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

On October 23, 1997 the Slovak Republic, through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, informed the Republic of Hungary of its readiness to prolong the validity of the Agreement from April 19, 1995 until an agreement on implementation of the Judgement of International Court of Justice, declared on September 25, 1997, is reached. The Republic of Hungary accepted the proposed prolongation by the Resolution of Hungarian Government from December 17, 1997.

On April 25, 2007 the Nominated Monitoring Agents agreed on Statute modification (Appendix A.3). The agreed modification reflects changes in water quality monitoring according to Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and defines changes in time schedule for elaboration of National and Joint Reports. There were also agreed changes in monitoring sites, observed parameters and frequency of measurements.

The Slovak Party, according to the intergovernmental Agreement, has undertaken to release an annual average discharge of 400 m³.s^-1 into the Danube downstream the Čunovo dam and 43 m³s^-1 into the Mosoni branch of the Danube and the right side seepage canal, both discharges depending on hydrological and technical conditions described in the Appendices No. 1 and 2 of the Agreement. The Hungarian Party, according to the Agreement, constructed a submerged weir in the common section of the Danube at rkm 1843, and put it into operation in June 1995. This weir enables supply of water (up to 250 m³s^-1) into the river branches in the inundation area on Hungarian side. The water discharged into the Mosoni branch of the Danube ensures the water supply of the Mosoni Danube and branches in the Hungarian flood-protected area.

According to the Article 4 of the intergovernmental Agreement the Parties are obliged to mutually exchange and evaluate data obtained by environmental monitoring on both, Slovak and Hungarian, sides of the Danube, which are necessary to assess the impacts of increased flow rate in the Danube and water supply on the Hungarian side. Technical details of the environmental monitoring on both sides – determination of the influenced area, sampling and measuring points, the frequency of measurements, the list of exchanged parameters, the frequency of data exchange, etc. – are described in the Statute (Appendices A.2 and A.3) and relevant documents.

Observation results and measured data in tabular and graphical forms, together with their evaluation, 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 it is based on the approved and mutually exchanged National Annual Reports.

The present report is the fourteenth Joint Annual Report on the environmental monitoring and gives an evaluation concerning the year 2008. The evaluation of Slovak side is based on the data collected by the Slovak Hydro-meteorological Institute, Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University, Slovak Academy of Sciences, National Forest Centre, Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, West Slovakia’s Waterworks Company, Bratislava’s Waterworks Company, Slovak Water Management Authority, Water Research Institute and Ground Water Consulting Ltd. The data exchange and the evaluation of monitoring under the frame of 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 of Hungarian side is based on the data collected by the North-Transdanubian Inspectorate for the Environment and Nature Protection and Water Management, North-Transdanubian Environment Protection and 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 of monitoring are co-ordinated by the Ministry for the Environment Protection and Water management of the Republic of Hungary.

Goals of Joint Monitoring

The main goal of the Joint Slovak-Hungarian Monitoring in accordance to the intergovernmental Agreement is to observe, record and jointly evaluate quantitative and qualitative changes of surface and ground water bodies and water dependent natural environment in connection to the realised measures and water supply. The water supply into the river branches on the Hungarian side is assured by the submerged weir, which is increasing the water level in the Danube upstream of weir.

The evaluation includes changes in hydrological regimes of surface and ground water, changes in surface and ground water quality, changes in soil moisture and changes in forest stands and biota.

The goal of mutual data exchange is to provide information on monitoring results, on progress of parameters included in the data exchange, and on environmental changes in the influenced area of respective Parties. The basic condition of data exchange is usage of equal or similar methods of measurements and analysis and the application of agreed interpretation methods.

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

Joint monitoring activities in the year 2008

Monitoring activities in the year 2008 on both sides continued in accordance with the intergovernmental Agreement and the Statute modified on April 25, 2007. These consist of surface and ground water regime observations, surface- and ground- water quality monitoring, and measurements of soil moisture content, forest monitoring, fauna and flora observations.

Exchange of the monitoring data for the year 2007 was done on April 29, 2008 in Bratislava. The mutual exchange of National Annual Reports on environmental monitoring in 2007 was realized on June 27, 2008 in Gabčíkovo. The approval and signing of the Joint Annual Report on environment monitoring in 2007 was done on December 10, 2008 in Budapest. Concerning the elaboration of the actual Joint Annual Report the whole set of Slovak monitoring data for the year 2008 was handed over to the Hungarian Party on April 27, 2009 in Gyõr. The Hungarian Party on April 27, 2009 provided the data on surface water levels and flow rates and on groundwater levels. The data on the surface and groundwater quality, the soil moisture, forest and biological data were provided by the Hungarian side on May 5, 2009. The mutual exchange of National Annual Reports on environmental monitoring in 2008 was realized on June 11, 2009 In Budapest.

In order to realize joint evaluation of the forest health state in the whole inundation area several consultations on methodology was held between experts on forest monitoring. Joint training course of the Slovak and Hungarian experts, including fieldwork, had been realized on July 29, 2008. The aerial photographing on the Slovak side was realized on August 18-19, 2008. The photographing on the Hungarian side was performed on August 11, 2008.

Fulfilment of recommendations in Joint Annual Report 2007

1. Since the evaluation methods of ecological and chemical status of the surface water still need to be finalised in both countries the planned overview of these methods will be made in the frame of Joint Monitoring after their finalisation.

Evaluation methods of ecological and chemical status of the surface water on the Slovak side were finalised and published during the first quarter of 2009. The planned overview of these methods in the frame of Joint Monitoring will be elaborated in reports on monitoring for the year 2009.

2.  Gradual extension of new surface water quality monitoring methods will be applied in case of sampling sites observed by the Parties on the Slovak and Hungarian territories. Since finalized methods for hydro-biological monitoring were not available in 2008 the monitoring including its evaluation should be considered as transitional again.

New surface water quality monitoring methods on both sides, Slovak and Hungarian, are gradually applied, particularly on the common sampling sites. Since the finalised methods for surface water quality monitoring were completed during the first quarter of 2009 the monitoring in 2009, including its evaluation have to be considered as transitional.

3.  The data exchange for the extended period is being finished for the surface water levels and discharges, ground water levels and surface and ground water quality. An overall evaluation of the preceding period is recommended after finalisation the data exchange.

Because of the huge amount of data being exchanged for the extended period (concerning the surface water levels and discharges, ground water levels and surface and ground water quality) it is recommended to realise the overall evaluation of the preceding period in the frame of an independent study.