Protection of Surface Water and Groundwater Resources and of Strategic Drinking Water Reserves

Water scarcity in certain areas, particularly during the tourist season, is becoming common. Under the risk of climate change, such state is becoming more and more serious. Under conditions of increasingly marked anthropogenic impacts which adversely affect the changes in the quantity and quality of water resources and which can only intensify in the future due to sudden urbanization and economic development, an optimal combination of economic and technical measures has to be applied. This refers particularly to the areas containing strategic water reserves.

Particular attention shall be paid to the monitoring and analysis of the status of water resources in sensitive and protected areas based on appropriate hydrological, chemical, biological, environmental and morphological indicators of water status. The significance of defining the relevant indictors of the status of water resources is particularly marked in some key documents of the European water policy. For example, in the preparation for the adoption of the European strategy for the adaptation to climate change, the significance of defining appropriate indicators in the water sector has been recognized. These indicators should, among other things, monitor the efficiency in the protection and restoration of ecosystems which provide key functions for humans and the environment, as well as the efficiency in taking appropriate steps to reduce the consumption of drinking water, particularly in the areas where a significant impact of climate change on the availability of water resources is expected. Modern approaches therefore need to be used in the planning and implementation of monitoring and analysis of the status of natural water resources, in order to improve the efficiency of implementation of particular interventions and protective measures, as well as in order to timely determine potential modifications.

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