides examples of innovative yet trad- approach „Place a Stone in the Stream.
via and Daugavas Savieniba. itional methods tested during previous projects • Improve structure and change use of adja-
including “Place a Stone in the Stream” initia- cent landscape
Venta River is a river in north-western Lithu- tive utilizing stones to mitigate climate change • Increase diversity of aquatic habitats through
ania and western Latvia. Its source is near and ensure survival of aquatic species threat- installment of stone structures.
Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It ened by lack of oxygen due to higher water
has a length of 346 km and flows into the Bal- temperature. Well placed stones slow down The guidelines gives practical tips for river man-
tic Sea at Ventspils in Latvia. The main salmon water flow and create favorable living condi- agement activities on different scales, embracing
spawning and nursery habitats are situated in tions for water fauna. both low cost local activities, as well medium
the middle part of the river below the waterfall scale multipurpose projects. So far, it’s not legally
Ventas Rumba. The river partially belongs to EU The guideline specifically addresses the following: binding, however, the project team tries to make
network of protected areas Natura 2000. There • Eutrophication or great increase of phyto- it unifying and science based, e.g. hydrobiology
are 2 nature reserves in the river: “Ventas ieleja” plankton in streams. Negative environment- addressing a common problem of streams and
(The river Venta valley) and “Ventas un Skerveļa al effects include depletion of oxygen in the small rivers overgrowth and biodiversity decline.
ieleja” (The rivers Venta and Skervele valleys). water, which induces reductions in specific
fish and other animal populations In the future, one of the proposals is to estab-
The river Vitrupe is typical medium sized river en- • Wooden debris in streams and their manage- lish a tradition of Great Cleanup Day in April to
tering the Gulf of Riga. It has a length of 36 km ment involve local people, volunteers and water man-
totally accessible for salmon. The salmon and sea • Improvement of riparian zone functionality agement in cleaning local streams and raise
trout spawning and nursery habitat are situated which is an interface between land and a riv- awareness on water issues. 
in the lower and middle part of the river. There er or streams.
are no artificial migration obstacles, but there is • Management of sedimentation processes. Fore more information, please contact
one natural waterfall that allows for species that • Improvement of river self purifying capacity. Maris Ozolins, e-mail: daugava2000@inbox.lv

2. Climate change and water security nexus in Lithuania
A RECENT RESEARCH HAS ESTABLISHED HOW Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007–2013. Klai- Climate change impact on groundwater was
CLIMATE CHANGE COULD CONTRIBUTE TO IN- peda is the third largest city in Lithuania with estimated on the basis of two scenario’s A1B
CREASE IN GROUNDWATER LEVELS OVER THE a population of 187,000 (2005 estimate), a cap- and B1 for the years 2025, 2050 and 2100. Pre-
NEXT 100 YEARS IN LITHUANIA. ital of Klaipeda County, one of ten counties in dictions of precipitation and evaporation were
Lithuania. It lies in the west of the country and provided using Climate and Environmental Re-
The use of groundwater for public water sup- is the only county to have a coastline. It has trieval and Archive (CERA) database. Forecast
ply is increasing in Europe, however, it is esti- a total area of 5,209 km2 and 378,843 inhabit- of groundwater resources changes was done
mated that 60% of European cities overexploit ants (2008). using mathematical groundwater flow model
their groundwater resources. Highest percent- elaborated by Dr Marius Gregorauskas, is based
age of groundwater for drinking water is used In the study area, all potable water is ground- on correlations between values of precipita-
by Lithuania (100%), closely followed by Den- water located in shallow mix of aquifers in- tion, river basins runoff in the study area and
mark (98%), Italy (93%), Hungary (90%), Poland cluding present day (Quaternary), Mesozoic groundwater recharge. Simulation results show
(70%), Estonia (65%), Romania (43%), UK (35%) period (Cretaceous and Jurassic), Paleozoic that both climate change scenarios predict in-
and Scandinavian countries and Ireland (15%) period (Permian) and Devonian age (Famen- crease (2025, 2050 and 2100 years) of dynamic
at the end. This raises an important question of ian). Lithuanian Geological Survey estimate resources of groundwater.
how climate change can potentially influence available groundwater resources in these aqui-
recharge, availability, and quality of ground- fers at 74,000 m3/day (Quaternary), 100 m3/ “Since the main source of the groundwater re-
water resources. day (Cretaceous), 1,148 m3/day (Jurassic), sources and cause of its changes is infiltra-
8,463 m3/day (Permian) and 63,084 m3/day tion recharge into shallow groundwater, the
An evaluation of climate change impact on (Famenian) respectively. There are 76 water- highest increase of resources is anticipated
groundwater resources in Lithuanian Klaipeda works located in the study area. The Klaipeda in shallow groundwater aquifer”, says Jurgita
County was performed in 2010 in frame of the No. 3 waterworks is the only waterworks in Kriukaite, Lithuanian Geological Survey. In the
project “Climate Change: Impacts, Costs and the country extracting water from shallow A1B scenario the highest groundwater level is
Adaptation in the Baltic Sea Region” (BaltCICA), groundwater. It extracts 27% of approved expected in 2025. During that time the ground-
partially financed by the European Union (EU) available resources. water recharge will increase from 45.7 mm/year
CREDIT: GWP CEE
Higher levels of groundwater can flood low lying areas
2

3. to 79.6 mm/year adding to dynamic resources simulation. Available groundwater in dry per- until 2100”. On the other hand, higher levels of
from 4.05 m3/s up to 5.99 m3/s. Similar growth iods will drop by 4m3/s in the shallow aquifer groundwater can make it vulnerable to pollu-
of groundwater resources is anticipated in B1 and 3.8-3.6 m3/s (5-10 %) in Quaternary aqui- tion and potentially flood lowland areas and
scenario in 2100. fers, compared with the present situation. Ac- cellars in residential houses. 
cording to Jonas Satkunas, Lithuanian Geo-
However, decrease of groundwater levels is also logical Survey Deputy Director, “the trend of Autors: Jurgita Kriukaite and Jonas Satkunas,
expected in some years according to results of groundwater resources increase will prevail Lithuanian Geological Survey.
GWP Central and Eastern Europe nership has been discussed. “Sava Water Part-
nership can join GWP network and benefit from
the membership”, proposed GWP CEE Chair Ms.
at Sava Stakeholder Forum Martina Zupan.
GWP CEE AND GWP MEDITERRANEAN PARTICI- The objective of the Sava Stakeholder Forum The Sava River is the third longest tributary and
PATED IN THE SAVA STAKEHOLDER FORUM OR- held on 9-10 November 2011 in Belgrade, was the largest by discharge of the Danube River. The
GANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL SAVA RIVER to present and discuss the draft of the Sava length of the Sava from its main source in the
BASIN COMMISSION. River Basin Management Plan among the af- western Slovenian mountains to its mouth at the
fected stakeholders. The Plan describes the Danube in Belgrade is about 944 km. The basin,
A River Basin Management Plan of the Sava Riv- present water status in the basin, identifying with an area of 97,713 km2, covers parts of Slo-
er Basin is under development, the first attempt significant pressures and proposing measures venia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia,
in the Southern European region to draft a Riv- directed towards achieving the environmental Montenegro and a small part of Albania. 
er Basin Management Plan according to the EU objectives of the EU Water Framework Direc-
Water Framework Directive. GWP Mediterranean tive on a basin-wide scale. A more permanent
and GWP Central and Eastern Europe have sig- mechanism of organizing structured participa- For more information about
nificantly contributed to the stakeholder involve- tion of stakeholders in the management of the Sava River Basin Management Plan:
ment process related to development of the Plan. Sava River Basin in the form of a Water Part- http://www.savacommission.org/srbmp/
CREDIT: GWP CEE
International passenger terminal on the Sava River in Belgrade, Serbia
3

4. When we speak about economic growth
we speak about water resources
CREDIT: GWP
AT THE SEVENTH “ENVIRONMENT FOR EUR- knowledges that
OPE” MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE IN ASTANA, for water manage-
KAZAKHSTAN, GWP CONVENED A SIDE EVENT ment to be success-
TITLED, “ECONOMIC GROWTH AND WATER: AN ful it must involve ex-
INTEGRATED APPROACH HELPS”. perts from outside
the “water box.” Prof.
GWP Chair Dr Letitia A Obeng emphasized Laszlo Miklos from the
that “when we speak about the economy and Technical University of
economic growth we speak about water re- Zvolen in Slovakia is a
sources.” The Conference addressed two main geographer by back-
themes: Sustainable management of water ground and a politician
and water-related ecosystems; and Green- by experience. Having
ing the economy: mainstreaming the environ- been the Minister of
ment into economic development. The GWP Environment for two
side event held on 23 September 2011 linked terms, and a member
these two aspects: how to make water resour- of the national Parlia-
ces available and yet protected when countries ment, he reminded the
embark on economic development. The Con- audience of the pol-
ference recognized the “hydro-centric” and itical commitments
“eco-engineering” themes are closely related. made under Agenda
21, and the adoption
Speakers at the GWP side event illustrated why of the principle of an
water is attracting more political attention, integrated approach
while highlighting water’s complexity and the to the management
need for an integrated approach to guide its of land resources.
use, management and development. Prof. Nari-
man Kipshakbaev from GWP Kazakhstan pre- Recognizing that “in-
sented their experiences of developing a Na- tegrated manage-
tional Integrate Water Resources Management ment” needs to be
Plan (IWRM) Plan. He made a brief summary understood, he asked,
of water resources policy reform and empha- “What exactly do we
sized that “there is a need to balance mul- want to integrate? Dif-
tiple uses of water in a water scarce region.” ferent understandings GWP Chair Letitia A Obeng at the Seventh “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference
in Astana, Kazakhstan
He stressed the important role of newly estab- of integration resulted
lished water councils, citing examples of water in a myriad of policy reforms that integrated change is likely to make essential resources
councils that have a transboundary charac- institutions and agencies and administration (notably freshwater, arable land, crop yields and
ter, for instance in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. but not the planning process itself.” He recom- fish stocks) scarcer in many parts of the world,
mended making land use plans the legal, ob- particularly in already vulnerable societies.
GWP Georgia Chair Ms Nino Chkhobadze looked ligatory framework for each sectoral plan be-
at role of civil society and non-government- cause how we use land takes into account “Increased scarcity increases the risk of compe-
al organizations in support of water reform in every sector including water management. tition over resources within and between com-
the Caucasus. “It is not well understood the munities and states,” she said. “This can create
role NGOs play in supporting governments to Prof. Lu ka Kajfež Bogataj, winner of the Nobel instability, increasing vulnerability to conflict.
develop and implement river basin manage- Peace Prize together with other climatologists, On current projections, substantial parts of the
ment plans,” said Ms Nino Chkhobadze, who looked at climate change from a national and world risk being left uninhabitable by rising sea
was Georgia’s Minister of Environment for eight international security point of view rather than levels, reduced freshwater availability and de-
years. “Involvement of society is understood as from the environmental perspective. A number clining agricultural capacity. This will exacerbate
the right of people to be informed, but participa- of studies suggest that the worst effects can existing migratory pressures from rural areas to
tion in decision making is moved aside.” She said be avoided by keeping global temperature rise cities, from unproductive land to more fertile
that stakeholders and the public ensure positive below 2°C. However, Prof. Bogataj said that if land, and across international borders.” 
results when they participate in processes that current problems are not solved, they will be
introduce Integrated Water Resources Manage- aggravated regardless of mathematical scenar- Source: GWP Blog
ment principles at local level, and subsequent- ios that predict a temperature rise. She showed http://globalwaterpartnership.wordpress.com/
ly, better acceptance of future investments. the participants the map of continents origin-
ally developed by the Ministry of Defense to For more information and presentations:
GWP invited speakers that do not belong dir- illustrate, in graphic terms, the security chal- http://www.slideshare.net/
ectly to the “water family” because GWP ac- lenges posed by a warming planet. Climate gwpceewaterpartnership/presentations
4

5. Kaliningrad takes up water issues
A NEW REPORT HAS BEEN LAUNCHED ON together with neighboring states that share
IMPROVING WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT river basins and coastal lagoons in Poland and
IN KALININGRAD, RUSSIA. Lithuania. Transboundary planning and invest-
ment programs could be coordinated and im-
The report, “Managing and Development of the plemented with support from external finan-
Water Resources Assets in Kaliningrad Oblast, cing agencies.
Russia in Support of Economic Growth and En-
vironmental Sustainability”, was published by Experiences of Lithuania and Poland in the im-
the Stockholm International Water Institute plementation of an integrated approach and
(SIWI) who prepared the report with contribu- EU Water Framework Directive, offer options to
tions from the Global Water Partnership (GWP) work in a partnership for joint management and
and its Country Water Partnerships in Poland and development plans for the transboundary Pre-
Lithuania. Support also came from the Northern gola and Neman River Basins. “We cannot de-
Dimension Foundation, the Russian Academy of velop a comprehensive Nemunas (Neman) Riv-
Sciences, and the Swedish River Basin District er Basin District Management Plan without the
Authority for the Northern Baltic Sea. involvement of the Kaliningrad Oblast,” said Dr.
Bernardas Paukstys, Chair of GWP Lithuania, ac-
The report was presented to the Vice Govern- knowledging the fact that water has no borders. water resources and the hydraulic infrastruc-
or of the Kaliningrad Oblast at a workshop at- ture assets are in poor condition. GWP is in-
tended by 36 stakeholders who have an interest The Kaliningrad Oblast is a territory of Russia volved in developing a Water Resources Invest-
in water resources in Kaliningrad. The discus- situated on the Baltic coast between Lithuania ment Program for the Kaliningrad Oblast. 
sion at the workshop highlighted a strong in- and Poland and not contiguous with the Rus-
terest to start a water resources management sian mainland, with a population of 941,500. Autors: Jurgita Kriukaite and Jonas Satkunas,
programme with transboundary dimensions Kaliningrad has a rich natural landscape but its Lithuanian Geological Survey.
Knowledge sharing between Baltic and Danube
CREDIT: GWP CEE
GWP HUNGARY AND GWP CEE ORGANIZED
A KNOWLEDGE-SHARING WORKSHOP ON
“WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ASPECTS
OF EUROPEAN UNION STRATEGIES FOR BALTIC
SEA AND DANUBE BASIN REGIONS”.
The focus was on sharing experiences and exper-
tise from the implementation of the Baltic Sea
Strategy. During the workshop held in Budapest
on 5 April 2011, experts identified similarities
and differences concerning water management
issues and discussed implementation mechan-
isms and institutional roles such as selection of
projects and partnerships in the Danube Region.
The Baltic Sea Strategy was formally adopted
in October 2009 under the Swedish Presidency
of the European Union (EU). In December
2010, the European Commission adopted the Parallels workshop attracted more than 40 participants from Baltic and Danube Regions
EU Strategy for the Danube Region following a Martina Zupan, GWP CEE Chair. GWP CEE, with Concrete examples of activities include finan-
request from member states. its unique geographical position covering parts cing of regional strategies in non-EU member
of the Baltic and Danube provides a neutral countries and the exchange of best practices
“GWP CEE has been advocating principles of in- platform for dialogues and exchange of experi- between the Baltic and Danube countries. GWP
tegrated water resources management in the ences. It holds an observer status to two inter- CEE projects in the area of floods and droughts
Baltic and Danube regions since 1998 and is national water commissions in the region – the as well as sustainable sanitation may be sub-
well suited to provide a platform for discussions International Commission for the Protection of mitted for funding. 
shaping future of water for years to come,” said the Danube River and the Helsinki Commission.
5

6. Danube Art Master 2011: Germany wins
the competition with creative masterpiece
CREDIT: G2 FOTO
GERMAN CHILDREN HAVE WON THE „INTER-
NATIONAL DANUBE ART MASTER 2011“ COMPE-
TITION, AS THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION
FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE DANUBE RIVER
(ICPDR) ANNOUNCED ON 25 SEPTEMBER 2011.
The International Danube Art Master is select-
ed from the winners of the national ‘Danube
Art Master’ competitions in 14 Danube Basin
countries - Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany,
Hungary, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova,
Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Thousands of children from these 14 countries
entered the competition. National Danube Art Master winners at the award ceremony
CREDIT: G2 FOTO
“This competition is a key element of the annual
The winning submission was created by 11 Danube Day celebration and transcends nation-
German school children from class 5G of the al borders, emphasizing the complexity of the
Sonderpädagogisches Förderzentrum Neutrau- Danube and its connections to land, animals,
bling. Their artistic painting, entitled “Our Dan- forests and people,” said Philip Weller, Executive
ube – a river as variously as we” is creatively Secretary of the ICPDR. Children were encour-
made from colourful patterns and full of refer- aged to visit local rivers and surrounding areas
ences to nature. It represents an appeal to “get and to consider what the environment means
active for the rivers”, the official slogan of Dan- to them. They were then asked to reflect their
ube Day 2011. Excursion at the Danube Museum in Esztergom, Hungary
thoughts and inspirations through environ-
mental art using materials from in and around
CREDIT: ICPDR
the river.
The competition was jointly organized by
the ICPDR in cooperation with the Global
Water Partnership Central and Eastern Eur-
ope (GWPCEE). The award ceremony in Buda-
pest was attended by the national Danube Art
Master winners and their accompanying per-
sons. After the ceremony, the winners joined
a three-day environmental programme, sup-
ported by Coca-Cola and organized by the
Global Water Partnership Hungary, which
included trips to the surroundings of Buda-
pest and the Danube bend, Budapest Zoo and
the Danube Museum. Since two children per
country are allowed to attend this trip, the
winning team is represented by Selina Glas
and Adrian Langner. 
For more information:
http://www.danubeday.org
Best art work “Our Danube, a river as variously as we” by students of Secondary School Förderzentrum Neutraubling, Germany
6

7. Danube Art Master 2012
GET INVOLVED IN DANUBE DAY, HELP SECURE on-
be invited to take part in the internation-
A POSITIVE FUTURE FOR THE DANUBE AND WIN al competition. The creators of the bestest
GREAT PRIZES! piece of work will be crowned ‘Danube be
Art Master’ and will be rewarded with th
prizes for themselves and more prizes es
up
for the school, day centre or other group
that they are part of – such as labora- -
tory test kits for their school, under- -
water cameras and other water-relat- -
ed treats.
To take part, arrange your school to
Danube Art Master is opened to children aged reflect on rivers and water bodies and International
6 to 16 from a school, NGO, day care centre or
association in the Danube Basin to create their
ideally make an outing to the Danube
River or one of its tributaries before
Co m pe tit io n
own ‘environmental art’ inspired by the mighty
Danube and its tributaries. Every year, this am-
the end of June 2012. The idea is for
students to be inspired by what they
Danube
bitious 14-country competition jointly or-
ganized by the GWP Central and Eastern Eur-
ope and the International Commission for the
see and use materials found by the
river to create works of art, prefer-
ably directly along its banks. This
Art Master
Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) unites
thousands of children from across the Danube
River Basin.
could mean sculptures, pictures,
mosaics or collages made from ma-
terial such as driftwood, stones or
2012
even rubbish dumped by the river. To enter, take Germany, Hungary, Moldova,
The competition comprises two levels: national a color photograph of your art and send it to Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slo-
and international. The former is carried out in the competition organisers in your country by venia and Ukraine. 
each country and national winners selected to post (prints) or e-mail (digital).
receive prizes. National prizes vary from coun- For more information visit
try to country, so please contact your country’s Eligible countries are Austria, Bosnia and Her- http://www.danubeday.org or contact Richard Müller,
organizer for details. The national winners will zegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, GWP CEE Secretariat, at gwpcee@shmu.sk
GWP contributes to UN Economic Commission
for Europe transboundary process
THE ASSESSMENT OF TRANSBOUNDARY The second Assessment is an important part of due to the same requirements of the EU Water
WATER COOPERATION IN CENTRAL AND WEST- the programme of work for 2010-2012 of the Framework Directive, which is a good signal
ERN EUROPE WAS THE TOPIC OF A SUB- Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans- for future potential planning”, Dr Danka Thal-
REGIONAL WORKSHOP. boundary Watercourses and International Lakes meinerova said. “However, most of the presen-
(Water Convention). It has an ambition to pro- tations were fragmented and did not capture
Ministry of Rural Development of Hungary, vide a conclusive picture of the state of trans- a “transboundary” dimension of the assessed
and the United Nations Economic Commission boundary waters and to identify joint priorities basins. Country representatives did separate
for Europe (UNECE) in cooperation with the and challenges. It wants to stimulate further ac- presentations of the same (transboundary)
International Water Assessment Centre (IWAC) tion by governments, river basin organizations, groundwater body.”
organized the workshop in Budapest on 8-10 the international community, including donors,
February 2011. and relevant non-governmental organizations. She continued: “Although there is progress in
cooperation at transboundary basins regarding
The workshop was an important step in the More than 50 participants from nine countries the exchange of monitoring data, alert and pre-
process of preparations of the second As- of West and Central Europe, the EU Commis- vention systems, there is a lack of coordinated
sessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and sion, UN organizations, NGOs and specialized planning, implementing and assessment of im-
Ground waters in the UNECE region for the institutes discussed common issues for trans- pact at transboundary basins. It was concluded
Seventh Ministerial Conference Environment boundary water management, such as diffuse that international agreements including the EU
for Europe in September. GWP representa- pollution and land use, ecosystems approach Water Framework Directive are worthy gestures
tives were Regional Chair Martina Zupan, and ecosystem services. and expression of political will, but that the im-
Regional Council Member Boris Minarik and plementation of programs will need to hap-
Knowledge Management Officer Danka Thal- “Most of the discussion focused on monitoring pen at national levels with limited coordination
meinerova. systems that become to be more compatible with neighbourhood countries.” 
7

8. GWP Slovakia launches sustainable sanitation study
GWP SLOVAKIA LAUNCHES A NEW STUDY ON rate in Michalove District was more than 23% up waste water. It is a good solution for small
POSSIBILITIES OF ALTERNATIVE WASTE WATER (June 2011 data). compact settlements with very short collection
COLLECTION AND TREATMENT IN EASTERN SLO- system (pipes) which are the most expensive
VAKIA. Nature Reserve Senianske Ponds, situated in the part of the waster water treatment system.
middle of the study area, was founded in 1955
The study complements UNDP project “Inte- to protect water fowl and unique water plants. Expert team comprising Igor Bodik from Technic-
gration of principles and methods of ecologic- It is also international wetland site under Ram- al University in Bratislava, Elena Fatulova, water
al management of Eastern Slovakia Lowlands” saar Convention and a part of EU wide network management consultant and Milan Matuska,
and especially Black Water River Basin Manage- of protected areas NATURA 2000. GWP Central and Eastern Europe short-listed
ment Plan. seven villages (Blatná Polianka, Blatné Remety,
Alternative waste water treatment plants are Bunkovce, Senné, Stretava, Stretávka and Veľké
There are 28 small villages (bellow 2,000 in- various reed bed, soil and sand filters, willow Revištia) where alternative plant is feasible from
habitants) with 11,589 people in the area which fields and other natural methods of cleaning technical and economic point of view.
was in the past heavily drained to support agri- waste water from households and especially
culture production and prevent flooding. Main nutrients. In reality, these are rarely used due Next step would be to secure funding for pilot
water course is Black Water a tributary to the to low awareness, legislation and permitting plant to demonstrate feasibility of the technol-
Uh River, flowing from one of the largest water obstacles. Depending on local conditions, they ogy. GWP CEE has been working on sustainable
reservoirs in the country, Zemplínska Šírava. can have lower construction and operational sanitation since 2007 and since then facilitated
In terms of economic and social development, costs in comparison with traditional biological several regional and local initiates to advance
Eastern Slovakia is not reaching 50% of EU activation systems. However, they require quite alternative waste water treatment for the bene-
average in GDP per capita and unemployment large areas for fast growing plants used to clean fit of the people and nature. 
CREDIT: GWP CEE
Reed beds are used as a method of removing pollutants from waste water
Volume 11, Issue No. 1-2/2011, December 2011
Water Talk is the official newsletter of GWP CEE Regional Water Partnership published
twice a year. The views and opinions of authors expressed in this issue of Water Talk do not
necessarily reflect the views and opinions of GWP CEE.
Publisher: GWP CEE, Editor: Richard Müller, Layout: TYPOCON, Ltd.
Registration No: EV 1796/08
ISSN: 1336-5525
GWP CEE, c/o Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Jeseniova 17, 833 15 Bratislava, Slovakia, phone: +421 2 5941 5294, fax: +421 2 5941 5273,
e-mail: gwpcee@shmu.sk, http://www.gwpceeforum.org
8