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C11 – Nutrients in freshwater – rivers of Ukraine

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Key messages

The average river nitrate and phosphate concentrations in Ukrainian rivers showed no improvements in the period 2000-2017. The present concentrations of nitrates are slightly lower than those at the start of the millennium, when phosphates were steadily increasing.

The average annual nitrate and phosphate concentrations in rivers in the period 2000-2017 was 3.8 mg NO3/l and 0.53 mg P/l, respectively.

The average current concentration of nitrates and phosphates measured in 131 river sites in Ukraine is 3.23 mg NO3/l and 0.50 mg P/l, respectively.

 

Of the Ukrainian rivers, Sievercki Donets has the highest concentrations of nitrates and phosphate. The Pivdenni Bug river has high phosphate and moderate nitrate pollution. The Desna river also has a high phosphate concentration, and the Tisa river has low nitrates but moderate phosphate concentrations.

Are concentrations of nutrients in freshwaters in Ukraine decreasing?

Figure 1 – Changes in mean nitrate (NO3) in rivers in Ukraine (2000-2017)

Data sources: Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities.

Note: The data series is calculated as the average of the annual mean concentrations of nitrate (mg NO3/l) for seven rivers in Ukraine for the period 2000-2017. The total number of river sites is 82.

Figure 2 – Change in mean phosphate (P) in rivers of Ukraine (2000-2017)

Data sources: Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities.

Note: The data series is calculated as the average of the annual mean concentrations of phosphate (mg P/l) for seven rivers in Ukraine for the period 2000-2017.The total number of river sites is 83.

The highest average annual nitrate concentration in the period 2000-2001 was 5.39 mg NO3/l in 2009 and the lowest 3.60 mg NO3/l in 2012. In recent years, nitrate concentrations in rivers have fallen in comparison with the start of the millennium. 

The lowest average annual phosphate concentration in rivers in the period 2000-2017 was measured in 2009 (0.32 mg P/l). In the last year of the analysis, in 2017, the concentration was 0.53 mg P/l, which is the highest annual average in the period 2000-2017. Since 2009 the annual average phosphate concentration has been steadily increasing. 

The increase in the concentration of phosphate may indicate a lack of waste water treatment and an increase in the use of phosphate-based detergents.

Are the concentrations of nutrients decreasing in Ukrainian rivers? 

Figure 3 – Changes in nitrate concentrations in rivers of Ukraine (2000-2017)

Data sources: Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities.

Note: The data series are calculated as the averages of the annual mean concentrations of nitrate (mg NO3/l) for seven rivers in Ukraine for the period 2000-2017. The total number of river sites with full data sets from 2000 onwards is 82.

Figure 4 – Changes in phosphate (P) concentrations in rivers in Ukraine (2000-2017)

Data sources: Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities.

Note: The data series are calculated as the averages of the annual mean concentrations of phosphate (mg P/l) for seven rivers in Ukraine for the period 2000-2017.The total number of river sites is 83.

The Dnister and Prut are rivers with decreasing trends in nitrate concentrations. The other rivers, except SIevercki Donets, do not show any significant trends in nitrate concentrations. The only rivers with decreasing trends in phosphate concentrations are Prut and Dnister. 

The Seversky Donets (which flows to the Azov Sea) is the river most polluted with nitrates and phosphates, and concentrations of both are increasing. 

The Tisa and Prut rivers have the lowest concentrations of phosphates. The Desna and Dnipro rivers have the lowest concentrations of nitrates.  

What is the current state of pollution with nitrates and phosphates in Ukrainian rivers?

Figure 5 – Current concentrations of nitrate (NO3) in rivers in Ukraine (2017)

Data sources: Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities. 

Note: The present concentration is calculated as the average of the mean concentrations of nitrate (mg NO3/l) in Ukraine for the year 2017. The total number of river sites included in the analysis is 131. The number of monitoring sites per river is given in parenthesis.

A little more than one tenth (13 %) of river sites in Ukraine have very low concentrations of nitrate (< 0.8 mg NO3/l) and 34 % have concentrations below 2.0 mg NO3/l. One fifth (23 %) of sites have nitrate concentrations greater than 3.6 mg NO3/l, which is a high concentration. The average current concentration of nitrates measured in 131 river sites in Ukraine is 3.23 mg NO3/l.

Nitrate and phosphate pollution in rivers is highly variable. Almost all sites on the Sievercki Donets river are highly polluted with nitrate. On the other hand, all sites on the Desna river and the majority of sites on the Dnipro river have low nitrate concentrations. The concentrations of nitrate along the Dniester river vary a lot: eight sites fall into the low class, seven into the moderate class and four into the high class. The Tisa river is moderately polluted along almost all of its length in Ukraine. 

Figure 6 – Current concentration of phosphate in rivers of Ukraine (2017)

Data sources: Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities.

Note: The present concentration is calculated as the average of the mean concentrations of phosphates (mg P/l) in Ukraine for the year 2017. The total number of river sites included in the analysis is 131. The number of monitoring sites per river is given in parenthesis.

The concentrations of phosphates varies a lot among Ukrainian rivers. On average 15 % of sites fall into the medium range of concentrations, ranging between 0.1 mg P/l and 0.2 mg P/l, but two thirds of all sites in Ukraine have concentrations of phosphates above the medium range. Sites on the Tisa and Prut rivers are the least polluted by phosphates, probably because in Ukraine they are still headwaters. On the Sievercki Donets river, all sites fall into the highest phosphate concentration class. The Pivdenni Bug and Desna rivers are also very polluted with phosphates.  

The average current concentration of phosphates measured in 131 river sites in Ukraine is 0.50 mg P/l. 

Of Ukrainian rivers, Sievercki Donets had the highest concentrations of nitrates and phosphate. The Pivdenni Bug has high phosphate and moderate nitrate pollution. Desna also has high phosphate concentrations, and Tisa has low nitrate but moderate phosphate concentrations.

Of Ukrainian rivers, Sievercki Donets had the highest concentrations of nitrates and phosphate. The Pivdenni Bug has high phosphate and moderate nitrate pollution. Desna also has high phosphate concentrations, and Tisa has low nitrate but moderate phosphate concentrations.

 

Indicator specification

Indicator definition

Concentrations of phosphate and nitrate in rivers.

Units

The concentration of phosphate is expressed as mg P/l; the concentration of nitrate is expressed as mg NO3/l.

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

Large inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to water bodies from urban areas, industry and agricultural areas can lead to eutrophication. This causes ecological changes that can result in a loss of plant and animal species (reduction in ecological status) and have negative impacts on the use of water for human consumption and other purposes. The main source of nutrient pollution of surface waters is municipal waste water.

Scientific references

  • Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban wastewater treatment

  • Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (Water Framework Directive) http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/waterframework/index_en.html;

  • UNECE, 2018, ‘Guidelines for the application of environmental indicators’, description of C11: nutrients in freshwater, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

  • UNECE, 2018, ‘Guidelines for the application of environmental indicators, glossary of terms – Description of C11. Nutrients in freshwater.

 

Policy context and targets

 

Context description

The ecological degradation of freshwater with respect to eutrophication and nutrient concentrations is the objective of several EU directives. These include the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC), aimed at reducing nitrate pollution from agricultural land; the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), aimed at reducing pollution from sewage treatment works and certain industries; and the Water Framework Directive, which requires the achievement of good ecological status.

National policy context

The Law of Ukraine on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on implementation of integrated approaches to basin water management, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, adopted on 4 October 2016.

Resolution No 758 on the approval of the procedure of the state monitoring of waters, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, adopted 19 September 2018.

International policy context

The ecological degradation of freshwater with respect to eutrophication and nutrient concentrations is the objective of several EU directives. These include: the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC), aimed at reducing nitrate pollution from agricultural land, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), aimed at reducing pollution from sewage treatment works and certain industries, and finally the Water Framework Directive, which requires the achievement of good ecological status or good ecological potential of surface water bodies. In accordance with the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, the country has an obligation to comply with the requirements of these Directives.

Targets

National targets

To reduce the pollution of Ukrainian rivers with nitrates and phosphate and good ecological status of Ukrainian rivers.

In 2011 the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources approved the ‘National targets of Ukraine to the Protocol on Water and Health’; meeting these targets indirectly reduces pressures on water quality. Nitrates and phosphate concentrations in water are expected to be reduced by meeting the following targets:

  • Target 7: improve the access to centralised sewerage systems. Indicators: percentages of urban and rural populations with access to improved sanitation. Targets in 2015: in cities and towns 80 % (2015) and 100 % (2020); in rural areas 20 % in 2015 and 50 % in 2020.

  • Target 10: reducing the amount of waste water discharged (including from mining and quarries, and drainage water) with non-existent or inadequate treatment. Targets for discharges without treatment: 3 % in 2015 and 1.5 % in 2020; targets for discharges with inadequate treatment: 15 % in 2015 and 10 % in 2020.

  • Target 12: adoption of river basin management plans for the Danube, Tisa and Pivdenni Bug rivers in 2015 and for the Dnipro, Dniester and Seversky Donets rivers in 2020.

 

International targets

The UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 target 6.3 aims to achieve, by 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.

Related policy documents

Resolution No 758 on the approval of the procedure of the state monitoring of waters, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, adopted 19 September 2018.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Annual mean concentrations are used as a basis in the present concentration and trend analyses. An outlier test based on z-scores is applied to the averages of the annual mean concentrations of nitrates and phosphates in rivers; data failing the tests are excluded from further analysis. For time series and trend analyses, only series that are complete after interpolation/extrapolation (i.e. no missing values in the site data series) are used. This is to ensure that the aggregated data series are consistent, i.e. including the same sites throughout the time series. In this way assessments are based on actual changes in concentration, and not on changes in the number of sites. The selected time series are aggregated by country and by river catchment, averaging across monitoring sites for each year, with full time series for the period 2000-2017.

The present state of pollution is represented by the average concentrations in the last year. In this case all monitoring sites are used, which is a far higher number than those that have complete time series after interpolation/extrapolation.

The sites are assigned to different concentration classes and summarised (count of sites per concentration class). The classes’ defining values are based on the range of concentrations found in the database and only give an indication of the relative distribution of the values of nitrates and phosphates.

Methodology for gap-filling

Gaps of up to 3 years, both at the ends and in the middle of the data series, are extrapolated or interpolated. At the beginning or end of the data series up to 3 years of missing values are replaced by the first or the last value of the original data series, respectively. In the middle of the data series, missing values are replaced by the values next to them, except for gaps of 1 year and for the middle year in gaps of 3 years, where missing values are replaced by the average of the two neighbouring values.

 

Methodology references

  • EEA, 2005, EEA core set of indicators guide, EEA Technical Report No 1/2005, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.

  • UNSD and UNEP, 2013, ‘Questionnaire 2013 on environment statistics, section: water’, United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme.

  • UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Description of C11. Nutrients in freshwater.

  • UNECE, 2018. Guidelines for the Application of Environmental Indicators, Glossary of terms – C11. Nutrients in freshwater.

 

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

No methodological uncertainty has been specified.

Data sets uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified.

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified.

 

Data sources

Data were provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine under the ENI SEIS II East project activities.

Foundation "Open Society". Monitoring and environmental assessment of water resources of Ukraine’. http://openenvironment.org.ua/water/ .