PREFACE

Antecedents

On April 19, 1995 the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Government of the Republic of Hungary signed the Agreement concerning certain temporary technical measures and discharges in the Danube and Mosoni branch of the Danube[1] (Appendix A.1). The Agreement prescribes the monitoring of environmental impact of the realised measures, increased discharges into the Danube and Mosoni branch of the Danube, and water supply to the right side river branch system. Activities of the Nominated Monitoring Agents connected with the realisation of the environmental monitoring in the influenced area are described in the Statute[2], signed on May 29, 1995 in Gabčíkovo (Appendix A.2).

According to the Agreement the Slovak Party has undertaken to discharge an annual average of 400 m3 .s-1 of water to the Danube downstream the Čunovo weir and 43 m3 s-1 to the Mosoni branch of the Danube, depending on hydrological and technical conditions described in the Appendices No. 1 and 2 of the Agreement. The Hungarian Party, according to the Agreement, put the submerged weir, constructed in the common section of the Danube at rkm 1843, into operation in June 1995. This weir enables the water supply of 150 m3 .s-1 into the river branch system in the Hungarian inundation area. The water discharged to the Mosoni branch of the Danube ensures the water supply of the Mosoni Danube and the branches in the flood protected area.

According to the Article 4 of the Agreement the Parties are obliged to mutually exchange and evaluate the data, obtained by the environmental monitoring on both sides, which are necessary to assess the impacts of the water supply. The technical details of the environmental monitoring on both sides – the determination of the influenced area, the sampling and measuring points, the frequency of measurements, the list of exchanged parameters, the frequency of data exchange, etc. – are described in the Statute (Appendix 2) and relevant documents.

The observation results and measured data in tabular and graphical forms with short descriptions create the National Annual Reports, prepared by the Parties themselves, according to the Article 3 of the Agreement. This Joint Annual Report was elaborated jointly and is based on the approved and mutually exchanged national reports.

The present report is the fifth Joint Annual Report on the environmental monitoring and gives the evaluation concerning the hydrological year 1999. The evaluation on the Slovak side is based on the data collected by the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Forest Research Institute, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, West Slovakia’s Waterworks and Sewerage Enterprise, Waterworks and Sewerage Enterprise Bratislava, Slovak Water Management Authority, Water Research Institute and Ground Water Consulting Ltd. The data exchange and the evaluation of the monitoring under the frame of the joint monitoring are co-ordinated by the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for the construction and operation of the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project.

The evaluation on the Hungarian side is based on the data collected by the North-Transdanubian Authority for the Environment Protection, North-Transdanubian Water Management Authority, Regional Waterworks Companies, Forest Research Institute, Pannon Agricultural University, Museum of Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Eötvös Lóránd Science University. The data exchange and the evaluation are co-ordinated by the Ministry for the Environment Protection.

Goals of the Joint Monitoring

 The main goal of the Joint Slovak-Hungarian Monitoring is to observe, record and jointly evaluate the impacts of the increased water level in the Danube and of the water supply to the river branch system on the Hungarian side assured by the submerged weir. The evaluation includes the changes in the hydrological regimes of the surface and ground water, the changes in the surface and ground water quality, the changes in the soil moisture and changes in forestry and biota.

The goal of the mutual data exchange is to provide information on monitoring results characterising the environmental changes on the influenced area of the respective Parties. The basic condition of data exchange is use of equal or compatible methods of measurements and analysis and the application of agreed interpretation methods.

The final goal of the Joint Annual Report is to submit the joint evaluation of the monitoring results and the joint recommendations for monitoring improvement and environment protection activities to the respective governments.

Joint monitoring activities in 1999

Comparing to the previous years there were some changes in the monitoring activities in hydrological year 1999.

Two new monitoring objects for the ground water quality observation on the Slovak side were included to the joint evaluation.

In the forestry monitoring on the Slovak side there were two monitoring areas replaced and two new areas added to the forestry monitoring network. During the vegetation period aerial photographs for forest health evaluation was taken on the both sides.

In the frame of biological monitoring on the Slovak side the monitoring of aquatic macrophytes was introduced on four monitoring areas.

The other monitoring activities remained unchanged. Joint surface water discharge measurements were carried out on selected profiles. Joint visits on biological monitoring areas were carried out in September 1999. During the field survey some of the terrestrial fauna and aquatic macrophytes monitoring sites were visited.

Fulfilment of the 1998’s Joint Annual Report recommendations

1. In April 1999 a meeting of experts was held for discussing the possibilities and technical conditions of simultaneous flooding of the inundation on both sides. Experts have stated that solution of these question depend on the solution of whole set of questions in the frame of negotiations on the realisation of the ICJ Judgement in the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros case. Because the negotiations were not closed yet, the question of simultaneous flooding of the inundation on both sides remains opened.

2. The Nominated Monitoring Agents accepted the proposal of experts to include to the data exchange monitoring sites, observed on the Danube stretch between rkm 1850 and 1811, which are: profile upstream and downstream of the bottom weir in rkm 1843, and profile at rkm 1816. The parameters of oxygen regime and eutrophication will be monitored at these monitoring sites.

3. Besides the monitoring profiles observed in the frame of Boundary waters quality the monitoring sites observed in the frame of the Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin are not situated within the area of impact of the underwater weir. Some cooperation could be established in the field of methodology used in the frame of the Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin.

4. In order to improve the evaluation of ground water levels changes in the inundation area, based on the experts proposal, the Nominated Monitoring Agents agree on completing the data exchange by 13 surface water level gauging stations on the Slovak side and 18 gauging stations on the Hungarian side. The ground water level monitoring network in the inundation area will be completed to about 20 observation points on each side.

5. All of the ground water quality monitoring objects were completely evaluated in the Slovak National Annual Report, including objects No. 3 and 87. The evaluation is based on the whole agreed period from October 1, 1992 to October 31, 1999. The Hungarian Party evaluated the representative objects for the ground water quality monitoring and gave an overview of the water quality in the other wells in 1999.

6. During the year 1999 field visits of biological monitoring areas were carried out. The monitoring of Macrophytes, Cladocera and Copepoda is performed on 40 monitoring sites on the Hungarian side, seven of which are included to the data exchange. Experts of both sides visited 5 monitoring sites where observation of Macrophytes and zooplankton are carried out, and one monitoring site where Cladocera and Copepoda are observed. Field visits will continue during the year 2000.