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Figure IX.1 Location map showing the countries drained by the Danube river basin IX.2 Economic activities in the basin Throughout the basin, the tributary rivers and the main Danube riv

Water Pollution Control - A Guide to the Use of Water Quality Management

Principles

Edited by Richard Helmer and Ivanildo Hespanhol

Published on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Water Supply &

Sanitation Collaborative Council and the World Health Organization by E & F Spon

© 1997 WHO/UNEP

ISBN 0 419 22910 8

Case Study IX* - The Danube Basin

* This case study was prepared by Ilya Natchkov

IX.1 Introduction

The Danube river basin is the heartland of central and eastern Europe (Figure IX.1) The main river is among the longest (ranked 21) in the world and the second longest in Europe It has a total length of 2,857 km from its source at a height of 1,078 m in the Black Forest, Germany, to its delta on the Black Sea, Romania The watershed of the Danube covers 817,000 km2 and drains all or significant parts of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and parts of the Federal Republics of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and

Herzegovina The watershed represents 8 per cent of the area of Europe (Figure IX.2)

Between the source and the delta, the main Danube river falls a total height of 678 m and its character varies, therefore, from a mountain stream to a lowland river Upstream

of the Danube delta the mean flow of the river is about 6,550 m3 s-1 with maximum and minimum discharges of 15,540 m3 s-1 and 1610 m3 s-1 respectively About 120 rivers flow into the Danube, such as the Tisza and Sava which have their own significant flow The contribution from the main tributaries is given in Figure IX.3

The mean altitude of the river basin is only 475 m, but the maximum difference in height between the lowland and alpine peaks is over 3,000 m However the basin can be

conveniently divided into an upper, middle and lower region (according to its geological structure and geography), and the Danube delta The range of mean monthly

temperature increases in an easterly direction from 21 °C in Vienna to 23 °C in Budapest and to 26 °C in Bucharest The average annual precipitation in the Danube river basin varies from 3,000 mm in the high mountains to 400 mm in the delta region The mean annual evaporation varies between 450 mm and 650 mm in lower regions

Approximately 80 million people are living in the basin (Table IX 1) The economic conditions vary from the highly developed countries of Germany and Austria, to

countries with modest economical and technological possibilities Most of the countries

in the region are in transition after recent political changes and are suffering severe economic and financial constraints

Figure IX.1 Location map showing the countries drained by the Danube river basin

IX.2 Economic activities in the basin

Throughout the basin, the tributary rivers and the main Danube river provide a vital resource for water supply, sustaining biodiversity, agriculture, industry, fishing,

recreation, tourism, power generation and navigation In addition, the river is an aquatic ecosystem with high economic, social and environmental value A very large number of dams and reservoirs, dikes, navigation locks and other hydraulic structures have been constructed in the basin to facilitate important water uses; these include over 40 major structures on the main stream of the Danube river These hydraulic structures have resulted in significant economic benefits but they have also caused, in some cases, significant negative impacts downstream These impacts include, for example, increased erosion and reduced assimilative capacity where river diversions have resulted in

reductions in flow below the minimum required for desired water uses, such as fisheries and maintenance of aquatic ecosystems

Figure IX.2 Detailed map of the catchment area of the Danube river basin

Figure IX.3 The contribution made to the total flow of the Danube river by the various tributaries along its length

Table IX.1 Area and population data for the countries included in Environmental

Programme for Danube river basin1

Country Total

area (103

km2)

Area within (103

km2)

Danube basin (%

of the total)

Population (106

of the total)

Urban population (%)

Czech Republic 78.9 22.49 28.5 10.36 2.74 26.45 78 Slovak Republic 49.0 48.68 99.3 5.31 5.10 96.00 78

1 Some data are estimates because statistics were not available specifically for the

Danube river basin

The main water uses in the basin are domestic drinking water supply, industry and

irrigation Many water works along the Danube and its tributaries use bank-filtered water The Nussdorf water works provides about 15 per cent (150,000 m3 d-1) of Vienna's water

demand from bank wells The water supply of Bratislava relies on bank-filtered water

(160,000 m3 d-1) In Hungary, most drinking water (90 per cent) actually comes from

sub-surface water resources The total pumped amount is approximately 6,000 × 106 m3 d-1 of which 70 per cent provides public water supplies and 30 per cent is used for irrigation

and industrial purposes In Bulgaria, the total water abstraction from the Danube is 1,142

× 106 m3 a-1 (surface and bank-filtered) of which 70 per cent goes to irrigation, 20 per cent serves industry and 10 per cent provides public water supplies In the downstream

countries the main user is agriculture, which accounts for 85 per cent of total use in

Moldova In upstream countries, such as Slovakia, the main water user is industry

(accounting for up to 71 per cent of total surface water withdrawals)

Economic activities and land use in this large river basin are very diverse, including

numerous large urban centres and a wide range of industrial, agriculture, forestry and

mining activities There are also numerous important natural areas, such as wetlands

and flood plain forests The water resources and the environmental quality of the basin

are under great pressure from these activities Microbiological contamination is evident

throughout the river system and is generally due to the discharge of urban wastewater and storm water Urban and industrial discharges from inadequate waste treatment and disposal facilities also contribute significant quantities of oxygen depleting substances (measured in terms of their biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)) Nutrients from

domestic and industrial sources, chemical fertilisers used in agriculture, and manure from intensive and large-scale livestock operations, have leached into the groundwater and into the surface waters and their sediments The resultant increases in nutrient

levels have stimulated eutrophication and degraded the aquatic ecosystem Water

quality for the eight countries of the Danube basin is summarised in Table IX.2

The countries of the middle and lower Danube basin are undergoing a major

restructuring and transformation of their political, social, administrative and economic systems From an environmental perspective, some of the most important changes will

be in the industrial sector, where the nearly exclusive emphasis on production in the past resulted in significant pollution and waste of resources Some institutional changes, such

as the decentralisation of management and financial responsibility for water supply and wastewater management to local authorities, are creating opportunities for substantial improvements in water services and in environmental benefits

Table IX.2 Proportion of river network conforming to different water quality classes in

eight countries of the Danube basin (according to national classification systems)

Water Quality Class

Basic physical and chemical indicators 0 0 0 1 99

Biological and microbiological parameters 4 26 66 4 0

Unless otherwise noted the water quality classification is based on five classes

1 I & I-II, II & II-III, III & III-IV, IV system for 1992; Source: IUCN, 1994

Source: IUCN, 1994

3 Source: Haskoning, 1994

4 I & I-II, II & II-III, III & III-IV, IV system; Source: IUCN, 1994

5 I, II III system, 1991 figures; Source: IUCN, 1994

6 Source: IUCN, 1994

7 I & I-II, II-III, III-IV, IV system for Drava basin only; Source: Haskoning, 1994

IX.3 The Environmental Programme for the Danube river basin

Recognising the growing regional and transboundary character of water resources

management and the related environmental problems, the Danube countries (together with the interested members of the international community) met in Sofia in September

1991 to consider a new regional initiative to support and to enhance national activities for the management of the Danube basin The countries agreed to develop and to

implement a programme of priority actions and studies in preparation for the eventual agreement of a new convention that would provide an effective mechanism for regional co-operation The countries also agreed to form a Task Force to oversee this

programme, and the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) agreed to

provide support and co-ordination for the Task Force

The international community agreed to assist the participating countries to develop a three-year programme of pre-investment activities, data collection, studies and fact finding to support the development of a strategic action plan The Environmental

Programme for the Danube River Basin (EPDRB) includes national reviews, basin-wide studies of point and non-point sources of pollution and biological resources, institutional strengthening and capacity building activities, and pre-investment studies in selected tributary river basins Many activities are ongoing, such as the development of

international systems for monitoring, data collection and assessment and emergency response systems International funding for these activities is provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), CEC-PHARE, the Global

Environmental Facility (GEF) partners (including the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)), the World Bank, several bilateral donors (including the Austrian, Netherlands and USA

governments), and the private Barbara Gauntlett Foundation

Furthermore, to secure the legal basis for protecting the water resources, the Danube

river basin countries and the European Union (EU) signed the Convention on

Cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the River Danube (the Danube

River Protection Convention) of 29 June 1994, in Sofia The Convention is aimed at achieving sustainable and equitable water management In parallel, the development of the strategic action plan has been a major task of the environmental programme for the Danube river basin The action plan makes a significant contribution to efforts to improve water and environmental management in the Danube basin as defined in the Convention,

and contributes to the implementation of the Environmental Action Programme for

Central and Eastern Europe

IX.4 The strategic action plan

The action plan provides direction and a framework for achieving the goals of regional integrated water management and riverine environmental management for the period 1995-2005 It also aims to provide a framework in support of the transition from central management to a decentralised and balanced strategy of regulation and market-based incentives The action plan lays out strategies for overcoming the environment problems related to water in the Danube river basin It sets short-, medium- and long-term targets and defines a series of actions to meet these targets

Despite the diversity of problems, interests and priorities across the Danube river basin, the countries share certain important values and have agreed on principles that underlie the goals and actions of the plan They include the precautionary principle, the use of best available techniques (BAT) and best environmental practice (BEP) for the control of pollution, the control of pollution at source, the polluter-pays-principle; and a commitment

to regional co-operation and shared information among the partners implementing the action plan

The action plan has four equally important goals:

• Reduce the negative impacts of activities in the Danube river basin on riverine

ecosystems and the Black Sea

• Maintain and improve the availability and quality of water in the Danube river basin

• Establish control of hazards from accidental spills

• Develop regional water management co-operation

The approaches to be taken are set out in a series of strategic directions covering key sectors and policies, including phased expansion of sewerage and municipal wastewater treatment capacity; reduction of discharges from industry; reduction of emissions from agriculture; conservation, restoration and management of the wetland and flood plain areas of the tributaries and main stream of the Danube river basin; integrated water management; environmentally sound sectoral policies; control of risks from accidents; and investments

IX.5 Problems and priorities

Five priority problems that affect water quality, water use and ecosystems were identified

in the basin These were:

• Microbiological contamination

• Contamination with substances that enhance the growth of heterotrophic organisms

and with oxygen-depleting substances

• High nutrient loads and eutrophication

• Contamination with hazardous substances including oil

• Competition for available water

Table IX 3 indicates the relationship between these five water management problems in

the Danube river basin and the primary water uses of drinking water, fisheries, industry,

irrigation and recreation

Microbiological contamination is probably the most important health-related water quality

problem in the region The generally agreed conclusion, based on available data, is that

the Danube and its tributaries are heavily polluted with faecal bacteria and viruses in

most river reaches The overall situation is that the Danube should not be used as a

drinking water source without treatment, such as extensive sand filtration, and that

bathing in the river should be discouraged Current health statistics are believed to

record only a limited number of the actual incidents of water-born diseases Some

information suggests that there are a number of epidemics each year and that

thousands of people in the basin suffer each year from water-born diseases including

dysentery, hepatitis A, rotavirus and cholera

Table IX.3 Relations between key water management problems and the primary water

uses in the Danube river basin

supply

Fisheries Industry Irrigation Recreation

Nutrient load and

Loss of sensitive species

Increased cost of treatment and reduction

in some uses, e.g

cooling

environmental quality and loss

of opportunities and benefits

Increases

cost of treatment in some types

of processes,

Water unfit for certain crops

Loss of opportunity, including elimination of some uses such

particularly food processing

as bathing and other contact activities

Severe loss

of habitat when O2

conc drop below minimum required;

fish loss due

to toxic conc of ammonia

Increased cost of water treatment

Modern irrigation equipment may clog

Loss of opportunity and economic benefits

Loss of habitats;

disrupted migration and spawning patterns

Reduced or intermittent water supply

Reduced water supply during the critical crop growth period

Loss of opportunity and economic benefits

Source: Strategic Action Plan of the Danube River Basin, 1994

Microbiological contamination is normally a local problem, because most pathogens have a limited survival time in water However, there are reported situations where regional or transboundary impacts occur such as in the Koros river flowing between Romania and Hungary

Hazardous and toxic substances are of particular concern, particularly pesticides, other organic micropollutants such as PCBs and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and heavy metals There are serious concerns about pollutants accumulated in sediments in

reservoirs and in river reaches downstream of industrial areas A survey of 55 sites in

1991, along the Danube River, revealed that 23 of these sites should be treated as hazardous waste The main sources of such pollution are industry and mining

Transport activities appear to be important sources of oil pollution, and the main source

of lead, to the Danube and its tributaries The transport of oil in pipelines has also

created continues and accidental spills into the rivers of the basin The most recent accident occurred when an oil pipeline in the Ukraine led to contamination of the River Tisza and threatened water supplies in Ukraine and Hungary

Diffuse discharges from agriculture are important sources of micro-pollutants About 300-500 different active agents of pesticides have been used in the basin

Serious health concerns also exist due to the high levels of nitrogen found in drinking water and that can lead to methaemoglobinaemia High levels of nitrate have been reported in groundwaters from aquifers in several parts of the basin, particularly in the intensively cultivated areas of Hungary, Romania and Slovakia The nitrate level in the

Danube has increased four to five times in recent years If this is allowed to continue, the region will face a serious health problem

Organic materials discharged into a water body enhance the growth of heterotrophic organisms which consume the available dissolved oxygen This can lead to changes in natural biodiversity as has been observed in some Danube tributaries; for example, the Vit River in Bulgaria is unable to support fish downstream of the city of Pleven, primarily due to the discharges from a sugar factory

Competition for available water is a serious problem in some regions of the Danube river basin, particularly in Hungary and the tributaries in Romania and Bulgaria The

numerous diversions of water, combined with a large seasonal variation in flow, often result in a water supply shortage A number of reservoirs have been constructed on the tributaries but the allocation of the available water resources among the users causes many conflicts and problems for reservoir operation The challenges and problems of multipurpose water allocation have been growing in recent years because of a 10-year drought experienced in the lower Danube region The city of Sofia is now supplied from the bottom of an almost empty reservoir and suffers from severe shortage in water supply In addition, the water quality does not meet current standards, but no alternative

IX.6 Strategic directions

The action plan provides long-term strategies and direction for developing detailed measures and programmes in each sector, and for the necessary management

infrastructure and institutions that will be needed The impact of the plan will be

incremental and its success will be measured in step-by-step improvements

Achieving the goals of the plan will occur through sustained and integrated action in the long-term Although the countries in transition have seen declines in industrial production and changes in the agriculture sector that have resulted in reduced emissions and nutrient run-off, the resulting improvements in water and environmental quality may be only short-lived once economic activity in the countries picks up again Unless there is a concerted effort to promote modernisation and restructuring in the industrial sector, based on cleaner technologies and production processes, and a policy shift in the

direction of a more sustainable agriculture, the recent improvements in the middle and lower basin of the Danube will be short-lived Progress in such areas as municipal wastewater treatment and control of industrial emissions, has apparently been much greater in Austria and Germany However, the quality of the Danube and several of its