International Network for Basin Organizations
ESPAGNE
THE GUADIANA RIVER BASIN CONFEDERATION
INVOLVEMENT OF USERS IN PUBLIC WATER ADMINISTRATION
The permanently dry land over a major part of the Iberian peninsula is due to the unequal distribution of water resources in time and space. These two factors (scarcity and insecurity) cause two unavoidable necessities: how to prevent diseases caused by a lack or excess of water and how to guarantee the availability of the resource where and when there is a demand. In view of this, the two dominating water management priorities have been:
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- to build flow-regulating and water distribution systems,
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- to set conditions for the different uses and conciliate relations between users.
From the XIIIth century to date, standards have been established by means of successive laws founded on some guidelines which have been maintained over the years:
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- Water is not a private property,
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- The utilization of the resource must be jointly managed and the interested parties must be totally involved in the operation,
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- The State is responsible for the overall development of water resources and for their utilization.
Obviously, these principles have been founded and developed over the centuries in relation to the social and political ideas in force at specific times; but the growing complexity of management due to increasing demands and water quality deterioration has made it clear that shared management has become more appropriate.
With the arrival of democracy in Spain, these principles were applied, within the geographical framework proper to each river basin (maintaining a well-established and reliable scheme) to an organization (composed of public authorities and users) whose task is to manage water resources and their use. These "renewed" Basin Organizations in theory, for in fact, they have been legally existing for 70 years, are called River Basin Confederations.
These Confederations, since the Water Law was passed in 1985, are composed of the following bodies:
- executive :
- Board of Directors and President,
- for participative management :
- Assemblies of users, commissions for dam-reservoir regulation, operation and public works committees,
- for planning :
- the Basin Committee.
These bodies provide legal guarantees for the presence of more than one third of the users on the Board of Directors and on the Basin Committee, in totality in the Assembly and in majority on operation committees.
It should be pointed out that each confederation's Basin Committee includes direct users (water suppliers, farmers, industrialists and hydropower producers) with a representation proportional to water consumption, but also other indirect users (professional organizations of the agricultural sector and environmental organizations).
Procedures for electing the representatives of the various groups of water users is characterized by a "cascading" nomination, from the Operation Committee, User Assembly to the Basin Committee, thus involving them in all phases of water planning in order to meet the demand and to balance and harmonize national development.
Antonio José Alcaraz Calvo
Guadiana River Basin Confederation
Fax : (34-924) 24 18 52
ROMANIA
Integrated training programme in the water sector
The project originated from a request by the Ministry for Water, Forestry and Environmental Protection and the Romanian Water Authority "Apele Romane" to unite their efforts to develop a national centre for training in the field of water management.
The idea was discussed with French experts, with representatives of the Danube Programme Coordination Unit, the local UNDP office in Bucharest and with the various interested parties of the Romanian water sector.
The National Action Group for Education in the Water Sector (GANESA) was formed on 13 October 1995. Most of the main actors of the water sector are represented : ministries, national organizations, training and research institutes and non-governmental organizations.
The rationale for creating GANESA was the optimum utilization of resources and expertises which were dispersed over various organizations and locations throughout Romania. Its main tasks are:
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- establishment of the Operational Training Strategy based on the National Strategy with regard to water management,
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- l'élaboration de la Description du Secteur de l'Eau (activités, institutions, tâches spécifiques),
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- establishment of the Water Sector Description (activities, institutions, specific tasks),
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- assessment of training facilities for capacity-building in the water sector,
Apele Romane is both coordinator and focal point of the project and the secretariat of GANESA is assured in collaboration with Urbana Engineeing SA.
Apele Romane provides funding agencies with continuous information concerning the development and advancement of the project.
The project's international dimension is important: the Romanian training programme is a pilot sub-project for integrated training in the water sector within the framework of the Danube Programme. Several activities for assessing the situation have been supported financially by the Institutional Development Project of the Danube Programme:
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- visit of Romanian water officials to France and The Netherlands to be informed on various training centres,
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- joint mission of a team of French and Dutch experts to make a preliminary assessment of training resources, facilities, etc. and define the options for their integrated utilization, and also individual follow-up missions by each expert in September and October,
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- a ten-day training workshop in December, a pilot action jointly organized with the World Bank, for the staff of six potable water treatment plants and six wastewater treatment plants (six municipalities) and water quality inspectors from six branches of Apele Romane. The trainers were Romanian and international experts.
During the GANESA coordination meeting held on December 18, 1995, the two key topics on the agenda were : pilot activity analysis and project approach identification.
It was agreed that the pilot activity was highly successful and that this sub-sector should be explored more in depth.
It was also decided to extend this kind of integrated training activity to other water sub-sectors.
Gentiana Serbu
Apele Romane R A
Fax : (40-1) 312 21 74
Richard Holland
Danube Programme Coordination Unit
Fax (43-1) 2134 5836/37
Water management planning
The National Strategy for water resources and forestry management, and environmental protection was adopted on December 28, 1995. This Strategy will be applied up to 2020 in accordance with the Masterplan by twelve regional branches of the Romanian Water Authority "Apele Romane", at the level of each river basin.
The first Masterplans for Water Management and Development were launched in Romania in 1954.
The Masterplans for river basin development (MRBD) were elaborated by the consulting firm Aquaproject S.A. upon the initiative of the Ministry for Water, Forestry and Environmental Protection. Apele Romane is involved in all the MRBD preparatory phases and is responsible for their application and supervision.
The Master Plan for Water Resources and River Basins Management and Development of Romania should reach the following objectives before 2020:
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- re-assessment of ground and surface water resources in the river basins,
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- assessment of water resour-ces quality and identification of pollution sources, considering the major changes that occurred in industrial and agricultural production,
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- identification of zones, municipalities, and agricultural lands that require protective measures against flooding,
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- assessment of the hydropower potential of watercourses that could be an asset in the future,
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- identification of some potential waterways that could be developed for inland navigation in various river basins,
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- offer for public works, installations and developments within the field of water management in view of an integrated and sustainable water management.
French-Romanian Cooperation for flood forecasting and warning
An initial funding by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs out of its 1995 budget, enabled the project with APELE ROMANE to get under way in 1995 and a French preparatory mission (Water Directorate and IOW) to take place in Romania from November 19 to 23. It defined the problems encountered by APELE ROMANE's subsidiary branch in BACAU, chosen as a pilot area.
The main concern is the forecasting of sudden floods in mountainous areas in particular. This requires:
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- a critical analysis of the monitoring system in order to position stations according to their situation and transmission reliability,
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- the setting up of hydrological stations with automatic transmission of data to a central unit enabling a real time visualization of the phenomena,
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- the preparation of a flood forecasting model for a small mountainous river basin,
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- a study to determine the benefit of using radar for meteorological forecasts and radar-flowrate test models,
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- the map up-dating and computerization of flood-prone areas,,
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- seminars intended for elected officials to make them aware of the flood phenomenon and to inform them of their important role with regard to prevention, warning and safety measures.
The various measures proposed will be tested on the TROTUS River, the catchment area of which covers 4,500 km2.
Gentiana Serbu
Apele Romane R A
Fax : (40-1) 312 21 74
UKRAINE
IMPROVEMENT OF THE WATER QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM IN THE SOUTHERN BUG RIVER BASIN
As a result of changes in Ukraine's economic system, the efficiency of the water quality monitoring system is being improved. The approach is by means of catchment areas and, of course, new forms of investment concerning water resources protection.
France, which can be compared with Ukraine, as far as territory and population are concerned, has already 30 years of experience in river basin systems, operated and managed by Water Agencies. Drawing from this experience, work is actually under way in Ukraine, for the creation of a system for monitoring water quality in the Southern Bug River basin. The project is being financed not only with State investments but also with local sources.
The Bug River basin is entirely situated in Ukraine and includes the districts of Khmelnitskiy, Vinnitsa, Cherkassy, Kirovograd, Nikolayev and also, parts of the districts of Odessa and Kiev. It covers an area of 63,700 km2 (approx. 10% of the Ukraine territory). The length of the river is 857 km. The population within the basin reaches 5 million people. The area is highly industrialized (shipbuilding, food processing, light industries, hydropower stations, agriculture).
The new organization for the Bug River basin will be composed of two entities : the Basin Committee and the Water Agency for monitoring water quality:
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- The Basin Committee will define a strategy and policy for water utilization in the basin, perform arbitration in case of conflicts, adopt basin standards, coordinate decisions pertaining to water utilization between Administrations of districts and regions,
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- The Water Agency will perform executive functions. It will implement water protection plans and measures and will finance actions approved by the Committee. The Agency will obtain its funds by collecting water charges for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses and for discharge of effluents, as well as from State and local budgets and private donations.
At present, efforts are aimed at harmonizing the Water Agencies' regulations with those of administrations and organizing the structure of the Agency and its financial mechanisms.
Dr. Anatoly Tchakov
Ministry for Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety - Kiev
Fax (7-44) 229 83 83
RUSSIA
PILOT PROJECT FOR WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE TOM RIVER BASIN
The TOM River basin is located in the southern part of Western Siberia and belongs to the Ob River basin which flows into the Kara Sea in the Arctic Ocean.
The Tom river is 827 km long and its catchment area covers 62 000 km2.
The largest part of the basin (90%) belongs to Kemerovo and Tomsk regions with a population of about 3 million.
The TOM river basin is a very important region with regard to environmental protection due to the amount of natural deposits, the intensive exploitation of these resources, the development of chemical, power, iron and steel and mechanical industries, and the increasing water demand for population and industry.
Consequently, there is a severe health problem in that area, linked to the consumption of drinking water of poor quality.
Nowadays, only 70% of surface water is used to meet drinking water requirements and an increase in the demand has led to the polluting of both surface and groundwater.
Organization of new structures for water resources management
ROSKOMVOD (Federal Water Committee) and the Administrations of Kemerovo and Tomsk regions, signed in 1993, a cooperation agreement with the French Ministry for the Environment to set up the Agency of the pilot TOM River Basin.
At the end of 1994, the Executive Management for the Development of the TOM river was created, using the French model, to become later a River Basin Agency.
In November 1994, the TOM River Basin Committee gathered representatives of both regions, of Roskomvod and also some French experts. During the first meeting, the composition of the Basin Committee and of the executive body was ratified, together with the priority actions for water protection in the TOM River Basin.
Two groups of experts from Roskomvod and Kemerovo and Tomsk regions participated in a training course in France to become acqainted with the French experience. They highly appreciated the organization, lectures, studies and work undertaken by the Water Agencies and the International Office for Water.
Drawing up the TOM River basin programme
The Executive Management of the TOM river has prepared a federal draft programme which should lead to the improvement of the ecological and hydraulic situation in the basin. This programme provides for the following:
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- renovation and construction of wastewater treatment plants,
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- supply of better quality water,
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- development of protection areas and cleansing of riverbeds,
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- preparation of institutional and environmental techniques for controlling water utilization and protecting water resources.
Furthermore, within the framework of the European Union's "TACIS" programme, a technical support has been set up for important towns of the basin.
Regional investors and industrialists will have an important role to play in the implementation of the priority programme, but in order to reduce delays in its completion, it appears absolutely necessary for us to attract foreign investors.
P. Soukhov
Executive Management of the Tom River Basin
Fax : (7-3842) 25.92.54
FRENCH-CANADIAN TRAINING SEMINAR ON RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT
This seminar, jointly organized by the Water Sector Technical Cooperation Fund (WSTCF) for the "Canadian International Cooperation Agency" (CIDA) and by the International Office for Water, on behalf of the French Embassy in Indonesia, with the participation of the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works, took place in Sanur from November 20 to December 1, 1995.
It gathered 25 participants from the Ministry, most of them from the Directorate General of Water Resources Development (DGWRD - Jakarta) the others from some provinces (Malacca, Bali, Nusa Tengarra, Celebes, Irian Jaya, Central Java).
The programme of this training dealt with the detailed description of the French system of river basin management (River Basin Committees, Water Agencies) and with some examples of cooperation between Canada and Indonesia in the field of decentralized water resources management.
A total of 10 lecturers intervened, 4 Canadians, 1 Indonesian and 5 Frenchmen from the Ministry for the Environment, the Rhine-Meuse Water Agency, the Canal of Provence Company, and from the International Office for Water.
The training course emphasized the benefit of applying the "polluter-user-pays" principle.
Lectures and discussions brought out possible lines of action to adapt this system to Indonesia, a country where two "pilot projects" are already launched in Citarum (Perum Otorita Jatilihur) and Brantas (Perum Jasa Tirta) river basins.
J. F. Talec
International Office for Water
Fax : (33) 93 65 44 02
