Frontpage » Departments & activities » Water
Water Exploitation Index (WEI)* is low (around 4%) in Estonia, being below critical exploitation limit of water resources (20%). Abstraction dropped considerably in Estonia during the period 1990-2003. Since 2003 annual water extraction has been around 100 million m3, but recent years have seen an increase in the extraction of surface water. In 2008, 47.3 million m3 of water was used for human consumption, 30.4 million m3 for production and 4.0 million m3 for agriculture. Most of the water is consumed in Tallinn and Narva. In 2008, over 22 million m3 of water was taken from Lake Ülemiste and 3.6 million m3 came from groundwater to meet the water consumption needs of Tallinn. Narva consumed 7.2 million m3 of water from the Narva River and 36,000 m3 of groundwater in 2008. In Tallinn, groundwater supplies around 14% of water to the city, in Narva the figure is below 1%. In both cities, 99% of population is covered with a public water supply system. Most groundwater is taken from the complexes of Kambrium-Vendi and Siluri-Ordoviitsiumi.
* Water Exploitation Index shows available water resources in a country or region compared to the amount of water used. An index over 20% is usually indicative of water scarcity. State of surface water The state of bodies of water depends on the effectiveness of sewage treatment, intensity of agriculture and on the protective measures applied in agriculture. Since 1992 the pollution load of surface water has markedly decreased in Estonia due to the construction of new water treatment plants, renovation of the old ones and a decline in industrial and agricultural production in the first half of the 1990s. (http://www.keskkonnainfo.ee/index.php?lan=EE&sid=655&tid=589&l1=2)
The state of surface water is accounted for per bodies of surface water and the current number of such surface water to be assessed is 750. The Estonian Environmental Register includes a higher number of bodies of water than that of the bodies of surface water. A body of surface water is usually a larger body of water listed in the Environmental Register (bodies of standing water with water surface area of at least 50 ha, flowing bodies of water with catchment area of at least 10 km2). Some larger bodies of water have been divided into several bodies of surface water, and some smaller flowing bodies of water have been consolidated into one larger body of flowing water. A body of surface water has its characteristic natural environment and human impact.
The list of bodies of surface water and the rules for the establishment of the states thereof have been enacted with an Order of the Minister of Environment titled “Procedure for the establishment of bodies of surface water and a list of the bodies of surface water the state of which is to be established, classes of the states and the values of quality indicators corresponding to these state classes, and the procedure for the establishment of the classes of state”. (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/ert/act.jsp?id=13210253)
To assess the state of surface water, five classes of state are used: very good, good, moderate, bad and very bad. The state of surface water is determined on the basis of ecological and chemical status. The ecological status is established using four quality elements: * General physico-chemical conditions,
At the end of 2008, a report titled “Ecological State of Estonian Surface Water Bodies in 2004-2008” was prepared for the first time. (http://www.keskkonnainfo.ee/index.php?lan=EE&sid=132&tid=126&l1=29) On the basis of this report, the states of 750 surface water bodies were determined.
The number of flowing bodies of water is 639 in Estonia and 475 of these are in a good or in a very good state. The number of bodies of standing water is 95 in Estonia and 60 of these are in a good or in a very good state. The number of coastal bodies of water in 16 in Estonia and 5 of these are in a good state.
The overall state of only four flowing bodies of water is deemed as bad due to their chemical condition. The rest of surface water bodies classified as being in a moderate, bad or a very bad state have problems with ecological status. Those bodies of surface water that are in a moderate, bad or a very bad state must be provided with an action plan on improving their state. The measures for improving the state of surface water bodies are stipulated in the water management plans of river basins.
State of groundwater Groundwater is the principal source of drinking water in Estonia and its general state could be considered good. Important feeding areas of groundwater are the uplands of Estonia, where groundwater layers receive over 40% of the water. Approximately 60% of the contaminants threatening groundwater originate in diffuse sources of pollution. This puts groundwater used to produce drinking water at risk, also leading to the eutrophication of waterways. To decrease the pollution, nitrate-sensitive zones have been established in the Pandivere uplands and on the Adavere limestone plateau. Despite applying the preventive measures, the level of nitrates in the groundwater of the area has increased in the period 2007–2008. Currently, it is difficult to evaluate the role of climate and that of the intensified agriculture in the changes that have taken place.
Lakes in Estonia Lakes and artificial water bodies cover approximately 5% of Estonian territory. Estonia has close to 1200 small lakes and reservoirs with the surface area of over 1 ha. Lakes are located unevenly across the country, with more lakes in the south-eastern and southern Estonia. Among the largest lakes of Europe are also Lake Peipus and Lake Võrtsjärv situated in Estonia. The deepest lake in Estonia is Rõuge Suurjärv (Great Lake) – 38 m deep. Lake Peipus is up to 18 m and Lake Võrtsjärv 6 m deep.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the use of fertilizers and farm sewage considerably impacted on the lakes of Estonia, resulting in quick eutrophication. In the early 1990s, the state of lakes (especially small lakes) was on the improve. Eutrophication process slowed down and the concentration of nitrogen in the water decreased.
Rivers in Estonia Estonia’s network of rivers is fairly dense, but rivers are relatively short and poor in water. The most abundant in water is the Narva River.
There are 10 rivers in Estonia with over 100 km in length. The longest is the Võhandu River – 162 km, followed by the Pärnu River – 144 km –, thereafter the River Põltsamaa, River Pedja, River Kasari, River Keila and the River Jägala. 15 rivers have a catchment area of over 1000 km², whereas that of the Narva River is even bigger than the territory of the Republic of Estonia. The catchment area of the Emajõgi River, which is almost fully situated within the borders of Estonia, constitutes 22% of the surface area of the country.
Estonia’s nature is unique in the existence of karstic features (e.g. secret rivers) found in the northern Estonia and in the country’s islands. Due to the karstic forms some of the rivers also flow underground (such as the rivers of Jõelähtme, Tuhala, Kuivajõgi, etc.).
Of the Estonian rivers 23% flow into the Gulf of Finland, 43.6% into the Gulf of Riga, 33% into Lake Peipus and the Narva River and 0.3% into Russia and Latvia.
Water protection The main water related investments of the Ministry of the Environment pertain to the improvement of the quality of drinking water as well as the collection and treatment of wastewater. Such investments have been benefiting from the resources of the EU Cohesion Fund and from the water protection program of the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre (EIC) (KIK). For cutting back on agricultural pollution, support has also been provided from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) though the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board (PRIA).
Furthermore, catchment area specific organisation of water management has also been initiated, and the water management plans thereof have been prepared. The obligations, duties and objectives stipulated in the water management plan are to be considered in the preparation of the development plans of public water supply and sewerage system of local government bodies, general and detailed plans or in the supervision and amendment procedures thereof. The preparation of water management plans follows the main requirements of the framework directive of the EU water policy.
In Estonia, there are three river basins and nine sub-basins. Estonia’s river basins are:
Protection of transboundary water bodies For the protection and economical use of transboundary water bodies a joint Estonian-Russian committee was established in 1997. This was founded between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation under the mutual cooperation agreement on the protection and economical use of transboundary water bodies entered into between the governments of the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation in the same year.
The joint committee develops cross-border cooperation between the governments of the two countries, organises the exchange of environmental monitoring data and the harmonisation of measurement methods between the parties, expands opportunities for cooperation between the research and public organisations of both parties and supports public discussion over problems related to transboundary water bodies.
Under the Estonian Ministry of the Environment, integrated water management is organised by the Water Department that also prepares and implements the water management plans of river basins and sub-basins.
In addition, the responsibilities of the Water Department include the following: |
