Source apportionment of nitrogen and phosphorous inputs into the aquatic environment - An EEA assessment presented by János Fehér h. Associate Professor Chairman & General Director of VITUKI CONSULT Zrt on behalf of European Environmental Agency’s European Topic Centre on Water

OVERVIEW European Environmental Agency’s mission European Environmental Agency’s mission About the study About the study Concept of source apportionment Concept of source apportionment Assessment at European scale Assessment at European scale What is needed in the future? What is needed in the future?

European Environmental Agency Political Mandate: “To provide the Commission and Member States with objective, reliable and comparable information on the state of the environment.” Mission: “Through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy making agents and the public, the EEA aims to help achieve significant and measurable improvement to Europe’s environment.”

European Environmental Agency Established in 1990 by EU Council Regulation Located in Copenhagen Tasks of the EEA: Help the Community and member countries make informed decisions Become an independent analyst, assessor and information provider Build bridges between science and policy Coordinate the European environment information and observation network (Eionet) to support policy processes and inform the public

EEA Member Countries

European Environmental Agency THE NETWORK (EIONET) The network embodies the EEA, which co-ordinates the whole, together with a range of partner organisations as follows: NATIONAL FOCAL POINTS NATIONAL REFERENCE CENTRES EUROPEAN TOPIC CENTRES Air and climate change Biological diversity Resource and waste management Terrestrial environment WaterWater (rivers, lakes, groundwater, marine and coastal) EEA NRC NRC NFP ETCs

European Environmental Agency PRODUCTS EEA 5-year state and outlook reports EEA Signals EEA Reports EEA Briefings EEA Technical reports EEA Fact sheets (total: 37, water: 9) EEA Multimedia publications Information services on the internet

About the study Project period National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), Denmark Jens Bogestrand – coordinator, Peter Kristensen and Brian Kronvand. Niels Thyssen, EEA proejct manager and contributions from ETC Water partner institutes. The study delivered as far as it was possible updated information on the source apportionment of the total load of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to the aquatic environment on a large scale country, large river basins, seas from the following sectors: agriculture, industry, scattered dwellings, waste water treatment plants and the background contribution.

About the study Activities Information inventory International organisations such as transboundary river commissions (e.g. Rhine and Danube) and Sea Conventions (e.g. Helcom Baltic Sea Load Compilation). National (e.g. state of the environment chapters).and regional studies (such as German Länder and French River Basins Authorities), Studies and research. Many studies and research activities have in the recent years focused on aspects relevant for this study. Compared methods Analysed regional differences in relation to driving forces and pressures Produced a report

Concept of source apportioment Point sources : Urban waste water; industry discharges; fish farms; Diffuse sources: Background load (natural land (e.g. forest); load from agriculture; load from scattered dwelling; (stormwater outfall); atmospheric deposition. Load oriented approach Diffuse sources = Catchment Measured load river station - Point Sources Measured load + (retention) Source oriented approach Total sources = Point Sources Measured/estimated load + Diffuse Sources estimated load For example, Diffuse sources estimated from Background sources: export coefficients from undisturbed catchments Agricultural catchments: export coefficients from catchments with similar agricultural characteristics.

Concept of source apportioment

Assessment at European scale Some examples: - Coastal and marine areas (Baltic Sea, North Sea, Danube Basin) – split of point source discharges - - Source apportionment annual load of nitrogen (A) and phosphorus (B)in large river catchments - Geographical differencies: a) Nitrogen load in selected regions and catchments b) Phosphorus load in selected regions and catchments The estimated input of total N and P into the Black Sea - The estimated input of total N and P into the Black Sea

Table 1a: Percentage split of point source discharges to the Baltic, 2000 [kg/ha/y] NitrogenPhosphorus Inland waters DirectInland watersDirect Municipal wastewater Industry15 14 Fish farms1314 Source: Helcom (2004). Table 1 b: Percentage split of point source discharges to the North Sea, 2000 [kg/ha/y] NitrogenPhosphorus Sewage treatment works7568 Households not connected1015 Industry1416 Aquaculture11 Source: OSPAR (2003). Table 1 c: Percentage split of point source discharges to the Danube basin, 1996/97 NitrogenPhosphorus Municipal point sources 7378 Industrial point sources 1915 Agricultural point sources 87 Source: UNDP/GEF (1999).

Assessment at European scale AB Source apportionment annual load of nitrogen (A) and phosphorus (B) in large river catchments

Assessment at European scale Source apportionment of nitrogen load in selected regions and catchments [kg/ha]

Source apportionment of phosphorus load in selected regions and catchments [kg/ha] Assessment at European scale

The estimated input of total nitrogen into the Black Sea (1 000 t per year) CountryDomesticIndustrialRiverineSubtotal Bulgaria Georgia Romania Russian Federation Turkey Ukraine Other countries Subtotal Source: Black Sea Commission (2002).

Assessment at European scale The estimated input of total phosphorus into the Black Sea (1 000 t per year) Source: Black Sea Commission (2002). CountryDomesticIndustrialRiverineSubtotal Bulgaria Georgia Romania Russian Federation Turkey Ukraine Other countries 13.6 Subtotal

What is needed in the future? Results from source apportionment studies are important in the policy formation process and in monitoring the implementation of policies and the effective measures. A European-wide source apportioment of nutrient loads could be carried out applying a relevant source apportionment tool at regular intervals (3-5 years using the Eionet-water network). Statistical model should be developed and calibrated for diffuse nutrient losses. Such statistical models should be developed for different regions in Europe and calibrated for present-day conditions regarding nutrient surplus and agricultural practices. This will erquire extention of Eionet-water database with - annual nutrient discharges - annual nutrient retention data - average groundwater residence times in hydrogeological regions - infromation on agricultural practicies (soil type, land use, topography, etc.)

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