PRE-INVESTMENT DIAGNOSTIC REPORT ON THE PRUT RIVER BASIN: UKRAINE, MOLDOVA, AIID ROMANIA WASH Field Report No, 424 September 1993 Sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development Operated by CDM and Associates WASH Field Report No. 424 PRE-INVESTMENTDIAGNOSTIC REPORT ON THE BRUT RIVER BASIN: UKRAINE, MOLDOVA, AND ROMANIA Prepared for the Office of Health, Bureau for Research and Development, U.S. Agency for International Development, under WASH Task No. 460 Donald Cullivan Tarik Pekin Daniel Edwards and Timothy Bondelid September 1993 Water and Sdtafion for Hdth Project Contnct No. 5973-2-00-8081-00, Pmject No. 936-5973 - is sponsored by the Office of Ha,Bumu for Resurch and Development U .S. Agency for lnternatiod Develapment Washington, DC 20523 RELATED WASH REPORTS Point Source Pollutlon In the Danube Basln: Report on Data Management, Institutional Studies, and Priotlty Pr0)ect.s. Volume I, July 1992. Field Report No, 374. Prepared by Robert Thomas, Max Clark, Tim Bondelid, Dan Edwards, William Lord, and Tarik Pekin, Water Quality Pre-Investment Studies In Four Danube River Tributay Basins. Sumrnay Report. July 1993. Field Report No. 407. Prepared by Jim McCullough, David Horsefield, Tarik Pekin, Max Clark, Dave Larodo, Bill Hogrewe, and Tim Bondelid. Water Quality Pre-Investment Studles In the Yantra Rlver Basin in Bulgarta. August 1993. Field Report No. 408, Prepared by Max Clark, Dave Laredo, and Bffl Hogrewe. Water Quality Pro-lnuestment Studles In the Sajo-Hernad Basin In Hungay. August 1993. Field Report No. 409. Prepared by Jim McCullough, David Horsefield, and Tarik Pekin. Water Quality Pre-lnuestment Studies In the Arges Basin In Romania, Auguj.C 1993. Field Report No. 410. Prepared by Max S. Clark 111, David Laredo, and William Hogrewe. Water Quality Pre-lnulestment Studles In the Homad Basln In Slovakia. August 1993. Field Report No. 411. Prepared by Jim McCullough, David Horsefield, and Tarik Pekin. CONTENTS ABOUTTHEAUTHORS ...... i ..................................v ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................ vii RATES OF EXCHANGE (Aprii 1993) ................................ ix EXECUTIVESUMMARY ........................................ xi 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 1.1 Background: Danube Environmental Program ................... 1 1.2 Scope of Work ....................................... 2 1.3 Team Activities ....................................... 2 2 . EXISTING CONDITIONS IN THE BASIN ........................... 5 Topography ......................................... 5 River Network ........................................ 5 Population and Municipalities .............................. 9 Land Use and Development ............................. 9 Environmental Sftuation ................................ 10 HydrologicConditions ................................. 11 Wateruse ......................................... 12 Major Sources of Water Pollution .......................... 13 2.8.1 Point Sources ................................ 13 2.8.2 Nonpoint Sources ............................. 15 Water Quality ....................................... 20 2.9.1 The Prut FUver ............................... 20 2.9.2 Tributaries of the Prut ........................... 32 Drinking Water Sources and Public Health Issues ............... 32 2.10.1 Ukraine ............................ ....,.,. 32 2.10.2 Romania ................................... 34 2.10.3 Moldova ................................... 35 Assessment of Data Availability and Reliability .................. 38 2.11.1 General .................................... 38 2.11.2 Ukraine ................................... 39 2.11.3 Moldova ................................... 39 2.11.4 Romania ................................... 40 Impact on Danube River ................................ 40 3 . INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ............................... 41 Overview .......................................... 41 3.1.1 The Environmental Sector ........................ 41 3.1.2 Transition and Challenges in the Rlparian Countries ....... 41 3.1.3 Variations Among the Countries .................... 42 Environmental Policies ................................. 42 3.2.1 Form vs. Substance ........................... 42 3.2.2 Responsibility for Environmental Policies .............. 42 Legislation and Agreements ........................ ...... 43 3.3.1 Moldova ................................... 43 3.3.2 Ukraine .................................... 43 Water and Environmental Sector Organizations ................. 44 3.4.1 Moldova ................................... 44 3.4.2 Ukraine .................................... 47 Permits for Extracting Water and Discharging Wastewater ........... 50 3.5.1 Moldova ................................... 50 3.5.2 Ukrahe .................................... 51 Charges for Water and Wastewater Services ................... 53 3.6.1 Moldova .................................... 53 3.6.2 Ukraine .................................... 53 Monitoring and Enforcement ............................. 54 3.7.1 Moldova ................................... 54 3.7.2 Ukraine .................................... 55 Major Institutional Issues ............................... 56 4. IDENTIFICATION OF HOT SPOTS ............................. 59 4.1 Criteria for Selection .................................... '59 4.2 Romania .......................................... 59 4.3 Ukraine ........................................... 60 4.4 Moldova .......................................... 60 5 . CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................... 63 5.1 Critical Environmental Problems ........................... 63 5.2 Guidelines for Pre-Investment Studies ....................... 53 5.2.1 Investment Projects: Ukraine ...................... 63 5.2.2 Investment Projects: Romania ..................... 64 5.2.3 Investment Projects: Moldova ..................... 65 5.3 Institutional Improvements ............................... 66 5.4 Data Management .................................... 67 APPENDIXES A . Persons and Offices Contacted ..................................69 B . Description of Documents and Data Collected ........................75 FIGURES 1. Prut River Basin Location Map .................................. xii 2 . Annual Use of Pesticides in Moldova .............................. 18 3 . DEMDESS Water Quality Profile-BOD.5, 1992 ......................27 4. DEMDESS Water Quality Profile-Ammonia. 1992 .................... 27 5. DEMDESS Water Quality Profile-Dissolved Oxygen. 1992 ..........., ...28 6 . DEMDESS Water Quality Profile-Nitrates. 1992 ...................... 28 7 . DEMDESS Water Quality Profile-Phosphates. 1992 ................... 29 TABLES 1. Prut River Network and Sampling Stations ...........................6 2 . Prut Basin Population Centers .................................. 14 3. Large Farms in Moldova .......................................15 4 . Animal Farms in Romania ..................................... 16 5 . Pesticide Use and storage in Moldova. 1992 .........................19 6 . Pesticide Levels (in micrograms per liter) ............................21 7. Prut River Water Quality Data. 1992 ..............................22 8. Water Quality Criteria for Various Uses ............................. 30 9. Drinking Water Standards in Moldova ............................. 31 10. Infant Mortality Rate in the Prut Basin. 1991 .........................35 iii ABOUT THE AUTHORS Donald Cullivan, P.E., is an environmental engineer with over 35 years' experience in consulting engineering, almost wholly devoted to the planning, assessment, and institutional development of the water and wastewater sector. Most of his experience has been in developing countries in all parts of the world, with seven years as an overseas resident. In the past two years ~VBhas completed assignments in five countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Tarik Pekin, P.E., Senior Environmental Engineer, Camp Dresser & McKee International Inc., has over 20 years' experience in the environmental engineering and planning field, including feasibility studies, environmental impact studies, process selection, process control, design, plant start-up and operator training, project and construction management. His work ranges from basin-wide and multinational environmental studies to specialized process engineering for the treatment of water and wastewater. Mr. Pekin has project experience in Turkey, Eastem Europe, Egypt, and Taiwan. He has written technical papers and made presentations on environmental quality issues and technologies in Turkey, Taiwan, and the United States. Dan Edwards has been with Training Resources Group since 1981. He has over 25 years' experience as a training and organizational development consultant in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. He has worked on numerous WASH assignments aver the past nine years, primarily in the area of training and institutional development. Mr. Edwards has been heavily involved in projects in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Thailand, and Egypt, and has lived in the Dominican Repubiic and Panama. Timothy Bondelid is a research environmental engineer with the Center for Environmental Analysis, Research Triangle Institute. He has been involved over his career as an environmental engineer in computer modeling, data quality and reliability analysis, development of environmental datab~zs,and mapping of hydrologic systems. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS Note: M m Moldova, R = Romania, and U - Ukralne