Collection and use of data on Water Abstraction and Use in Georgia Mariam Makarova, Head of Water Resources Management Division, Ministry of Environment Protection of Georgia

Legislative-normative base The Law of Georgia on Water (1997) Presidential decree “On Approval Provisions of the National Statistical Service of Georgia” (2010) “Guidance on completion and submitting the forms of statistical reporting on state accounting and use of water resources” approved by State Department of Statistics and the Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources Protection (last version - 2004)

Reporting Obligations (1) Data on water use are based on statistical forms of “State accounting of water use”(approved by the State Department of Statistics in 2004) Forms are completed by the enterprises-water users, despite of their subordination and form of ownership, mainly: - industrial enterprises, - agricultural units, among them irrigation systems and fishery, - centralized water supply and sanitation systems, - thermal power plants, from 2002 - hydropower plants

Reporting Obligations (2) Statistical forms of state accounting are to be compiled by the water user facilities, which: Has its own water intake from surface or groundwater bodies Discharges waste waters directly into surface water bodies, storm water sewer, collectors, filtration grounds, evaporators, irrigated agricultural fields, relief, etc. Discharges waste waters into sewerage system and intakes at least 20 m3/day water from water pipe system

Reporting Obligations (3) Deadline of submiting to the Ministry of Environment Protection – 15 February each year (data of previous year) Method of submitting – paper form signed and verified with seal by head of water-user facility.

Content of Forms (1) The name and address of enterprise, form of ownership, type of production activity, quantity and type of produced goods, number of employees and working regime; Source of water withdrawal and water category; Quantity of withdrawn water (annually and by months); Quantity of used water and transportation losses; Water body/sanitation system receiving wastewaters; Location of water intake and water discharge points: distance from estuary

Content of Forms (2) Quantity of discharged wastewater including treated (by types of treatment), untreated and wastewaters that do not require treatment; Quantity of pollutants, discharged with wastewaters; Recycled and reused water quantity; Water Quantity, measured by water meters; Designed and actual capacity of wastewater treatment facilities.

Code of Administrative Violations of Georgia Violation of the rules of maintenance of primary inventory of water use provides for liability and considers penalty at a rate of 50-100 GEL Violation of the rules of maintenance of state inventory and state cadastre of water and water use provides for liability of officials and considers penalty at a rate of 100-150 GEL Non-submission of information on registration on pollutant emissions in required forms and within the established terms provides for liability and considers penalty at a rate of 150 GEL

Data Processing and Management Responsible Body - The Water Resources Management Division, Ministry of Environment Protection: Data collection Data analysis Maintenance of Database Annual Digest (Annual Statistic Report on Water Use) with the major indices of water use in Georgia Submitting to the National Statistics Office

Data Base Existing – Microsoft Office Access Proposed – linked to a GIS system (Started with the support of the USAID funded project – “South Caucasus Water Program” and the EU funded water project - Trans-Boundary River Management Phase II for the Kura River Basin, but not finalized. Additional support is needed)

Annual Digest (1) Content: Quantity of withdrawn water (surface and ground waters) -annually and by months; Quantity of water used for various purposes Losses during transportation Quantity of discharged wastewater including treated (by types of treatment), untreated and wastewaters that do not require treatment; Quantity of pollutants, discharged with wastewaters; Recycled and reused water quantity; Water Quantity, measured by water meters.

Annual Digest (2) Data is presented by: economic activities, administrative-territorial units (regions and districts), river basins.

COVERED BY GEORGIAN WATER STATISTICS Key environmental (water) indicators (a formal Indicator List approved by the Government does not exist) UNECE/EECCA INDICATORS COVERED BY GEORGIAN WATER STATISTICS Freshwater abstraction X Household water use per capita - Water losses Reuse and recycling of freshwater Polluted (non-treated) wastewaters Share of population with access to drinking water supply network and sanitation (%)

Availability and Accessibility of Data Water Resources Management Division: - from 1988 till now – printed versions - from 2000 till now - in digital format. Information can be given out on call of any interested legal entity, NGO etc. Free of charge. Selected (summarised) information: www.aarhus.ge www.geostat.ge

Data Use Ministry of Environment Protection – for the development of National Environmental Action Plan and Reports on the State of Environment; Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs – for the development of the National Environmental Health Action Plans; Governmental Agencies - for development of national policy for different sectors of economy, f.i. Water Supply and Sanitation Sector, Energy Sector etc. Regional and local governments – for development Regional Development Strategies; Investors, private sector and consulting firms – for the preparation Environmental Impact Assessment documents.

Problems Outdated water statistic forms (too complicated for users, do not contain necessary information) Outdated system of data collection (paper forms) Poor examination of data reliability Outdated data bases (links to GIS) Absence of the systematic wastewater quality self monitoring (is carried out only by some large enterprises)

Possible Solutions Updating of the statistic forms and data management system, taking into account experience of UNECE/EECCA countries Development of an electronic system for online submission of statistic forms Development of an effective mechanism of verification of information, strengthen legal requirements related to reporting by enterprises Modernization of existing data bases (links to GIS, links to other databases, such as water quality monitoring) Adoption at the national level environmental indicators Capacity-building and training of staff.

Thank you for attention!