Planning, protection and sustainable use of water

The protection of water resources, aquatic and territorial ecosystems, and sustainable water use in Slovakia is regulated by the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/ES (WFD), which is the fundamental related legislation. Entrusted by the Ministry of the Environment, our Institute coordinates the implementation of the WFD in Slovakia. The output is the Water Plan of Slovakia, which is prepared in close cooperation with competent water sector institutions (i.e. the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, the State Geological Institute of Dionýz Štúr, the State Nature Conservancy of the SR, the Slovak Environmental Agency, the Slovak Water Management Company, the Slovak Environmental Inspectorate, etc.) and with the parties concerned. The Water Plan of Slovakia is a binding document that provides a basis for the protection and enhancement of the status of aquatic ecosystems, for sustainable and economic water use, and for the creation of better hydrological conditions and a territorial system for ecological stability and protection against the harmful effects of water pollution.

The Water Plan of Slovakia. The Water Plan of Slovakia is the basic tool that enables us to meet water planning objectives in river basins. It comprises the Danube River Basin Management Plan, including management plans for the Danube, Morava, Váh, Hron, Ipeľ, Slaná, Bodrog, Hornád and Bodva sub-basins, and the Vistula River Basin Management Plan, including the management plan for the Dunajec and Poprad sub-basins. The river basin management plans comprise programmes of measures designed to meet environmental objectives. The Water Plan of Slovakia also includes a public water supply development plan, a public sewerage development plan, and a flood risk management plan for Slovakia.

River basin management plans are prepared on the basis of analysing the impact of human activities on water bodies and assessing their current status. In view of WFD requirements and the environmental objectives, we draw up programmes of measures for their accomplishment, including an estimate of financial costs. The basic units of water planning are surface-water and groundwater bodies, the delineation of which is updated in each planning cycle.

The Water Plan of Slovakia (2022–2027) – short version.

Water status assessment requires a reliable estimate of the impacts of point-source and diffuse pollution caused by anthropogenic activities, especially water use for urban, industrial, agricultural, and other purposes. The status of surface-water and groundwater bodies is assessed on the basis of an analysis of their ecological or chemical status. This analysis is based on data obtained by monitoring the characteristics of water bodies (hydromorphology, hydrobiology, water quality).