Waste waters
Last update of indicator22.01.2024
Indicator definition
The indicator describes the amount of wastewater discharged into surface waters, including pollution indicators.
Related policy documents and targets
- preventing or limiting the entry of pollutants into the groundwater and preventing the deterioration of the condition of all groundwater bodies,
- reversing any significant and permanently upward trend in the concentration of the pollutant, which is caused by human activity, in order to gradually reduction of groundwater pollution. The key areas for which measures are proposed in the Action Plan were identified in the Problem Analysis. These are the following areas/problems:
- excessive use and development of the territory threatening the quality and quantity of water in CHVO Žitný ostrov,
- unsupportive legal regulations and weak enforcement of the law,
- insufficient information system and connection of monitoring systems,
- insufficient environmental awareness and education of professional and lay people public.
- sustainable use of the territory and its development,
- safe drinking water taken from CHVO Žitný ostrov,
- reduction of threats to groundwater quality from local sources of pollution,
- reliable monitoring and information system,
- environmentally responsible approach to the protection and use of water.
The concept of the water policy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 with a view to 2050 (2022)
The concept of water policy focuses on ten priority areas, which are interconnected, and focuses on the area of water use.
3. Sustainable use of water
Goal 3.1. Sustainable and efficient use of surface and underground waters without endangering their quantity and quality
Goal 3.2. Functional crisis management in times of drought and water shortages
4. Water for all residents
Goal 4.1. Ensuring the supply of health-safe drinking water for all residents
Goal 4.2. Increasing the connection of residents to municipal wastewater treatment systems and increasing the share of treated municipal wastewater
Water plan of the Slovak Republic for period 2022 - 2027 (2021)
Environmental objectives aim to ensure and improve the quality of aquatic ecosystems and sustainable, balanced and equitable water use. Environmental targets are defined for surface water bodies, the groundwater bodies and the protected areas.
Environmental target for surface water bodies is to perform measures aimed at:
- Preventing deterioration of the condition of surface water bodies;
- Protection, improvement and restoration of surface water bodies in order to achieve good surface water status by December 22, 2015 or 2021 within the second planning cycle, or until 2027 within the third planning cycle;
- Protection and improvement of artificial and considerably changed surface water bodies so that the good ecological potential and good chemical condition are achieved until 22 December 2015 and 2021 within the second planning cycle, or until 2027 within the third planning cycle;
- Gradual decreasing in pollution by priority substances and stopping or gradual termination of emissions, discharge and leakages of priority dangerous substances.
Environmental objectives aim to ensure and improve the quality of aquatic ecosystems and sustainable, balanced and equitable water use. Environmental targets are defined for surface water bodies, the groundwater bodies and the protected areas.
Environmental target for underground water bodies is to perform measures aimed at:
- Preventing or limiting entry of pollutants into underground water and at preventing deterioration of the condition of underground water bodies;
- Protection, improvement and renewal of underground water bodies and at ensuring the balance between underground water takings and completing their quantity in order to achieve the good condition of underground water until 22 December 2015 and 2021 within the second planning cycle, or until 2027 within the third planning cycle;
- Reversing the important increasing trend of the pollutant concentration that is caused by human activities in order to decrease the underground water pollution gradually.
Plan for the development of public water supply systems and public sewers for the territory of the Slovak Republic for the years 2022 - 2027 (2021)
A. Plan for the development of public water supply systems
- construction of public water supply systems in villages without water supply systems
- increasing the number of inhabitants supplied from public water supply systems
- and ensuring problem-free supplying residents with safe drinking water without negative impacts on residents' health and the environment.
B. Public Sewerage Development Plan
- construction, expansion and increase of the hydraulic capacity of sewage networks in municipalities from agglomerations larger than 2,000 EO, construction, expansion and increase of the capacity of waste water treatment plants in municipalities from agglomerations larger than 2,000 EO (agglomerations with the highest priority are contained in Annex No. 6),
- construction of sewer networks and wastewater treatment plants in agglomerations up to 2,000 EO, located in protected water management areas, in which there are large-capacity sources of groundwater and which aim to prevent threats to quality and quantity of groundwater so that their use is not endangered (CHVO Žitný ostrov),
- construction of wastewater treatment plants, or feeder to another sewage system in municipalities included in agglomerations of less than 2,000 EO, in cases where a sewage network is already built or partially built and wastewater is discharged without treatment.
- ongoing construction, expansion and increase of the hydraulic capacity of sewer networks and capacity increase and construction of new waste water treatment plants in all municipalities of the Slovak Republic (except municipalities falling under the National Program for the Implementation of Council Directive 91/271/EEC).
- Classification of municipalities into sewage systems by district in size categories of up to 2,000 inhabitants, from 2,001 to 10,000 inhabitants and over 10,000 inhabitants by district. The list of municipalities is given in the appendices of the Public Sewerage Development Plan.
- The concept of renewal of public waterworks and public sewerage systems is elaborated in a separate annex of the public sewerage development plan.
Strategy of the environmental policy of the Slovak Republic - Greener Slovakia (2019)
1. Enough clean water for everyone
1.2.Increase in the Proportion of Treated Waste Water
- Where it is efficient, the public sewer system will be completed also in agglomerations with less than 2,000 inhabitants, even in locations that have had limited opportunities to apply for a financial contribution.- If it possible in regards to the local and regional conditions, Slovakia will make use of the innovative (environmentally friendly) infrastructure (e.g.vegetation, membrane, container waste water treatment plants, etc.) and decentralized cleaning.
- Rainwater in Slovakia is mostly discharged through a unified sewer network into the waste water treatment plant, and thus part of the waste water. The optimization of the waste water infrastructure will enable rainwater and wastewater to be collected separately.
Orientation, principles and priorities of Slovak Republic water management policy by 2027 (2016)
3. Principls a priorities of the Slovak republik water management policy by 2027 and framework procedures in achieving the objectives
With a view to water status improvement:
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Implement the necessary measures aimed at the significant reduction of pollutants in discharged waste water or special waters. When discharging waste water, priority substances contained therein must be gradually decreased and priority hazardous substances should be progressively reduced in order to achieve a desired objective, i.e. the good water status;
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Subsequently, after the fulfilment of the Slovak Republic´s commitments to the European Union, in relation to the collection and treatment of waste water in the agglomerations above 2,000 p.e., to focus attention on the gradual elimination by organic pollution and nutrients from point sources of pollution also in the agglomerations below 2,000 p.e., where the water body is in a bad status and measures focused on the collection and treatment of waste water will demonstrably contribute to the significant improvement of water quality;
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Consistently address the reduction of pollution from agriculture in vulnerable areas in accordance with the requirements and procedures arising from the Council Directive 91/676/EEC, concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, and wherever the good water status hasn´t been achieved and intense agricultural activity has been performed. Measures must be designed and implemented so as to prevent penetration of nitrates from agriculture into waters. When reducing the pollution from agricultural production, it is necessary to consistently apply all the principles of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and Good Agricultural Practice;
The Slovak Republic Strategy for Adaptation to Adverse Effects of Climate Change- Update (2018)
1.Strategy Goals
The main goal of the updated the Slovak Republic Strategy for Adaptation to Adverse Effects of Climate Change is to prepare Slovakia for tackling the adverse effects of climate change, deliver comprehensive information about the current state of adaptation processes in Slovakia, and based on their analysis establish an institutional framework for a coordinating mechanism which will ensure effective implementation of adaptation measures across all levels and in all areas, as well as improve general awareness of the domain.
5. Impact of climate change on select areas and recommended adaptation measures
5.4. Water regime and water management
Adaptation measures in local conditions should aim at compensating for the instances of drought, that is, the decrease of flows of water and water yields, as well as minimising the negative consequences of floods, especially flash floods in montane and submontane regions. Climate change adaptation within the domain of water management should be oriented towards implementing measures which will create the conditions for better water outflow management in catchment areas. In the domain of water management elements of green and blue infrastructure, green structural approaches and non-structural adaptation concepts should be prioritised over elements of grey infrastructure whenever it is technically possible and efficient to do so. Adaptation measures should focus on preserving or improving the current state of water, with the aim of achieving its good state, efficient and sustainable utilisation of water resources, protection against floods and contribution towards protection of nature and land and support with ecosystem services provision. It is important to create space for a wider application of so-called "green" measures in catchment areas where the main goal is to increase the land's adaptability through regeneration and improvement of efficiency of ecosystem functions of the land. "Green" measures are recognised as the better environmental choice, that is, as supplementary-mitigating measures with the aim of minimising the consequences of grey infrastructure, assuming that they are equally effective or more effective in regards to set goals.
Water is becoming a critical strategic stock of the state and it is necessary to protect it and manage its rational and efficient use in line with the goal of ensuring sustainable development. Justifiably, the highest priority is given to water sources, their protection and the need of their more efficient use.
Proposed adaptation measures
-slowing down of water outflow from catchment areas
-decreasing of the maximum flow of floods
-risk assessment
-water management
-general
The Protocol on Water and Health - to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, 1992 - National objectives of SR III (2014)
The reason for the Protocol´s objectives update in 2014 is their fulfilment, or the need of extending the deadlines for the fulfilment of objectives which are still actual, as well as determining new national objectives conditioned by the situation change and the occurrence of new problems to which the attention must be paid, and which seem to be important in terms of Protocol´s objectives implementation in SR. SR has defined the national objectives already for the third time since the Protocol entered into force.
National objectives of SR III
National objective no. 5: Improving the situation of sewerage, treatment and discharge of municipal waste water
Date of fulfilment: y. 2020, or 2023
Key question
Has the pollution of surface water caused by waste water discharges been reduced?Key messages
- In 2022, wastewater production recorded an annual (2021-2022) decrease of 11.1% and compared to 2005, it decreased by 36%.
- In 2022,the amount in most indicators of organic pollution decreased except for the NESuv parameter, wfich was at same level as in previous year.
| Change since 2005 | Change since 2015 | Last year-on-year change |
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The decrease in the volume of discharged wastewater amounted to almost 36%, as well as a decrease in the total discharge of pollution.
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Since 2015 the amount of wastewater had a fluctuating character. The pollution of wastewater had a declining trend.
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The production of wastewater decreased. The share of wastewater treatment and pollution of wastewater discharged into surface waters also decreased.
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Summary assessment
Detailed assessment
In 2022, the total volume of wastewater (WV) discharged into surface waters amounted to 564,635 thousand m3 which, compared to the previous year 2021, was an decrease by 11.1%; in comparison to 2005 it is a decrease by 317,311 thousand m3 (36.0%).
The share of discharged treated waste waters to total volumes of waste waters discharged into watercourses in 2022 amounted to 93.05%, while in 2005 this figure was only 71.2%.
During the whole evaluation period of 2005 - 2022 there was reported a decrease in the amount of discharged pollutants contained in wastewater; this decrease was more than 80% for IS, BOD5, CODCr and NESuv. A relative disproportion between a slight fall in the WV volume and a significant decrease in the amount of pollutants in WV was associated with the introduction of modern production technologies, as well as with the implementation of more efficient wastewater treatment processes.
Compared to the previous year, there was a decrease in wastewater pollution indicators - dichromate chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) by 1,760 t. yr-1, total total nitrogen (Ntotal) by 513 t. yr-1 , insoluble substances (IS) by o 487 t. yr-1 , biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) by 90,1 t. yr-1 and total phosphorus (Ptotal) by 18,7 t. yr-1. Non-polar extractables (NESuv) were approximately at 2021 levels.
In 2022, a total of 429 mil.m3 of wastewater was discharged into public sewer (administered by municipalities and water companies), which represented an decrease by 20 mil.m3 in comparison to the previous year, and the amount of treated wastewater discharged into the public sewer system reached the value of 426 mil. m3. In 2005, 443 mil.m3 of wastewater was discharged into the public sewerage system, with the amount of 428 mil.m3 of treated waste water thereof.
Waters discharged by the public sewerage system (administered by water comapnies and municipalities) in 2022
| Waters discharged by the public sewerage system | Sewage | Industrial and others | Precipitation | Separate | Total |
| (thousand m3 year -1) | |||||
| Treated | 163 320 | 77 530 | 47 000 | 138 010 | 425 860 |
| Untreated | 790 | 350 | 1 250 | 1 170 | 3 560 |
| Total | 164 110 | 77 880 | 48 250 | 139 180 | 429 420 |