Study: Estonia's Water Bodies Among Healthiest in Europe (7)

Published: 28.05.2012 13:04

Photo: Postimees/Scanpix

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A study released last week at the European Water Conference in Brussels showed that Estonia's rivers, lakes and coastal waters are among the healthiest in the EU.

The assessment of water bodies and water catchment areas indicated that slightly more than 70 percent of Estonia's water bodies are in good natural condition, Ministry of the Environment spokeswoman Brita Merisalu told news.err.ee.

The situation was found to be gravest in Belgium and the Netherlands, where estimates suggest that there are no water bodies that are in good natural condition

The study was based on data submitted in 2010 and focused primarily on ecological quality indicators such as aquatic flora, fish fauna and nutrient conditions in the water. It looked at rivers with basins larger than 10 square kilometers and lakes with a surface area greater than 50 hectares.

What sets Estonia's water bodies apart is that they are wild, undisturbed and extremely susceptible to any kind of pollution, which small water bodies cannot tolerate.

Europe-wide, the factors that have the most adverse effect on water condition are excessive water extraction, pollution caused by agricultural activities and the high concentration of various hazardous and toxic substances in natural water bodies. In Estonia, the three main problems are related to the pollution caused by water treatment plants and agricultural activities, and the blocking and damming of water bodies.

Water protection in Estonia is handled by the East Estonia, West Estonia and Koiva Water Administrations, which cover the three main river basins. Each administration has a water management plan that prescribes the means for improving the condition of water bodies. The plans are implemented by the Ministry of the Environment, the Environmental Board and river basin administration-based working groups.

 

Sigrid Maasen

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Comments (7)

  • avatar

    knut_albers

    28.05.2012 14:28

    The reference to the Water Administrations is misleading, they have nothing to contribute here. Belgium and the Netherlands are smaller than Estonia and have a higher population density (Estonia's population density is 29.6 per square kilometer, meanwhile Belgium's is 352.0 and Netherlands have a 396.9 population density). The pollution rate of a country is directly connected to the population density of an area, not the "efficiency" of our busybodies.

  • Anarchy

    28.05.2012 16:39

    If Knut sees the word "administration" he sees red recently :)

  • Mart Mang

    28.05.2012 18:29

    The lakes are good except for Peipsi. And I know who to talk to about it. Unfortunately they aren't listening...

  • avatar

    Knut_albers

    29.05.2012 09:33

    Wheras "administration" claims it is there job when things are improving, when check against reality, way to often you realize that this is actually not (at least fully) true. And if you dig more deeper, you see red alert. Same as the Soviets claimed that they built the "beautiful" infrastructure in Estonia. Guess, who particulary financed it? The West (Finland, for instance). And Estonians themselves (through negative quota share).

  • Clean Water

    01.06.2012 12:24

    Excuses, excuses, excuses, knut. The politically correct and very rich countries of Belgium and the Netherlands need to do something about the shameful condition of their bodies of water. They can afford it. The fact that they have higher population densities makes the problem even more urgent as more people are affected.

  • avatar

    knut_albers

    06.06.2012 16:38

    Sure they need to do something about that and be a bit more inventive to combat groundwater contamination, but my point is no rocket science, but simple causal connection, so to speak. If 90% of world's imports are produced in China, then oh no wonder, China has the worst water quality in the world, due to the massive industrial waste related to that and in addition, a high and concentrated population density that gives them the rest. Let Estonia produce for the world and the water quality is going down massively in no time. Let Estonia have 17 million of inhabitants and the water quality is as bad as in the Netherlands over time. Humans consume resources, you know, there is no "administration" here that would have done anything that the water quality in Estonia is superior. This is about demographic characteristics here.

  • Water

    08.06.2012 11:15

    Wrong, knut. You are always trying to find a way to make everything good here either look bad or to be some kind of accident. Water quality here was horrible during the Soviet period and it is to the current government's credit that that problem has literally been cleaned up.