MOMENTMOMENT PROJECTPROJECT MODERNMODERN WATERWATER MANAGEMENTMANAGEMENT ININ THETHE SOUTHSOUTH BALTICBALTIC SEASEA AREAAREA POLISHPOLISH PILOTPILOT AREAAREA LOCATION IN THE LOWER VISTULA WATER REGION GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT In each pilot area, project coordinators tried to THE MOMENT PROJECT engage as many people as possible in the water THE MOMENT PROJECT management process. To achieve that Water The aim of the MOMENT project, which is Users Partnerships were established and local realized within the South Baltic Cross-border action programmes were created to improve Cooperation Programme 2007 - 2013 and co- water status mainly through reduction of financed by the European Regional nutrients and hazardous substances. Also in the Development Fund, is the improvement of water pilot areas there are being implemented eight management methods and expansion of the measures, which use new techniques to reduce knowledge concerning implementation of the the negative impact of anthropogenic pollution Water Framework Directive on the local level, as on water status. These actions are related to: well as the Baltic Action Plan, which aim is to • land use, restore the good ecological status of the Baltic • wastewater treatment from single marine environment. The main idea of the houses, project is to check the effectiveness and to • develop modern method of water management storm water treatment, • based on Water Users Partnerships - that is better knowledge and communication. making an attempt to involve the local The results and experiences of the individual communities, institutions and organizations in actions are exchanged between the project water management in surroundings closest to partners during meetings and seminars, and them. All actions in the project are supposed to after project finalization they will be contribute to the improvement of water status disseminated in the countries located in the and to reduce pollution reaching the Baltic Sea. South Baltic Sea area. The aim of these actions is PILOT AREAS AND THE COOPERATION to find effective and practical solutions to improve the status of the Baltic Sea water. The In the MOMENT project, which realization has final effects of the project are supposed to be a started in September 2009, participate nineteen better and more effective water resources partners (including three associated ones, who management and an enhanced cooperation offer their knowledge and experience, and are between the countries in terms of water not directly involved in the implementation of protection and the implementation of the Water the project activities) from four countries Framework Directive. situated in the catchment of the Baltic Sea: Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Russia POLISH PROJECT PARTNERS (Kaliningrad Oblast). The Regional Council in There are the following Polish project partners: Kalmar County from Sweden is a leading • partner. In the countries, taking part in the Regional Water Management Board in project, there were established seven pilot Gdańsk – pilot area coordinator, • areas, which are located in the basins of the Institute of Meteorology and Water following rivers: Management, • Office of the Marshal of the Warmińsko - • Akmena – Dane (Lithuania), Mazurskie Voivodeship, • Bauda (Poland), • Office of the Marshal of the Pomeranian • Bruatorp (Sweden), Voivodesip – associated partner. • Bräkne (Sweden), RZGW Gdańsk administrates the Lower Vistula • Minija (Lithuania), water region from the village Korabniki to the • Primorskaya (Russia), outflow of the Vistula river to the Baltic Sea, • Snärje (Sweden). basins of Przymorze rivers from the west of the All pilot areas are facing similar problems Vistula to the Słupia river, including its related to water management and water status, catchment and Przymorze rivers from the east among them are for example: of the Vistula to the Pasłęka river, including its catchment. The pilot area is located in the north • high loads and diffuse leakage of - eastern part of the Lower Vistula water region nutrients contributing to eutrophication, and constitutes 1.6% of its surface. • hydromorphology modifications, • inadequate or no wastewater treatment ACTIVITIES IN THE POLISH PILOT AREA and inadequate or no rainwater Activities in the Polish pilot area include: treatment. creation of the Internet information • Młynary (1815 inhabitans). exchange system about the pilot area based on the geographic information FLOOD RISK system (GIS), Due to the mountain character of the rivers in • establishment of Water Users the pilot area, there is high risk associated with floods occurring as a result of rapid snow Partnership, melting and rainfalls during the period from • development of a programme of April to October. Parts of the rivers outflows are measures for the improvement of water also under the influence of storm waters from status in the pilot area. the Vistula Lagoon contributing to the high Additionally, there were compiled studies that water levels flowing back upstream. were used as a basis for the development of the programme of measures and it was decided to CHARACTETISTICS OF THE BAUDA RIVER The Bauda river is the longest river in pilot area start the construction of the telemetric station 2 on the Bauda river, which will enable on-line -62 km, and its catchment area is 342 km . The publication on both IMGW’s and RZGW’s source of a river is located on Elbląg Upland in websites information on water levels in Bauda Milejewo village. Bauda basin is next to the river. Pasłęka basin from the east, and from the west next to the Żuławy Wiślane and the Elbląg river basin. It has six tributaries: 2 right-bank CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PILOT (Okrzejka and Lisi Parów) and 4 left-bank AREA (Gardyna, Inflow from Nowica, Wierzanka, Inflow from Biedkowo). The river has an BASIN LOCATION average fall of 7.5‰. Mountain character is The Polish pilot area consists of the basins of the kept almost to the outflow. Near to the outflow Bauda river and eight smaller rivers out-flowing it has a lowland character. to the Vistula Lagoon between Elbląg river and Pasłęka river. The catchment area is located in the north - eastern Poland and borders directly the Vistula Lagoon. It is in Warmińsko – Mazurskie Voivodeship within elbląski and braniewski counties. Total surface of the pilot area is 512.9 km2 and the Bauda river basin covers 67% of it. The rivers in pilot area are presented in table no.1. Tab. 1 Rivers in the pilot area Length Catchment area River [km] [km2] Dąbrówka 7,4 10,2 Kamionka 3,5 5,7 Kamienica 8,6 11,1 Fig. 1 Bauda river near its mouth to the Vistula Suchacz 4,5 5,5 Lagoon Olszanka 8,1 6,4 PROGRAMME OF MEASURES Grabianka 11,0 19,7 As a part of the project programme of measures Stradanka 11,4 24,8 for the pilot area was developed in order to Narusa 13,1 56,5 improve water status. Implementation of the Bauda 62,0 342,0 proposed measures will make it possible to achieve environmental objectives in line with LAND USE the Water Framework Directive by 2015. The The pilot area is dominated by agricultural study consisted of three phases: areas, which constitute 61% of it and the forest areas which share is 36%. Waters and wetlands • the first stage – identification of the constitute 2% and urban areas only 1%. The main problems related to water largest towns in the area are: management and waters status, • the second stage – overview of the • Tolkmicko (2893 inhabitans), activities for the improvement of waters • Frombork (2451 inhabitans), resulting from the local and regional • registration and control of leakage and planning documents, frequency of emptying septic tanks for • the third stage – development of the sewage in comparison to the amount of programme of measures for the water used, identified water management problems • registration and control of the aiming at improving water status. functioning of small sewage treatment The programme was prepared for ten water plants, • bodies that are located in the pilot area. top - down determination of the type of Measures in the program were divided into five the home sewage treatment plants groups: based on local conditions, • no possibility of the location of sewage • organization, law and education, treatment plants along: rivers, lakes, • public utilities, near the water intakes, • water regulation and protection of • establishment of a system of subsidies water dependent ecosystems, for individual solutions for small • agriculture and forestry, wastewater treatment plants, • spatial planning. • the duty of connecting to a sewage system after it is built, MAIN PROBLEMS • manure storage in a safe distance from The main problems related to water waters, management and water status were identified • basing on the discussions at the meetings of raising environmental awareness in Water Users Partnership and on the selected local communities through media documents, studies and visits in the pilot area. activities of municipalities, • The most significant problems are: raising awareness of farmers related to the use of fertilizers and the • lack of system solutions for the sewage environmental protection. management outside the villages around Vistula Lagoon, • flood risk connected with mountain character of rivers and the related erosion of the bottom resulting in the landslides and silting in the rivers outflows, • the stability of the riverbed and the problems resulting from the existence of beavers, • pollution from the animal production, • operation of the single household treatment plants: lack of control of its functioning and location, lack of checking their effectiveness, building on Fig. 2 View on the Vistula Lagoon near the mouth Natura 2000 areas and other nature of the Bauda river valuable, no inventory of wastewater treatment plants - both group and WATER USERS PARTNERSHIP (WUP) individual. WUP IDEA THE MOST IMPORTANT MEASURES The idea of Water Users Partnership is to On the basis of the major problems identified in involve local stakeholders to water management the pilot area, there were proposed the most process. WUP meetings enable the integration of important actions for the water status the parties interested in water management and improvement.