Implementation of the WFD in Greece

1. Implementation of the WFD in Greece P. Pantelopoulos, Director, Special Secretariat for Water

2. The development of the RBMPs - Main issues • Set up of the required legislation framework and re-organisation of the administrative structure for the implementation of the WFD and the RBMPs. • Interpretation of the WFD requirements and their adaptation to the specific conditions of our country, in cooperation with acknowledged national institutes: • Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR) • Greek Biotope/Wetland Center (GBWC) • Institute for Geology and Mineral Exploration (IGME) • Public Participation: a new concept of decision-making

3. Legislative actions 12 legislative acts for the implementation of the WFD, the Groundwater Daughter Directive and relative Directives e.g.: Administrative organization for the implementation of the RBMPs Monitoring network Threshold values for groundwater Transposition of the directives 2006/118/EC, 2006/11/EC, 2007/60/EC, 2008/105/ EC, 2008/56/EC, 2009/90/ΕC etc

4. ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE Inter- Ministerial committee for formulation of the national water policy Stakeholders NATIONAL WATER COMMITTEE NATIONAL WATER COUNCIL Responsible for the implementation of the national water policy and the relative EU Directives MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT ENERGY AND CLIMAT CHANGE SPECIAL SECRETARIAT FOR WATER DECENTRALISED ADMINISTRATION 13 WATER DIRECTORATES Responsible for the water management and the implementation of the RBMPs at Regional Level WATER COUNCIL OF THE DECENTRALISED ADMINISTRATION Stakeholders

5. 14 River Basin Districts (5 International) 45 River Basins

6. Monitoring Network • Design of a comprehensive, effective and cost-efficient monitoring program that serves the water quality and quantity management needs • Monitoring of all parameters required by WFD and Daughter Directives (biological, priority substances, quantity, etc.). For the first time in Greece, monitoring of biological parameters in an organised way. • Production of complete water status reports.

7. Monitoring network – Surface water 616 stations Operational: 377 Surveillance: 239

8. Monitoring network – Groundwater 1392 stations Operational: 1098 Surveillance: 294

9. Development of RBMPs 6 projects for the development of RBMPs in the 14 RBDs of the country; of these: • 4 projects (10 RBDs) in progress; consultations initiated & conclusion expected in June • 2 projects (4 RBDs) pending; target for end of year

10. Specific conditions of the country • Relatively small river basins • Significant transboundary river basins • Complicated geological structure • Extensive coastline • Unequal geographical distribution of resources • Significant seasonal variation of resources • Extensive use of groundwater resources, mostly for agriculture (>80% of consumption from all resources) • Strongly variable seasonal water demand • Limited public awareness on water issues • Inadequate qualitative & economic data

11. WFD Application: River typology, 1/2 • Re: Unequal geographical and seasonal distribution of the water resources: • Annual effective rainfall (*): variation of up to 10 times  river basin size (alone) not reliable  rather annual flow • Slope determines turbidity of flow  significant parameter • Many rivers have only winter flow •  • Parameters & values of Type A do not adequately reflect typology of Greek rivers • (*) effective rainfall = rainfall – evapotranspiration

12. WFD Application: River typology, 2/2 • New (type B) typology developed in cooperation with the HCMR. Typology based on biological correlations with: • Biogeographical area (3 types, ref. next page) • Annual flow, evaluated from: • river basin size • mean annual effective precipitation, and • runoff coefficient (dep. on geology) • (3 types, separated at 100 and 2.000 hm3/yr) • slope (2 types separated at 1,2%o), and • elevation (2 types separated at 700 m)

13. Biogeographical areas of Greece [Zogaris et al., 2009; modified]

14. WFD Application: River water bodies River water bodies defined as units of same typology. Additional criteria for definition of water bodies: • heavily modified segments separately • differences in protection level, and • differences in pressures • river branching Notes: - rivers with permanent flow mostly considered - main river branches & tributaries considered

15. WFD Application: River classification, 1/3 • Use of microinvertebrate taxa as biological indicators. • Following systems were applied [HCMR, S. Birk]: • The Hellenic Evaluation System (HES) [Artemiadou & Lazaridou, 2005] based on the Iberian BMWP. • Considers taxa diversity & their pollution sensitivity/tolerance. • EQR=HES/HESu where HESu for undisturbed stations of same type

16. WFD Application: River classification, 2/3 • The European Intercalibration Common Multimetric index (ICMi), applicable for particular types of water bodies, as defined in the intercalibration exercise for the Mediterranean. • EQR = ICMi/ICMiu where ICMiu is evaluated in undisturbed samples of same type.

17. WFD Application: River classification, 3/3 • Findings to date (HCMR, 2009): • 6% of water bodies in high ecological status • 41% of WB in good ecological status • 31% of WB in moderate ecological status • 20% of WB in poor ecological status • 2% of WB in bad ecological status 75% of water bodies assessed

18. WFD Application: Heavily modified rivers • Some river water bodies are heavily modified because of: • (a) hydromorphological changes, I.e. • dams >> reservoir creation • flood protection embankments • sand abstraction etc. (b) hydrological changes, I.e appreciable reduction of water flow e.g. downstream of dams

19. WFD Application: Lake typology, 1/2 • Natural lakes > 0,5 Km2 considered; some are heavily modified • Reservoirs are considered as heavily modified or artificial bodies • For natural lakes, the typology depends on [Moustaka & Katsiapi, 2010]: • average depth • lake size • water chemistry • climatic conditions (affect phytoplankton) 9 different types defined (A to I)

20. WFD Application: Lake typology, 2/2 For large & deep reservoirs, typology defined through intercalibration by correlation with phytoplankton, based on: • river basin size • geology • elevation • rainfall • temperature • alkalinity. As a result, 3 types were identified for Greek reservoirs

21. WFD Application: Transitional WB types • 2 types of transitional water bodies identified: • Estuaries, including: • downstream segments of large rivers and • affected sea areas around estuaries (default: arc 500 m) • Lagoons

22. WFD Application: Coastal typology • Coastal water bodies considered up to 1 n.m. from shoreline. • Working Group “Coast” proposed characterisation on basis of following parameters (limits defined by Med intercalibration): • coastal substrate (2 types, rocky & sedimentary) • depth (2 types, more or less than 40m) • degree of exposure to wave action (3 types) •  • For Greece, 5 oceanographic entities defined, namely: • northern, central and southern Aegean Sea • Ionian Sea • enclosed gulfs

23. WFD Application: Groundwater bodies • GW body defined in Directive as aquifer I.e. one with: • significant flow (deemed as affecting surface water) or • significant abstraction (>10 m3/day or for 50 people) • Greek aquifers classified in 3 main types [IGME]: • karstic (high permeability) • sedimentary (low permeability, local water availability) • porous deposits (also high permeability)

24. WFD Application: Groundwater bodies • Groundwaters in Greece: • Karstic & porous are used for water supply (WS) and irrigation • Sedimentary are often used for local water supply  extensive salination of coastal aquifers WS >> all above need to be included GW bodies and protected.  • Full protection of karstic & porous aquifers • protection of sedimentary aquifers in zones around abstraction points

25. WFD Application: Groundwater Chemical status • Criteria for assessment of chemical status: • quality standards, i.e. nitrates & active pesticides [2006/18] • comparison w. threshold values •  • Threshold values defined on national level for: • - physico-chemical: pH & conductivity • metals: As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, Cr, Al • Ammonium, Chlorides, Sulphates, Nitrates • Total & active pesticides • Man-made synthetic substances • Higher values permitted where background values are higher • Additional/lower values required for (natural or human) uses

26. WFD Application: Economic instruments, 1/3 • Current projects include assessment of cost recovery; water pricing will be assessed in a future project. • For each water service, costs include: • assessment of financial cost (incl. investment cost + operational, maintenance & replacement costs) • assessment of environmental cost, where the status adversely affected (*) >> difficulties in assessment… • assessment of resource cost, where competing uses exist. (*) where treatment plants in operation, associated costs in financial costs

27. WFD Application: Economic instruments, 2/3 Preliminary findings, recovery of financial cost: • cost recovery high (~90%) for water supply • cost recovery medium (~40-70%) for agriculture Notes: • agricultural water privately pumped or distributed by cooperatives • cost recovery is 100% for private wells

28. WFD Application: Economic instruments, 3/3 Pilot study on water pricing, for new irrigation system of lake Karla (in place of groundwater abstraction); due consideration of social acceptance of project and pricing policies: • from 2015 to 2020: full recovery of O&M costs and 10% of investment costs, resulting in an increase of 40% • from 2021 to 2026: 40% recovery of investment costs, resulting in a further increase of 33% • from 2027 to 2032: 80% recovery of investment costs, resulting in a further increase of 33% • from 2033 to 2037: full recovery of financial costs and 30% of environmental costs, resulting in a further increase of 23%. This plan was accepted by the Commission for project financing.

29. Transboundary issues: Turkey, 1/2 Common river is Evros/Maritsa. Joint Declaration of cooperation betw. Ministers of Environment [May 2010] >> established Joint Committee for: • cooperation for sustainable development • collaboration on protection of water quality and management of water quantity • coordination of flood risk management • development of early flood warning system with Bulgaria • coordination of river basin management plans and flood risk management plans

30. Transboundary issues : Turkey, 2/2 • Joint Committee met twice and established Working Group for exchange of information on: • quantitative and qualitative monitoring methodology and results (surface water and groundwater) • pressures and their impacts • flood risk management The working group has also met twice

31. Transboundary issues: Bulgaria Common rivers: • Strymon/Struma • Nestos/Mesta • Evros/Maritsa and Ardas/Arda Joint Declaration of Cooperation betw. Ministers of Environment [July 2010] >> established Joint Expert Working Group on: • common methodology for measurement and exchange of data on quality and quantity • coordination of river basin management plans • collaboration on protection of water quality • coordination of flood risk management plans (serious issues) Since then: 2 meetings of WG held

32. Transboundary issues: Prespa Agreement [February 2010] for protection & sustainable development of the Prespa Area park between: • Greece • Albania • FYROM, and • the European Commission • Agreement was ratified by European Commission [May 2010] • Ratification pending in Parliaments of the 3 countries FYROM ALBANIA GREECE

33. Public participation – main actions • Establishment of a special interactive web site targeted to the 50% of the population (in 2010 1 out of 2 households in Greece has an internet connection). • Organisation of open meetings all over the Greece for the presentation of the main issues of the RBMPs. • Organisation of specialized meetings with the main users (farmers, energy, industry, tourist industry etc) • Questionnaires on management issues and on the consultation process available to anyone interested

34. The web site - http://wfd.opengov.gr The site was developed in 2 levels the 1st level concerns all the people - contains simplified information about the main issues of the draft RBMPs in a simple way. the 2nd level is for the stakeholders - includes all the available documentation (the draft RBMPs and the supporting documents) which is available to download. The site also gives the possibility of comments on the content of each available document. The comments are open to the visitors of the site.

36. Organization of the open meetings Press releases in the local media Involve the regional political and administrative structure in the organization Send special invitations to the main stakeholders, NGOs, regional media Organize local press conferences of the Special Secretary in order to maximize the publicity

37. The identity of the communication process In order to promote and motivate the active participation to the open meetings we have prepared special simplified documents for the participants and simple questionnaires which are also available in the website.

38. Nafplion - Peloponnese

39. Komotini - Thrace

40. Ioannina - Epirus

41. Larissa - Thessaly

42. The feedback • The average participation in the open meetings is ~180 persons – relatively high participation for the Greek standards. • All the expressed opinions of the participants in the meeting are uploaded in the web site. • The writing comments are classified/evaluated in view of their incorporation in the final RBMPs • The meetings are filmed to record all the comments of the participants so that they can properly be incorporated in the final RBMPs • The answers to the questionnaires are statistically elaborated in order to illustrate the main trends of the public opinion on the water management issues.