Implementation of the Protocol and target setting in the Czech Republic

1. Implementation of the Protocol and target setting in the Czech Republic Frantisek Kozisek National Institute of Public Health Prague, Czech Republic Workshop on sharing experience on the implementation of the Protocol on Water and Health in Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and Russian Federation(Minsk, 5 – 6 April 2011)

2. Contents of the presentation • Basic data on drinking water supply • Legal framework • Drinking water quality • Implementation of the Protocol on water and health

3. Drinking water supply in the Czech Republic: current basic data 92.8 % population supplied from public water supply (2009) i.e. 7.2 % of population supplied from individual sources (domestic wells for permanent households) Additional several millions of people exposed to water from domestic wells during weekends or holidays (cottages, weekend houses, recreational facilities etc.) There are about 750 thousand of private wells in the Czech Republic (the last official estimation of 1989) Public supply: about 51 % from surface water sources, 49 % groundwater

4. Water supply in the Czech Republic: setting the scene (2009) • Altogether 4 005 water supply zones (WSZ)(282 WSZ > 5000 persons; 3 723 WSZ < 5000 persons) > 3000 WSZ < 1000 popul.; • 2581 public and commercial wells (registered in central database in 2009) • More than 2130 operators (legal persons) operating water supply systems and sewerage systems

5. Legal framework of water supply (1) • The Water Act (Min. of Environ.):- protection of abundance, quality and safety of drinking water sources • The Act on Water Supply and Sewerage Systems for Public Use (Min. of Agricult.):- liabilities related to raw water pumping, treatment and distribution, including monitoring; sewerage collection and treatment;

6. Legal framework of water supply (2) • The Nuclear Act (State Office for Nuclear Safety): - requirements for radiological quality and monitoring (of radioactivity) of drinking water and bottled water • TheFoodstuffs and TobaccoProducts Act(Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health):- requirements on bottled drinking water quality, monitoring and labelling

7. Legal framework of water supply (3) • ThePublic Health Act(Ministry of Health) (the core of transposition of the DWD): - applies to all ways of drinking water supply to the public, regardless of size and/ornumber of people served,- does not apply to the private wells supplying individual households with no commercial use,- sets the requirements on water quality and monitoring and other obligations of operators and state authorities - sets the requirements on the health safety of materials and chemical products used in contact with drinking water

8. Public Health Act • Czech water quality requirements compared to those of the DWD: • Includes some extra parameters and indicators (e.g. beryllium, microcystin-LR, chlorite, free chlorine,ozone, magnesium, calcium, hardness, silver, microscopic picture, colony count at 36°C) • Establishes stricter limits for some parameters and indicators (e.g. copper, TOC, oxidability, chloroform, chloride, etc.) • Under special conditions establishes more relaxed (or „still acceptable“) limits for pH, iron and manganese

9. Data on drinking water quality • Central database with all primary results + other data on the origin of samples and water supply systems • In operation since 1994, in full operation since 2004 • In 2008: data on 35 362 samples and about 841 000 single analyses of all parameters included in the DWD and the Czech Decree • Various kinds of data processing available • Data available to public in summary through annual report (http://www.szu.cz/tema/zivotni-prostredi/monitoring-pitne-vody)

10. Data on drinking water quality (2009):non compliance in water supply zones (WSZs) serving > 5000 persons

11. Data on drinking water quality:explanation to previous pictures • NMH (maximum limit value) – limit values for parameters (as thought by the DWD) • MH (limit value) – limit values for indicators (as thought by the DWD) • LH (all types of limit values: NMH, MH and also guideline or recommended values)

12. Data on drinking water quality (2009):non compliance in WSZs < 5000 persons

13. Data on drinking water quality (2009):non compliance in public and commercial wells

14. Relationship between size of water supply zones (population) and drinking water quality (non-compliance). Data from 2007.Paramaters (red) and indicators (blue)

15. Drinking water quality • Few outbreak from public water supplying systems reported (see next slides) • Problems with chemical quality – derogations (see next slides)

16. Water-borne outbreaks in the Czech Republic (1995-2005); drinking water Reported 27 outbreaks with 1489 cases Structure of the sources which caused the outbreaks: public supply (4) domestic distribution system (2) or waer distribution system within the factory (2) commercial wells (10) private (domestic) wells (9)

17. Derogations (2008) In 295 water supply zones (WSZ), mainly small ones. Most often causes: nitrates160 WSZ (about 52 000 popul.) iron 42 WSZ pH 33 WSZ manganese 27 WSZ sulphates 16 WSZ aluminium 17 WSZ atrazine11 WSZ desethylatrazine16 WSZ arsenic 7 WSZ (about 7 000 popul.)

18. Small supplies – main problems (1) Low skills of most operators (owners) resulting in inappropriate operation and/or insufficient care about the assets Lower legal level of source protection in comparison with bigger sources

19. Small supplies – main problems (2) Regulatory requirements are focused on water quality only, not on sanitary inspection Lack of possibilities of impartial consultations Lack of financial resources for small communities – EU funds are focused on big projects (investments) No regulation /of water quality and monitoring/ for private (domestic) wells

20. Protocol on Water and Health:implementation in the Czech Republic

21. Process of national implementation The Protocol ratified by the Czech Republic in 2001 Ministry of Health = main coordinating and responsible body for implementation National Task Group for implementation established in 2002 Task Group incorporates representatives of all three sectors responsible for water (the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture)

22. National Task Group Submits every year an updated Report on the progress and implementation of targets Secures national participation in international events in the framework of the Protocol Tries to raise public awareness on the Protocol and its targets

23. Process of target settings Task Group developed the Document encompassing description of the current national situation in the areas identified by the Protocol, existing political, strategic and legal instruments Ministry of Health addressed water and public health professional associations and NGOs with request for national targets suggestions – low response… Task Group drafted the targets (as the 3rd part of the Document)

24. Process of target settings Draft Document was several times subject of comments of all interested sectors and stakeholders (including regional authorities) On the basis of these discussions the document was finally modified and submitted by the Ministry of Health to the Czech Government for approval The Government of the Czech Republic approved the Document on its meeting held on 9 April 2008 and thus Czech national targets officially entered into force

25. Czech national targets National targets established for the majority of the areas identified in the Protocol Only in several cases, where conditions are considered satisfactory or targets fulfilled, no objectives have been set Altogether 35 different targets have been set All targets have clear responsibility identified and most targets have clear timetable to be fulfilled. For all targets, where it is possible, clear indicators of fulfilment have been formulated.

26. Czech national targets Where targets of the Protocol are identical with the requirements of other international legal documents, especially EU directives and regulations, the deadlines for achieving the targets are identical with these requirements Cost-benefit analysis was not done as most of the targets are overlapping with the targets (requirements) of the EU directives and our country is obliged to comply with in given time framework. The rest of the targets could be fulfilled through ordinary budgets of the ministries involved.

27. Czech national targets Task Group has prepared in 2010 the proposal to amend national targets as some of them have been already completed or secured for future by law, and in some other cases the timetable should be adjusted to new conditions

28. Added value of the Protocol ? Strengthening of intersectoral cooperation (health - environment, health - agriculture, agriculture - environment), which is supported by EU legislation only in some fields, but not in such broad spectrum as suggested by the Protocol Some issues suggested by the Protocol are not covered by any EU legislation or initiative or are covered only partially (it is the case of about ten Czech targets).

29. Thank you To what avail is my cure,when the well is next the manure!