The present Water Management Plan is made under Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. The purpose of this Directive is to establish a framework for the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater which: (a) prevents further deterioration and protects and enhances the status of aquatic ecosystems , (b) promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources; (c) aims at enhanced protection and improvement of the aquatic environment, (d) ensures the progressive reduction of pollution of groundwater and prevents its further pollution, and (e) contributes to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts. In pursuing this general aim of achieving a good status in surface and groundwater bodies, good ecological potential and a good surface water chemical status in artificial and heavily modified water bodies, the specific objectives of Austrian Water Management Planning – compared to the National Water Management Plan 2009 – rest on the following four areas: 1) the progressive reduction of synthetic and non-synthetic pollutants; 2) the progressive reduction of obstacles to achieving a good status in the hydromorphological component of the ecological status; 3) the progressive reduction of emissions of nutrients and organic substances from point sources and diffuse sources of pollution; and 4) the progressive achievement of environmental objectives regarding the chemical status of groundwater bodies. The National Water Management Plan 2015 acknowledges that all of those objectives face serious obstacles. The specific aims of progressively achieving (a good chemical status and) a good status in the physical and chemical components of the ecological status appear to be in danger for the natural reason that diffuse sources of synthetic and non-synthetic pollutants, nutrients and organic substances are extremely difficult to locate and drain. In addition to the problem of diffuse sources of pollutants, the long renewal periods of groundwater bodies (especially in Eastern Austria) are obstacles to the achievement of a good chemical status in groundwater bodies. The second objective concerning hydromorphological obstacles to the good ecological status or potential such as transverse structures or minimum flow rates faces not only natural, but also economic problems. While Parliament agreed to subventions amounting to €140 million for the transposal of the programme of measures foreseen in the National Water Management Plan 2009, the 2015 Plan lacks corresponding funding. At its core, the present Plan contains: 1) a record of the present state of the Austrian surface and groundwater bodies; 2) specific objectives regarding Austrian water bodies; 3) an overview of the measures transposed since the issuance of the National Water Management Plan 2009; and 4) updated and added measures to be transposed in the 2015 to 2021 planning cycle. The text consists of 15 Parts as follows: General description of characteristics of river basin districts (1); Stress and risk analysis (2); Summary of economic analyzes of water use (3); Surveillance (4); Environmental goals – Focus of project and measures planning (5); Action programmes (6); Public participation (7); Competent authorities (8); Impact of climate change on Austrian water management (9); Water scarcity and drought (10); Agreement with the Flood Directive (11); Abbreviations (12); Background documents (13); Table directories (14); List of figures (15).
Austria · 2017-01-01