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Description
Transboundary water problems concern most of the regions covered by the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation. Transboundary groundwater resources deserve special attention, as they are more difficult to diagnose and manage than surface waters. Data exchange between neighbouring countries regarding transboundary groundwater is slow and inconsistent. That is why the Polish Geological Institute-PIB took the initiative to harmonise data on groundwater resources and condition on a transboundary scale.
We aim to increase the capacity of public institutions to manage transboundary groundwater resources by creating an integrated information platform, introducing new data analysis tools and solutions for coordinated management and integrated groundwater protection.
The project concerns two cross-border areas, representing: the Baltic and Eastern Europe, i.e. the Latvian-Estonian border and the Polish-Ukrainian border, which is also the eastern border of the European Union. It is the first initiative to unify the spatial hydrogeological data of the EU Member States and Ukraine.
Project outcomes will enhance coordination and improve the efficiency of international cooperation in managing and controlling the quality and quantity of transboundary groundwater. Numerous educational activities that had been planned are aimed at raising public awareness in the field of transboundary impacts on groundwater.
The project is a forerunner in the creation of a universal tool supporting strategic decision making in the context of water management in border areas.
Summary of project results
The EU-Waterres is a response to the global challenge - sustainable management and protection of shared groundwater resources in transboundary areas. The partnership of Geological Surveys and selected scientific institutions of individual countries NO, PL, UA, EE, LV was united by the idea of creating a compendium of knowledge about resources and threats to Transboundary Aquifers (TBAs). We achieved this primary goal through transnational harmonization and integration of hydrogeological data and the introduction of new mapping and data analysis tools and solutions.
Project activities included:
- data harmonization, monitoring and modelling TBAs;
- scenarios of the impact of anthropogenic pressure in pilot areas;
- Mapportal for target groups;
- raising the awareness about groundwater protection.
The project have laid the foundations for establishing a common system for the management and protection of TBAs between PL-UA and LV-EE. The functionality of the system being built was ensured by providing:
- knowledge about the structure, functioning, resources, threats, chemical and quantitative status of TBAs;
- action programs for cross-border monitoring and protection of groundwater of TBAs;
- MapPortal services with unified hydrogeological maps of the PL-UA and EE-LV cross-border areas;
- numerical hydrodynamic models for PL-UA and EE-LV TBAs and a hydrogeochemical model for PL-UA.
The project contributed to the creation of:
- new tools for spatial analysis and solutions supporting the common hydrogeological database;
- new initiatives shaping the policy of coordinated management and protection of groundwater resources;
- transboundary groundwater monitoring between PL-UA and EE-LV.
As a result of the project implementation, the final beneficiaries obtained contributions to Water Management Plan and Flood Risk Management Plan (Water Management Boards), Groundwater Monitoring Program and Groundwater Bodies State Assessment (Environmental Protection Agencies) and International Cooperation in Transboundary Waters (ministries of Environement).
The long-term impact of the project was ensured by:
- annual update of the EU-Waterres Mapportal resources;
- continuation of the initiated cross-border monitoring of groundwater;
- declarations of implementing a pilot system for processing and making harmonized hydrogeological data available in subsequent cross-border areas - PL-LT, LV-LT, UA-MD.
Summary of bilateral results
The billateral cooperation within the project provided:A broader perspective and knowledge was obtained on the development of groundwater resources in unique (untypical for the EU) conditions of the Arctic climate and post-glacial relief in crystalline formations;Competencies in the field of innovative analytical methods in chemical monitoring of groundwater were expanded.It provided access to exemplary research techniques for chemical monitoring of groundwater;Through the transfer of knowledge from experts from NVE and NGU, gaps in the guidelines for the harmonized groundwater monitoring program and data exchange were filled.Progress has been made in the pan-European harmonization of hydrogeological data by comparing and assessing the effectiveness of national groundwater monitoring programs in meeting the cross-border demand for harmonized data in the Scandinavia region (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Finland, Poland, and Ukraine;12 joint articles published in prestigious scientific journals;By promoting the project results at global and European industry conferences, proposals were obtained to expand the network of scientific-practical cooperation to additional countries - SE, US, LT, MD, RO, SA, USA, FI.The EU-Waterres partnership made a declaration to continue cooperation in the area of building an integrated, generally European model of river basin management.