Some Problems in Water Protection from Pollution, especially with respect to protection of Danube

by Nataša Tomić

article published in Danubius 1-2/1998

Introductory Considerations

We can frame nature, but not overrule it. We can pollute nature, but how far?

Water is the most important resource, i.e. the most important element of material life, but water supply is limited to disposable amounts and its distribution. It is known that, water covers 70% of Earth surface, while fresh water covers only 20% of the total water quantity directly available for human activities represents only 0,002% of the total water quantity.

Faced with the problem of water shortage and diminishing its quality because of overpopulation, technical development and introduction of new technologies we are aware that there is no any kind of life (one of dead rivers was our Sava) in many rivers, what leads to qualitative changes in water's flora and fauna. With increase of water consumption, also the quantities of waste water increase. That is a consequence not only of unreasonable use of our natural wealth, but also irresponsible dealing with wastes of different kinds, from the ones in households, to those in industry, metallurgy and mining.

Pollution of living environment is seen in different shapes. Undesirable consequences of human activities disrupt natural living frame, and water, as one of the most important structural elements of different eco-systems is most frequently under an impact of polluters. The polluters are: waste waters, petroleum, different insecticides (herbicides, fungicides), artificial manure in agricultural production, organic stuff, including bacteria, radioactive waste (that is not a coincidence), different oils, phenols, detergents from industrial and domestic sources, and also inorganic salts which originate mostly from industrial plants.

Pollution of Waters in Serbia as a Great Nowadays Problem

Law on waters of Serbia ("Official Gazette of Republic of Serbia", n. 46/91, 53/93, 67/93 and 48/94) regulates today protection of waters, protection from their bad impact, use and water management as resources of common interest, conditions and way of managing water-economy activities, its organization and financing and also inspection of effecting of provisions of this law. Provisions of this law refer to all surface and underground waters, including water for drinking, thermal and mineral water. According to B. Babović, pollution of waters represents a change of composition or state of water that directly or indirectly comes out of human activities. Therefore, this water becomes less appropriate for use.

Protection of waters from pollution is effected in Serbia in accordance with the plan for protection of waters from pollution that is stipulated by the Government.

With this plan, firstly the following is introduced:

• Measures for stopping or diminishing inducing dangerous and harmful materials in water,
• Measures for preventing and disposing of waste and other materials over the territories where this can cause the worse quality of waters,
• Measures for treatment of polluted waters,
• Way of taking intervention measures in specific cases of pollution,
• Organizations that are obliged to take specific measures,
• Time limits for diminishing of water pollution and also,
• Responsibility and authorities committed with effectuation of protection.

Law on waters in Serbia in article 2. regulates use of waters in the way that does not endanger natural characteristics of water, and does not expose to danger life and health of people or endanger vegetation and fauna, natural values and unmovable cultural goods, In order to protect waters, it is forbidden (article 56):

• Inclusion of waste and harmful stuff that led to subscribed values,
• Inclusion of solid and liquid stuff that can pollute water or only cause sludging, salination of water and settling of deposits,
• Release of waste water into sewerage that contain dangerous and harmful materials above subscribed values or that can have a harmful effect on water treatment or that can damage sewerage and water treatment plant, 
• Use of abandoned wells as septic pits and also,
• Leaving in riverbeds natural and artificial watercourses and lakes materials that can pollute waters.

More detailed provision on dangerous and harmful materials in waters is to be decided by the Minister of Health regarding the environment protection. 

Republic of Serbia's water economic basis can be used as a set of regulations for all branches of industry and all types of settlements of more than 5000 (equivalent inhabitants) that must be provided with the adequate and efficient waste water treatment plants by 2021^st year. Construction of canals through the settlements in the Republic of Serbia is considerably retarded regarding water supply system development. Twenty municipal waste water treatment plants with the capacity of about on million (equivalent inhabitants) have been constructed so far in Serbia, but construction of 20 identical plants is planned because some of the existing ones do not operate well or they do not produce the appropriate effects.

Increasing technological development and utilization of water and other natural resources induce the necessity for legal regulation of national and international frames. This is especially hydrographic catchment, because the condition of pollution is alarming and the need for institutionalization of the states cooperation and international liability is indispensable.

The Danube Water Potentials and Dangers

With length of 2 850 km and a great number of tributaries the Danube is one of the longest rivers in the world (31^st) as regards the length, bifurcation of the catchment area and it is the second one in Europe. About 120 tributaries enter into the Danube among which 34 are navigable. Within the catchment of the Danube there are 70 million people and most of European agriculture and industrial production are situated over the territory of the Danube catchment area. It is well known that the towns are the biggest consumers and pollutants of water in addition to industrial plants and agricultural production. During 1936 year the water in the Danube was classified to the second or even to the first class what meant that minor water treatment could be used as to make water suitable for drinking while nowadays the situation is completely changed for the Danube is exceptionally polluted river. The waters of the Danube are not usable for drinking without previous treatment and without applying bacteriological and chemical control. Constant pollution of the river from the towns, littoral areas, industrial plants and the navigable vessels cannot be prevented by a few regulations concerning pollution prohibition, lacking an adequate control and protection of our rivers. All the data on hygienic water correctness for drinking in the central waterworks, then the data on the coverage of the Serbia territory, with the water supply system and sewerage network and the data on the momentous condition of water spring (the quality of underground and surface water) point to the fact that the problem of the healthy water supplying is even now up to date for the population. It is known that daily physiological need of an adult amount to about 2,5 liters water while hygienic epidemiological water significance for drinking is enormous.

The cooperation between the nations that live along the Danube catchment is very important for realization of common target: decrease of present pollution and prevention of the future one. International organizations activities and the activities of the expert commissions are directed in this way specially because our sector of the Danube river represents one of the most important winter resort of water migratory birds in Europe and north western Asia.

The possibilities for utilization of the Danube and its water are limited and determined by the geographical and hydrological factors.

The Danube is an international navigation route, which is passing through nine countries. Due to its length and very bifurcated catchment the Danube has got also a great military, geographical and strategic importance. Within the mountainous regions there are the optimal conditions for construction of hydroelectric power stations. There are 16 hydroelectric power stations on the Danube, which operate well or are under construction.

Hydro system Danube-Tisa-Danube with the canal network terminates century-lasting struggle for water and without water in our biggest granary Vojvodina. The whole forests of white poplars were planted at former disposal areas. This canal system connects approximately 100 settlements, which are small in size with the larger settlements and industrial centers and it falls among the biggest reclamation structures in the world.

Among the potentials of the Danube the possibilities for fishing and prospects for development of tourism are included.

In the course of the past 1972 year during the Symposium held in Belgrade at which the problems of water protection from pollution were discussed and the conclusions adopted that: very few rivers and mostly those in the upper reaches had not been polluted since that year, but they had not been protected from further pollution. 

During 1974 year within the region in the vicinity of Bezdan and Smederevo, the monitors were placed or the needs of automatic testing of water quality in the Danube.

In the course of 1977 year the increased organic pollution of the Danube had been proven and the maximally admitted value of a lot of stuffs (phenols and ammonia) had been considerably exceeded while bacteriological findings had pointed to the increased pollution of the Danube water.

In the most endangered towns (for example: Pančevo, Šabac, Prahovo, Bor, Zaječar) emergency measures had been taken, but they were not lasting and sufficient. Also within the region extending between Veliko Gradište town and Golubac, very dangerous pollution of the Danube water of long lasting had been recorded as well as of the air, by heavy metal particles brought by "košava" wind from the disposal area of washed dirt of lead, cooper and pyrite mines on the Romania's side. Unfortunately, the preventive measures had not been taken on time as to remove and prevent enormous pollution which caused disease affecting of the population and endangerment of the living fauna and flora on our littoral side of the Danube as well as the world living in the very river.

Pollution in the Danube River did not caused international disputes for a longer period of time regarding the judicial practice of international judicial bodies; either the arbitration courts are the matter or the permanent court of international justice and International court of justice. The reasons lied probably in policy effectuation referring to good neighborhood relations and in taking efforts not to change the relations then in absence of codification of universal river law, but also in mediation, negotiations, various services and the like. The exception, without doubt, represent the Hungarian-Slovak dispute settled in front of the International court of justice.

The Danube countries concern is directed to the responsibility arising on the occasion of damage, but also on the occasion of finding out the possibility to avoid damage in general, through the stipulations in bilateral agreements and establishment of regional communities, as it is the Working community of the Danube countries, respectively and by maintenance of international meetings (The Conference on the Danube - the river of cooperation) and similar manifestations.

Possibilities for Improvement of the Danube Protection

It is necessary to back up all the efforts for revival of possibility to ennoble and protect this big river, the river that moved apart Carpathians.

Earlier, Yugoslavia was not at all oriented to appreciation of great advantages that the Danube offers.

These days, we are confronted with the fact that 125 liters of chemicals from one chemical factory in Hungary overflowed into the Danube. These poisonous stuffs have caused poisoning of a great amount of fish in our course of the Danube. Will anybody be responsible for these events? Preventive and other protective measures that should be undertaken against river's pollution, compulsory must rely also on legal remedies. Such roots of legislative intervention originated from XVIII century. Meanwhile it is important that such laws should be applied.

In spite of dominance of bilateral solutions, also the multilateral approach was tried. Final Declaration of the Sofia Conference in 1989 year proposed engagement in negotiations with an objective to create ecological Convention on the Danube protection. In the course of the first meeting of the experts held in Budapest in 1991 year the Austrian proposal on separation of water quality protection from other ecological problems was adopted.

On the initiative of Austria in 1994 year in Sofia the Danube countries and European Union signed the Convention on cooperation in protection and justified use of the Danube. This Convention means a revival of multilateral framework of cooperation.

Of particular importance for improvement of the Danube protection from pollution is:

• common long-term monitoring program of water quality and measuring of pollution,
• accessibility of all relevant data to the international public,
• harmonization of limitations of pollutants emission in waste waters and also safety standards in the case of average,
• establishing of natural environment protection and specially protection of endangered flora and fauna species in the Danube river system,
• establishing of the appropriate forms of cooperation between the countries of different economical and technological development level,
• special (ecological) taxation of the works and other plants, particularly for the stuffs that cannot be recycled as well as
• establishing of the independent Research Center.

Conclusions

Chaotic development of cities and industry was not followed by the corresponding measures of protection against pollution. Unfortunately, true knowledge on water, soil and air pollution is not gained both in our country and in the international scope.

The most important activities referred to protection of water from pollution are certainly storage and removal of wastewater. Wastewater treatment plants constructions are not in accordance with the actual needs. This engagement on decrease of pollution arising from many sources is modest what resulted constantly to the Danube River water quality reduction.

Although, the legal regulations represent the basis for water protection against pollution, the question of their realization means the serious problem. The necessity of reasonable utilization of available waters in Serbia requires an engagement of the entire public that can help to the promotion of the Danube protection, its advantages and natural resources. Through the improvement of the cooperation between the nations at the international level, i.e. between the people living along the Danube catchment, the better protection of the Danube as a navigable route should be made possible. International importance of the Danube as our great wealth will be in this way proved.

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