International cooperation is an important prerequisite

The International Convention for the Protection of the River Elbe was signed by the Czech Republic immediately after the great political change in 1990. The International Convention for the Protection of the River Oder was ratified by Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and the European Union. The International Commission for the protection of the Danube is based on the Danube Environmental Programme and was established with the Agreement on the cooperation for the protection and sustainable use of the River Danube and signed by 11 states in 1995.

Due to the hydrographical and geographical conditions the organisation of water management has a long history in the Czech Republic. Fish ponds and artificial reservoirs were already built several hundred years ago and the numerous large water reservoirs, which serve both water supply and flood protection were already constructed at the begin of this century. The necessity of water management based on a strategy for the river catchment was recognised in the early sixties when the five ”River Boards” were established as state enterprises. The first ”State Water Management Master Plan” was published in 1954. Since 1990 the government has undertaken a number of step to change the former system of centralised water management with a particular effect on ownership rights.

Two ministries sharing the responsibility

The responsibilities of the state administration in water management were changed by an Act in 1997. Since then, two ministries are now sharing the responsibility: The ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the management of water bodies, artificial canals and irrigation systems, as well as for public water supplies and the sewerage networks including wastewater treatment.

The Ministry of the Environment is in charge of the protection of water resources and the related ecosystems. Both Ministries are jointly responsible for the development and implementation of water management policy and recently for the implementation of the Directives of the European Union until the Czech Republic will have become member of the EU.

The appropriate services in the sector of maintenance of watercourse and related services in river basins are ensured by the river administrations, for which the five River Boards are responsible with regard to large streams and reservoirs. These five River Boards were transformed on January 1, 1994 into joint stock companies with 100 % of shares owned by the state. In 1997, the rights and responsibilities of the state shareholder were assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture by virtue of the respective Act.

Two third of the main irrigation systems were privatised in 1997. Similarly, the transformation of the ownership of the main drainage facilities is under preparation. Services in the sector of drinking water supply and sewerage and wastewater treatment are equally in the process of transformation. Currently, the ownership situation is stable. The concession system was introduced and further development and is fully under the responsibility of the municipalities as the main owners.

About 86 % of the population is connected to the public drinking water supply system, which is comparable to the average situation of the European Union. The quality of drinking water from the public supply system is controlled by the Ministry of Health and the limit values of all monitored parameters (practically identical with the EU Directive 80/778 EEC) were exceeded in only 5.2 % of the cases.

14 percent of the total population of the Czech Republic is supplied from domestic and public wells. In most of these cases, the quality of drinking water is unsatisfactory, the main problem being high nitrate pollution.

The surface waters are the main water resources for public drinking water supply and form about 58 % of the treated volume. Production of drinking water decreased by 29 % from 1990 to 1997. Household consumption of drinking water dropped by 35 % during the same period and the recent daily per head consumption reached 113 litres, which is 10 % lower than the EU average.

In total, 73 % of the population are connected to the public sewerage network. The proportion of treated waste water collected by public sewerage systems increased from 20 % (1989) to about 91 % (1997). However, the proportion of people connected to wastewater treatment plants is substantially lower (59.2 %). This situation does not reach the level of EU countries, where collection and treatment of wastewater is required for all municipalities of more than 2,000 inhabitants. Therefore, further development of the sewerage infrastructure is necessary. For this purpose, the World Bank supported a study on the appropriate allocation of investments for the development of infrastructure.

Recently, the activities in the field of water legislation in the Czech Republic are even more enhanced. First of all, the EU Directives have to be implemented during the agreed accession process, i.e. by the year 2003. Most of the changes are expected to take place through the new Water Act, which is under preparation. Simultaneously, a new style of water management based on the principles of the EU Water Framework Directive is being elaborated, the main focus being the sustainable use of water resources. A broader participation of regional and local administrations and consumers in water management policy is the leading principle to be applied. For this purpose, five pilot water management plans are being drawn up and realised on the basis of Dutch experience and support. (Source: aqua press Int. 4/1999)
Renate Haiden