M O L D O V A U K R A I N E

Prut River Basin

This project is implemented by a consortiumled by Hulla & Co. Human Dynamics KG

The project is funded by the European Union

E P I R BEnvironmental Protection of International River Basins

DRAFT MANAGEMENT PLAN

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The Environmental Protectionof International River Basins(EPIRB) project aims toimprove the quality of water intransboundary river basins inthe wider Black Sea region andBelarus, including Moldova andUkraine. One of the objectivesof the EPIRB project is toimprove technical capacitiesby developing river basinmanagement plans (RBMPs)that conform to the EU WaterFramework Directive (WFD) forselected river basins.

The Prut River Basin is one of five pilot basins chosen for the project.

Belarus

R

Ukraine

Moldova

Romania

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ABOUT THE PRUT RIVER BASIN

Population: The population of thebasin is 798,700 in Moldova and890,000 in Ukraine. Rural areasconstitute a major part of theregion, with only two main cities in the Ukrainian section and 15 towns in the Moldovan section.

Total area: 27,540 km2

(9,350.012 km2 in western Ukraine;8,123.35 km2 in Moldova)

Irrigation

IndustryDrinking water

Location: The basin is locatedpartly in southwest Ukraine andpartly along the length of Moldova’sborder with Romania. Part of thewider Prut River Basin is located in Romania.

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10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

WATER USE: UkraineTotal water use: 23.8 million m3 (2015)

40% 18% 14% 8%

million m3

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10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

WATER USE: Moldova

64% 23% 12% 1%

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Total water use: 15.75 million m3 (2014)

Agriculture

million m3

Prut Pilot Basin - Ukraine

Prut River Basin - Romania

Prut Pilot Basin - Moldova

*data without the Dniester inter-basin water transfer

Fisheries

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The EU WaterFramework Directiveis a comprehensive and

ambitious body of EU

environmental legislation that

aims to protect and restore the

quality of waters across Europe.

It organises water management

efforts based on natural

geographical formations, such

as river basins.

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What is a river basin management plan?River basin management plans (RBMPs) are integrated planningdocuments that describe the characteristics and challenges of a riverbasin. Their purpose is to outline a comprehensive set of measures inorder to find solutions to complex problems that threaten the aquaticenvironment. River basin management is a continuous process ofplanning and delivery, and it is recommended that plans be updatedevery six years.

The overall Draft Basin Management Plan for the Prut River Basinwas developed according to the approaches and methodologies ofthe EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the national waterlegislation of both Ukraine and Moldova.

The individual draft plans describe the river basin and investigate thepressures that pose a threat to each water environment. They showthe impact of these pressures on the state of the waters, identifywhat types of improvements are possible, and recommend takingspecific actions to ensure that the combined efforts achieve theimprovements needed in the Prut River Basin.

Cooperation between stakeholders has been of vital importance indrafting the plans, and will also be necessary in performing actionsto preserve suitable conditions for both humans and the naturalenvironment. Government bodies, local communities, NGOs andenterprises now have an opportunity to benefit the entire region byworking together to achieve water environment sustainability.

Surface runoff is waterfrom precipitation or other

sources that flows over the

land surface.

A river basin is an area of

land with the characteristic that

all of its surface water runoff is

conveyed to the same outlet,

such as a river, lake or sea.

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The role of the Water Framework DirectiveThe availability of safe, high-quality water is essential to society.People need water for drinking, farming, producing electricity andmanufacturing goods.

Modern society also imposes many pressures on water — frompollution to overuse. And because water is constantly flowing fromone place to another, threats to water quality in one river may harman entire river system.

The aim of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to establish anintegrated approach for protecting the quality and availability offreshwater resources. It is implemented through river basinmanagement planning and requires that other environmental priorities,economic considerations and social issues are considered and takeninto account.

The WFD stresses the importance of frequently studying plant andanimal species that are directly dependent on surface waters.Ecological aspects are a top priority in river basin management andshould therefore be monitored extensively. Living organisms are goodindicators of the health of rivers and lakes because they react quicklyto changes in their environmental conditions.

According to WFD requirements, “good” status must be achieved in eachwater body in a river basin. This means meeting targets for minimisingboth the level of pollutants and damage to natural ecosystems insurface waters. Groundwater must also meet targets for minimumpollutant levels, and aquifers must not be depleted by overuse.

A water body is an area ofsurface water or a supply of

groundwater with characteristics

that distinguish it from other

waters around it. A water body

may be a lake, a reservoir, a

whole or part of a river, a stream,

a canal, transitional water,

a stretch of coastal water, or a

groundwater aquifer.

Good ecologicalstatus is defined as a slightvariation from undisturbed

natural conditions. As artificial

and heavily modified waters are

not able to achieve this status,

the target for these waters is

good ecological potential.

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Public participation

Achievement ofobjectives /

Updating of RBMPPoM

implementation

Water body identification and classification / Baseline analysis

Timetable and work plan

Monitoring programme

Significant water issues

Environmental objectives

Programme of Measures (PoM)

Final RBMP

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1

7Draft RBMP

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WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE PLANNING SEQUENCE

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Water monitoringencompasses the collection of

data using consistent methods

in order to evaluate the status

of the water environment.

Field-based inspection,

automated monitoring stations

and laboratory measurements

conducted on samples are

used in combination to

observe water status.

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MONITORINGIn order to ensure good water quality, water bodies must be frequentlymonitored. The monitoring programme for river basin management isbased on a wider range of assessments than those carried out in thepast. As such, in the Programme of Measures (PoM), a new monitoringsystem is proposed for the Prut River Basin in both Moldova andUkraine that will meet the requirements of the WFD. The system willmonitor flow rates, ecological status and chemical status in surfacewaters, and chemical and quantitative status in groundwater.

Monitoring is essential for effective river basin management. The useof monitoring data helps to classify water bodies, assess humanthreats and natural changes, and determine the effectiveness ofmeasures for improvement. Comprehensive water quality monitoringprovides not only the means to monitor progress in improving waterquality, but also the ability to quickly identify and resolve new threats.

SURFACE WATER Monitoring locations Moldova: 30

Ukraine: 13

GROUNDWATER Monitoring locations Moldova: 34

Ukraine: 0

KEY STATISTICS CURRENT MONITORING SYSTEM IN THE PRUT RIVER BASIN

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STATUS CATEGORIES UNDER THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVEA water body’s status indicates the degree of deviation from itsnatural condition. The further a water body deviates from its naturalcondition, the worse its status.

Ecological status may be affected by modifications to the physicalshape of a surface water body (its hydromorphology). Modifying awater body’s hydromorphology may damage its natural ecosystems.

For surface waters, “good” status consists of an ecological and achemical component, and the classification uses the poorestindividual element result to set the overall classification. Forgroundwater, quantitative and chemical components are assessedseparately but are then combined to provide a single, overallclassification.

AIMING FOR IMPROVEMENTWhile the goal of the WFD is to achieve “good” status in all waterbodies, this is not always immediately possible. In some waterbodies, environmental objectives may have to be lower, if reaching“good” status is unfeasible or prohibitively expensive.

Heavily modified and artificial water bodies must have as manycharacteristics of “good” status as possible, given the physicalchanges that have been made. Artificial and heavily modified waterbodies are measured against “ecological potential” rather than status.

Environmental objectives will only be finalised when a WFD-compliant status assessment system is established for all waterbodies in both Moldova and Ukraine. Target dates for each waterbody will be set accordingly.

Heavily modified andartificial water bodiesare bodies that have been

altered for human use —

irrigation or power generation,

for example.

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THE COMPONENTS OF OVERALL STATUS FOR SURFACE WATER BODIES

STATUS OF WATER BODIES IN 2015

6426 35

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Chemical status

Priority substancesthat present a

significant risk to thewater environment

Physico-chemical elements —

e.g. nutrients, pH, dissolved oxygen,

ammonia

Hydromorphology —e.g. depth, width, flow, structure

Overall status

Ecological status

Biological elements —e.g. phytoplankton,macroalgae, fish, invertebrates

Specific pollutants —e.g. metals and their compounds, organic

compounds

Based on what is considered sufficient data, Moldova has identified 14 water bodies that will be unable to achieve “good” status by2021, while Ukraine has identified 12.

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Moldova Ukraine

SURFACEWATERS

GROUNDWATER

9 groundwaterbodies have

been identified

WATER BODY STATUS ASSESSMENT:

Not at risk of notachieving goodstatus

Possibly at risk or atrisk of not achievinggood status

Data not available

The chart indicates both the number andpercentage share of waterbodies for each statuscategory.

In total, 123 surfacewater bodies havebeen delineated, ofwhich 7 are heavilymodified or artificial

4 groundwaterbodies have been

identified

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In total, 90 surfacewater bodies havebeen delineated, of

which 65 are heavily modified and 1 artificial

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PROGRAMME OF MEASURES The Programme of Measures (PoM) is the core of the RBMP for thePrut River Basin, as it actually describes how the environmentalobjectives can be met. Different water bodies need differentapproaches to achieve “good” water status, and addressing them isonly possible through stakeholder collaboration.

The PoM examines the actions needed to properly deal with waterissues. Tackling pollution, for example, often requires new legislationor better law enforcement to be in place. The proposed measuresoperate at a variety of different geographical scales: some of themapply across the country, while others are more localised.

Various economic aspects of the proposals were explored in order tostrike a good balance between financial costs and the prioritisation ofmeasures. A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted in order toestimate budget costs and assess the usefulness of prospective actions.

The table on the following two pages showcases important identifiedwater issues and provides a short description of the proposed measures.

CURRENT WATER PRESSURES AND PROPOSED MEASURES

PRESSURE Untreated wastewater from outdated urban sanitationsystems leads to organic pollution and chemical pollution.

PROPOSEDMEASURES

Moldova and Ukraine will rehabilitate outdated wastewatertreatment plants and construct new ones for urbansettlements that do not already have them. Both countrieswill further develop regulations on the basis of the EUUrban Wastewater Directive. Furthermore, Moldova willexplore technical solutions for sewage sludge disposal.

PRESSURE Farming practices and the use of nitrogen fertilisers lead tonutrient pollution.

PROPOSEDMEASURES

Both Ukraine and Moldova will adopt codes of goodagricultural practices in accordance with the EU NitratesDirective. In addition, the countries will harmonise theirnational legislation with the Nitrates Directive.

PRESSURE Issues stemming from conflicts of interest andunsatisfactory regulation expose water resources topollution and overuse and take a toll on the aquaticenvironment across the whole basin.

PROPOSEDMEASURES

The two countries will take further actions to preventunauthorised water abstraction, to promote water-efficienttechnologies in different sectors of the economy, and toachieve cost recovery on water consumption. 13

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CURRENT WATER PRESSURES AND PROPOSED MEASURES (CONTINUED)

PRESSURE Due to river morphology, small hydropower plant operationsand other watercourse modifications, natural habitats aresubject to deterioration.

PROPOSEDMEASURES

Natural river conditions will be restored to the maximalextent possible, and the prevention of illegal gravel andsand extraction will be a priority for Ukraine and Moldova in moving forward.

PRESSURE Natural hazards such as flooding and drought haveoccurred more frequently in recent years and are causingserious damage to local communities.

PROPOSEDMEASURES

The restoration of floodplains (especially the wetlands ofPrutul de Jos and Padurea Domneasca in Moldova) willhelp to avoid severe flooding and droughts in the lowercourse of the Prut River. In Ukraine, there are plans to studyfloodplains and wetlands and to develop measures for theirconservation and restoration.

PRESSURE Inadequate landfill capacity in the Chernivtsi region ofUkraine allows polluted runoff from solid waste tocontaminate the environment.

PROPOSEDMEASURES

Landfills will be constructed or rehabilitated in the Kosivand Verkhovynsky districts, and a waste-processingcomplex will be constructed in Kolomyya and Ivano-Frankivsk.

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PUBLIC PARTICIPATIONThe involvement of stakeholders that are fully informed is essential indevelopoing a well-founded RBMP. Numerous public meetings wereheld in Moldova and Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, with the participationof delegates from Romania.

The general public in both countries were given the opportunity toprovide written feedback and comments. As a result, the contributingparties have played an active role in shaping the documents, most ofwhich have been incorporated in the final version of the draft plans.

IMPLEMENTING THE RBMPThe national authorities responsible for Prut Basin management inUkraine are the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the StateAgency of Water Resources (with its regional subsidiaries theDniester-Prut Basin Administration for Water Resources, and Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Administration for Water Resources) and the StateService for Geology and Mineral Resources. The governmentauthority responsible for implementing the RBMP in Moldova is theMinistry of Environment and its subordinate institutions.

Stakeholders in a river

basin include government

authorities, basin

organisations, NGOs,

residential and business water

users, the scientific

community, journalists,

downstream states and the

general public.

The European Union is made up of 28 member states who have decided to gradually link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, during a periodof enlargement of 50 years, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individualfreedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.

Legal notice: This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility ofthe Human Dynamics Consortium implementing the project and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.© 2016 – Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe

www.blacksea-riverbasins.net

This publication presents at a glance theDraft River Basin Management Plans forthe Prut River Basin, prepared in theframework of the EPIRB project. The fullDraft River Basin Management Plans areavailable at http://www.blacksea-riverbasins.net/en/pilot-basins/prut-basin

EPIRB Project Regional Office in KyivKyiv 01030, UkraineVolodymyrska Street 48a, office 23Tel: +380 44 360 8775

EPIRB Project Regional Office in TbilisiTbilisi 0102, Georgia5 Marjanishvili Street, office 402Tel.: +995 32 236 8877

Editors: Imola Koszta ● Jovanka IgnjatovicEli Keene ● Laszlo GalContributors: Victor Bujac ● Nataliia Zakorchevna Design and layout: Tricia BarnaCopyediting and proofreading: Rachel Hideg ●Nathan JohnsonPhotographs: Victor Bujac ● EPIRB Partners ●

iStock ● Romina Alvarez Troncoso ●Nataliia Zakorchevna Publisher: The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe