Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the Czech Republic

Transcription

1 Towards Integrated River Basin Management Bratislava 29 May June 2006 Implementation of the Water Framework Directive in the Czech Republic Lubomír Petružela T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Prague, CR

2 Geographical Conditions

3 Institutional Arrangement and Water Authorities Czech Republic has presently four levels of the state administration, involving: Central Government, Ministries, which are central water authorities Regional Authorities (14 in number), which have regional powers Authorised Municipalities (208 in number), which have some delegated powers Municipalities (6258 in number), which have no powers as water authorities 3

4 Institutional Arrangement and Water Authorities The responsibilities of Central Government for water management in the Czech Republic, as specified in Act No. 254/2001 Coll. on Water and Amendments to Some Acts (The Water Act), are divided between several Ministries: Ministry of the Environment Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Health Ministry of Transport Ministry of Defence

5 Institutional Arrangement and Water Authorities Ministry of the Environment acts as the central water authority regarding: Protection of the quantity and the quality of surface water and groundwater, monitoring and assessment of water bodies, development and maintenance of the information systems, Tasks related to European legislation in water protection, co-ordination of the transposition and implementation of EC legislation in the water sector, Co-ordination of the water management plans and programmes of measures as part of the international cooperation in water protection in the Elbe, Danube and Oder River Basin Districts.

6 Institutional Arrangement and Water Authorities Ministry of Agriculture acts as the central water authority if not specified otherwise Ministry of Health executes the powers of a central water authority in the matters relating to quality of drinking water and determination of surface water in use for bathing. Ministry of Transport executes the powers of a central management authority in the matters relating to using surface water for shipping. Ministry of Defence executes the powers of a central water authority in matters falling under the jurisdiction of military zone authorities.

7 Institutional Arrangement and Water Authorities

8 Transposition Compliance of national legislation with the EU Water directives is ensured through: Water Act (No. 254/2001 Coll.), Act on Public Drinking Water Supply and Sewerage Systems (No. 274/2001 Coll.) Act on Public Health Protection (No. 258/2000 Coll.) and the related secondary legislation. The Water Act and the Act on Public Drinking Water Supply and Sewerage Systems entered into force on 1st January 2002 and the Act on Public Health Protection entered into force on 1st January 2001.

9 Transposition The Water Act transposed most of the requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The remaining requirements were transposed by its amendments, mainly amendment No. 20/2004. The Act contains provisions for the introduction of secondary legislation, which will complete the transposition. The main items of the secondary legislation are as follows: Decree defining River Basin Districts Decree on River Basin Planning Government Order on Permissible Levels of Water Pollution Decree on Monitoring

10 International Co-operation The Czech Republic is fully involved in the activities that are carried out under the Common Implementation Strategy has been involved in testing the feasibility of the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and its guidance documents by its participation in the Lužická Nisa pilot project, which was carried out in co-operation with Germany and Poland as a component of EU network of pilot basins.

11 International Co-operation Co-ordinating mechanism for the Elbe, Danube and Odra River Basins is ensured through International Commissions for Protection of these rivers. The International Commissions established a structure for coordination through Working Groups on Implementation of WFD and results are regularly considered at meetings of the Heads of Delegations and at Plenary Sessions. Participation from the CR includes representatives of the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, and experts from relevant institutions and organizations as members of expert teams. The individual Commissions modify their structure and working groups in accordance with requirements stemming from new implementation steps.

12 International Co-operation Organisational chart of the Commission for the Elbe River Protection ICG WFD ICPER Czech and German Delegations Heads of Delegation President Secretary Water Framework Directive Flood Protection Accidental Water Quality Deterioration Surface Waters Groundwaters Economical Analysis Data Management

13 Implementation Steps and Outputs Working Group for Implementation of the Water Framework Directive The working group was established by Ministry of the Environment for preparation of the implementation steps, involving coordination of research projects, specification of administrative and investment requirements, preparation of timetables for individual implementation steps, and other activities. The Working Group is composed of representatives of the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Povodí (River Basin) state enterprises, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, the T.G.M. Water Research Institute, and the Research Institute for Land Reclamation and Soil Conservation.

14 Implementation Steps and Outputs Twinning Project The project focused on the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive was carried out under the supervision of Czech Ministry of the Environment and UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs in the period The participating responsible countries included France and Austria and German experts were invited to take part in the project. The organisations of the Czech Republic participating in the project were Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, River Basin state enterprises, T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Agricultural Water Management Authority and other institutions.

15 Implementation Steps and Outputs Implementation Plan The plan was drawn up by the Ministry of the Environment (in co-operation with the Twinning project team) for the purposes of coordinating the competencies and deadlines for the implementation steps. It included a detailed list of individual steps and deadlines for their fulfilment, as well as designation of the responsible ministries or organizations. The plan was approved by the Government on January 8, 2003 by Resolution No. 15/2003.

16 Implementation Steps and Outputs Manual for River Basin Management Planning in the Czech Republic The Manual is based on guidance documents drawn up under the Common Implementation Strategy and on results and experience from the Orlice River Basin Pilot Project, which was carried out as a component of the Twining project. The Manual is used as one of the background documents for preparation of the River Basin District Management Plans.

17 Implementation Steps and Outputs Commission for River Basin Management Planning The Commission was established by the Ministry of Agriculture in June 2003 for the purpose of countrywide coordination of the river basin management planning. In the framework of its competence, the Commission discusses and approves documents, methodologies and recommendations that are used for the planning process. The Commission includes representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of the Environment, as the central water authorities, Regional Authorities, the Povodí state enterprises as the river basin managers, water institutions in the area of research and development, water users and non-governmental organizations.

18 Implementation Steps and Outputs Reporting The reporting obligations of the Water Framework Directive are met at national and international levels. The international reports for the Elbe, Morava and Odra International River Basin Districts contain information on issues of multilateral or basin-wide importance and demonstrate the basin-wide coordination carried out by the individual commissions for the protection of the main rivers. These reports are sent to the European Commission together with the national reports. The national reports give all further information on the national level as well as information coordinated on the bilateral level.

19 Implementation Steps and Outputs Reporting Report 2004 was aimed at meeting the requirements according to Art. 3 (8) and Annex I of the Water Framework Directive, mainly those concerning competent authorities. Substantial parts of the Report 2005, which was elaborated in accordance with the Article 15 of the Directive, include analysis of characteristics of the river basin districts, review of the impact of human activity on surface waters and groundwater, economic analysis and register of protected areas.

20 Implementation Steps and Outputs Reporting mechanism in the Czech Republic

21 Implementation Steps and Outputs Competent authorities in the Elbe International River Basin District (International part of Report 2004)

22 Implementation Steps and Outputs Results of risk analysis of surface water bodies (National part of Report 2005)

23 Ongoing and Future Activities River Basin Management Planning River basin management planning has a long history in the Czech Republic. The first set of Plans was produced for Czechoslovakia in Their new version from 1970s was permanently updated over the following 30 years. These plans will now be revised pursuant to the Directive and the Water Act. Under the terms of the Water Act and the Decree on River Basin Management Planning, the Czech state institutions will produce: One National plan of the Main Basins of the Czech Republic ( 24 of the Water Act) 8 River Basin Plans 25 of the Water Act)

24 Ongoing and Future Activities Division of the Czech territory into 8 basins as specified by Water Act for the purposes of water management planning

25 Ongoing and Future Activities River Basin Management Planning The National Plan (or main plan) has been produced by the central water authorities. The River Basin Administrators (Povodí) will take responsibility for the development of the River Basin Plans in cooperation with the Regional Authorities. For practical purposes, each of the 8 River Basins will be divided into a number of working catchment areas. The results from the work in these catchments will be combined to form the River Basin District Plans. However, under the terms of the Water Framework Directive, the Czech Republic is required to produce three International River Basin District Plans, one for each of the three basins of which it is a part. These three international plans will need to be created by amalgamation of the relevant basin plans.

26 Ongoing and Future Activities Catalogue of Measures The latest developments include the Catalogue of measures, a component of the Plan of the Main Basins, which has been prepared as a methodological tool for preparation of programmes of measures in the plans for the individual basins. In its first version, the Catalogue involves all possible measures for elimination of pressures that were identified in the characterisation of the river basin districts as causal factors of the risks. The Catalogue includes also the flood protection measures.

27 Ongoing and Future Activities Main aspects taken into account in preparation of Catalogue of measures MORPHOLOGY AND FLOW REGULATION WATER INTAKES AND OTHER PRESSURES FLOOD PROTECTION POINT POLLUTION SOURCES DIFFUSE POLLUTION SOURCES

28 Appendix - Water policy in the CR - reasons and motivations 28

29 Appendix- CR international position 29

30 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Lubomír Petružela