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CONTENT Aurelija Rudzianskaitė. Relations between stream, drainage and ground water quality (32-37) Stefanija Misevičienė. Seasonal changes of nutrients in drainage water (52-59) ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 5–15 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture SOURCE APPORTIONMENT FOR THE CALCULATION OF NITROGEN LOSSES IN THE ŠUŠVĖ RIVER Antanas Sigitas ŠILEIKA*, Kazimieras GAIGALIS, Aušra ŠMITIENĖ, Giedrius BAIGYS Improvement of surface water quality can only be achieved when the amount of pollutants originating from various pollution sources in a watershed is known. The present investigation of nutrient loads from different diffuse and point sources was performed in the Šušvė River catchment. The study included the evaluation of nitrogen load coming from crop fields and animal farms, runoff from forests, discharges from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), scattered dwellings and from direct atmospheric deposition on surface water bodies, forests clear-cuts and paved surfaces. Measured water runoff as well as nitrogen leaching coefficients for various crop groups and animals were used for the investigation. MONERIS and Source apportionment models were applied for the assessment of nitrogen losses. Despite of some uncertainties of the tested model results they give a realistic picture of the main sources of rivers pollution. Agricultural emission from 746 km2 of agricultural land (64% of the total catchment area) gives 71–68% of the total load depending on a calculation method. Nitrogen load to surface waters originating in crop fields makes up the largest part (51%) of the whole nitrogen load. The second largest source of nitrogen emission are pastures. Pastures and open land make up 52% of agricultural land and make up 27.4% of the total nitrogen emission from agricultural land. N load from scattered dwellings was 82 tonnes per year-1 on the average, i.e. 8% of the total N load. To improve water quality in the Šušvė River, the main attention should be paid on the reduction of nitrogen losses from cropland. Extensively used pastures and open land make up 52% of agricultural land therefore the idea of converting more agricultural land from crop production into pastures is not realistic. Nitrogen losses from pastures could be reduced by mowing pastures and open land after each grazing. The Šušvė catchment is sparsely populated, there is no industry and the animal density is low; therefore nutrient emission reduction in settlements could be achieved only by connecting household effluents to common sewer systems. Keywords: concentration, leaching coefficients, load, nitrogen, pollution sources, the Šušvė River. *contact person Dr. Antanas Sigitas Šileika, director of Water Management Institute of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – environmental engineering and landscape management, GIS, environmental monitoring, water quality assessment. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT–58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. Phone: +370 347 6 81 00. E-mail: sigitas@water.omnitel.net. Dr. Kazimieras Gaigalis, the head of Water Resources Sector, Water Management Institute of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – hydrology, water flow and quality monitoring. Aušra Šmitienė, ph. d. student, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – water quality modelling in small agricultural watersheds. Giedrius Baigys, ph. d. student, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – water protection, non-point source pollution. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 16–22 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture NiTROGEN stream WATER: StacionarY and non-stacionarY models Ojaras PURVINIS*, Vilius ŠIDLAUSKAS, Povilas ŠUKYS The paper analyzes the possibilities to model the concentration of inorganic nitrogen – a harmful pollutant from the eutrophication point of view – contained in the stream and self-purification processes of the stream. During the studies the data of a small right affluent of the river Mūša (administrative district of Biržai) was used. The mentioned data comprised results of natural observations about the changes in nitrogen concentrations during the vegetation period and cold period of the year. The model of pollution dispersion through the stream is a parabolic differential equation with partial derivatives, initial as well as boundary conditions. Constant nitrogen pollution in a stream stretch containing constant hydrological parameters and adequate environment conditions is proportional to the concentration of pollutants inflow. Further from the pollution source the constant pollution is exponentially decreasing. In the stationary model in respect of time t case at the distance expressed by x(m) from the initial pollution concentration c0 measuring place, nitrogen concentration is expressed by, [-0.000176; -0.000130] in the cold season of the year and [-0.000321; -0.000252] during the vegetation period. Thus it may be stated that the stream polluted in the result of agricultural activity, further flowing through forest-covered area is significantly purified already at a 1.5 km stretch. On the average, nitrogen concentration decreases about 3.0 times a day during the vegetation period and about 2.6 times a day during cold season of the year. In in the case of non-stacionary model the concentation of inorganic nitrogen C(x, t) is proportional to the term , i.e. it depends on time t and distance x exponentially. Keywords: modeling, nitrogen, self-purification, stream. *contact person Dr. Ojaras Purvinis*, docent, Department of Physical Science, Kaunas Technological University. Research interests – application of mathematic physics and statistics methods in physical and economical models. Address: Klaipėdos 1, LT-35209 Panevėžys, Lithuania. Phone: +370 45 5 96 58. E-mail. opurvi@panf.ktu.lt. Dr. Vilius Šidlauskas, lecturer, Department of Physical Science, Kaunas Technological University. Research interests – system modeling. Dr. Povilas Šukys, head of Geofiltration Research Department, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture, docent, Economics Department, Kaunas Technological University. Research interests – environmental engineering, relations of the regime and pollution of surface and subsurface water. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 23–31 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture PHYSICAL SOIL properties and moisture impact on productivity of spring barley and peas after application of different tillage Giedrius Baigys, Virginijus Feiza*, Ginutis Kutra, Dalia Feizienė Two field trials were set up at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture in 2004–2005 on loam Endocalcari – Epihypogleyic Cambisol. The goal of this experiment was to investigate the influence of different reduced tillage methods on soil physical properties and moisture content on yield of spring barley and peas. Spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cv. ‘Luokė’ and peas (Pisum sativum L.) cv. ‘Profi’ were grown in a crop rotation. Three tillage systems: traditional (deep ploughing to 23–25 cm depth), minimized (shallow ploughing to 14–16 cm depth) and no-tillage (direct drilling) have been investigated. It was revealed that during the wet period of the year direct drilling ensures a lower amount of water in plough soil layer, while in dry year it preserves soil water. After barley sowing, in treatment M in the whole arable layer (0–20 cm) bulk density was by 13.0% greater than in the treatment T and by 5.0% greater than in the treatment S. After peas sowing in direct drilled treatment M in the whole arable layer (0–20 cm) bulk density was by 12.0% greater than in the treatment T and by 7.0% greater than in the treatment S. After barley sowing in direct drilled treatment M in the whole arable layer (0–20 cm) penetration resistance was by 73.0% greater than in the treatment T and by 51.0% greater than in the treatment S. In direct drilled treatment (M) in the whole arable layer (0–20 cm) after peas sowing penetration resistance was by 78.0% greater than in the treatment T and by 41.0% greater than in the treatment S. Spring barley grain yield in deep ploughed treatment amounted to 6.38 t ha-1 and was by 5.1% greater than in the treatment S and by 15.6% greater than in the treatment M. The peas yield in deep ploughed treatment amounted to 3.38 t ha-1 and was by 34.7% greater than in the treatment S and by 11.9 % greater than in the treatment M. Keywords: bulk density, penetration resistance, tillage, yield. *contact person Giedrius Baigys, ph. d. student, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – water protection; soil water and hydro-physical properties dynamic and measures for improvement. Dr. Virginijus Feiza, senior researcher, head of the Department of Crop and Soil Management of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture. Research interests – tillage, soil physics. Address: Instituto alėja Nr.1, LT-58341 Akademija, Kėdainiai distr., Lithuania. Phone: +370 347 37275, fax: +370 347 37096, e-mail: virgis@lzi.lt. Dr. Ginutis Kutra, senior researcher, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests: soil and water protection, environmentally sound technologies in agriculture. Dr. Dalia Feizienė, senior researcher, the Department of Plant Nutrition and Agroecology of the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture. Research interests – plant nutrition, soil chemistry. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 32–37 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture RELATIONS BETWEEN STREAM, DRAINAGE AND GROUND WATER QUALITY Aurelija RUDZIANSKAITĖ The paper presents the data of changes in nitrate nitrogen (N-NO3) and total phosphorus (Ptotal) amounts contained in stream water, drainage and ground water. The studies have been carried out in moraine sandy loams soils in active karst zone. As the study data has shown, changes in N-NO3 concentrations contained in surface water (stream water) and subsurface water (drainage and ground water) are interrelated and of seasonable nature. During the cold period of the year the average N-NO3 concentration contained in the surface water was higher than in the warm period of the year. In subsurface water, on the contrary, N-NO3 concentration was higher in the warm period of the year. Ptotal concentration was higher in stream water during the warm period of the year; in ground water it was higher during the cold period of the year. During the cold period of the year the fluctuations of N-NO3 and Ptotal concentrations contained in drainage and ground water affected the fluctuations of those elements concentrations contained in stream water. Stronger relation was observed between concentrations in drainage and stream water. Keywords: drainage, groundwater, nitrate nitrogen, stream. Dr. Aurelija Rudzianskaitė, senior researcher, Geofiltration Research Department, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – environmental engineering, relations between the regime and pollution of surface and subsurface water. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai LT-58102, Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. E-mail: aurelija@water.omnitel.net. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 38–43 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture INVESTIGATIONS OF NUTRIENT REMOVAL FROM FARMERS SETTLEMENT WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES USING MINERAL FILTER Zenonas Strusevičius, Sigita Marija Strusevičienė* Highly polluted wastewater is formed on private farms. The wastewater contains N and P concentrations up to 150 mg l-1 and 30 mg l-1 respectively, which is 2–3 times higher than that contained in domestic wastewater. During the biological treatment of wastewater the removal of organic pollutants (BOD5 and SS) is about 96 % and the treatment efficiency satisfies the environment protection standards. However, the removal of biogenic pollutants is only 55%, thus the residual pollution with biogenic substances exceeds the maximum allowable rate according to N and P for wastewater released into the environment. Currently, different natural and artificial powdery mineral materials (zeolite, filtralite, etc.) containing metals and carbon compounds are transported into Lithuania. Such materials could be used as P and N adsorbing filters. In respect of the filter load with pollutants, biologically pre-treated wastewater treatment efficiency of N and P was determined to be from 45 to 93% and from 20 to 78% respectively. Having filtrated the wastewater through a filter containing 50% of zeolite and 50% of filtralite, N and P removal efficiency was fluctuating from 18 to 65% and from 51 to 92% respectively. Having made the investigations with different loads of minerals, it was determined that N removal is more efficient in the zeolite mineral filter, while P removal is more efficient in the filtralite filter. In order to reach the best results of biogenic pollution removal, both mineral mixtures should be used for the load of the filter. Keywords: biogenic matter, filtralite, wastewater, zeolite. *contact person Dr. Zenonas Strusevičius, the head of Water Treatment Laboratory, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Researches interests – ecology and landscape management, the impact of handling of wastewater and manure on the environment, investigation of pollutant transformation processes. Dr. Sigita Marija Strusevičienė, scientific researcher Water Treatment Laboratory, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Researche interests – ecology and landscape management, the impact of the handling of manure, urine and wastewater on the environment. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT-58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. Phone +370 347 6 80 20. E-mail: zenonas@water.omnitel.net. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 44–51 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture PECULIARITIES OF THE CHANGES OF NUTRIENT AMOUNTS CONTAINED IN WATER OF THE NEMUNAS DELTA POLDERS Arvydas Povilas MALIŠAUSKAS The studies were carried out in the Nemunas lowland polders drained with pumping stations and by gravity within the period of 1997–2005, when the probability of annual precipitation height was fluctuating from 17 to 76% and the average air temperature exceeded the long term rate by 0.3–1.8°C. The paper presents the changes of nutrients contained in water and their distribution in polder channels in respect of the peculiarities of water circulation there. In spring, further from operating pumping stations in channels the amount of nitrates is decreasing, while ammonia N and P concentrations are higher compared to that at the outlet structure where flow velocities are higher. In summer, the differences in stagnant water almost disappear. In drainage ditches the amount of ammonia nitrogen is 1.5–2 times higher and the amount of phosphorus ions is about 2 times higher than that in main channels. There were almost no differences between average annual Ntotal ions concentrations (1.6–1.8 mg·l-1) contained in water of summer polders drained with pumping stations and by gravity. Differences of P concentrations were insignificant (0.12 and 0.29 mg·l-1 respectively). The highest N runoff was observed in Rusnė winter polder. In Vorusnė summer polder it was about 1.5 times lower. In gravity polders 1.2–1.5 times more nitrogen flow in Plaškiai polder which is of a higher level, while P runoff was about 2 times higher in a lower Tulkiaragė polder. Significant fluctuations were observed in nutrient runoff with pumped water: in Rusnė winter polder Ntotal reached 6.0–19.3 kg·ha-1, Ptotal reached 0.4–2.0 kg·ha-1, while in Vorusnė summer polder the concentrations were 1.5–14.7 kg·ha-1 and 0.1–1.2 kg·ha-1 respectively. Keywords: amounts, change, nitrogen, phosphorus, polder, water. Dr. Arvydas Povilas Mališauskas, senior researcher, Water Protection Department, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – environmental engineering and landscape management, hydraulic engineering and hydrology. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT-58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. Phone: +370 347 6 80 09. E-mail: a.malisauskas@water.omnitel.net. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 52–59 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture SEASONAL CHANGES OF NUTRIENTS IN DRAINAGE WATER Stefanija MISEVIČIENĖ The paper analyzes the data about the changes of nutrient concentrations contained in drainage water in respect of the season of the year. The studies were carried out in a five-field crop rotation in Juodkiškis study object within the period of 1999 to 2003. As the study results have shown, the largest amount of Ntotal is leached in winter, while the leaching of Ptotal is more intensive in spring. Concentrations of N depend on fertilization and content of inorganic N in the soil, while the increase in P total concentrations depends on grown perennial crops. On the basis of the data collected within a 5-year period, it was determined that Ptotal concentrations never exceeded the permited limit (PL). Ntotal concentrations exceeded MAC when annual crops were grown and after clover field was ploughed up. Nutrient leaching much depends on the meteorological conditions. During the cold period of the year Ntotal leaching is more intensive when the air temperature is higher, while during the warm period of the year larger amounts of Ntotal are leached when the territory experiences more precipitation. Ptotal leaching depends only on precipitation in both warm and cold periods of the year. Keywords: concentration, drainage water, leaching, Ntotal, Ptotal. Dr. Stefanija Misevičienė, scientific researcher, Water Treatment Laboratory, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – ecology and environmental studies, manure handling and effect of its usage on the environment, investigations of pollutants transformation processes. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT-58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. Phone +370 347 68021. El.p. s.miseviciene@takas.lt. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 60–68 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture VEGETATION IN DRAINAGE CHANNELS: INTERFACE WITH SEDIMENT ACCUMULATION Romanas LAMSODIS*, Vaclovas POŠKUS The cover of grassy vegetation on drainage channel slopes is arranged with the aim to prevent the slopes from erosion and protect the channels from wash products. Due to natural succession of vegetation and often unsatisfactory maintenance of channels, other herbs and woody vegetation usually oust previous grassland species on the slopes; herbs and bushes start occupying channel bottoms. This results in a drop in flow velocity that increases possibility of suspended sediment settling. To highlight the links between vegetation growth and sediment accumulation in channels, the investigations were carried out in random 337 drainage channel stretches that all together covered more than 30 km. It has appeared that: 1) occurrence of bottom vegetation depends upon the soil cover and length of time for plants to occupy the bottom (the direct correlation), and the channel catchment area, longitudinal gradient and presence of woody vegetation on slope (the antithetical correlation); 2) bottom vegetation increases silting and the share of organic matter in sediment, while the action of slope woody vegetation to silting and organic matter amount in sediment is reducing if bottom is overgrown; when bottom is not overgrown, woody vegetation acts silting-reducing if its spread on slopes exceeds the space here. Certain consideration concerning vegetation management in drainage channels is presented. Keywords: drainage channel, silting, vegetation. *contact person Dr. Romanas Lamsodis, senior researcher of Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – drainage systems and environment, biodiversity in agro-landscape. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT-58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania; e-mail: lammor@delfi.lt. Vaclovas Poškus, junior researcher of Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – natural processes in drainage channels. Received 2006 06. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 69–77 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture REMOVAL EFFICIENCY OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS AND SUSPENDED SOLIDS IN CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS Valerijus Gasiūnas*, Zenonas Strusevičius Constructed wetlands (CW) is one of wastewater treatment methods described as plant soil filters. They may be free-water surface wetlands, the so-called macrophytes filters (MF); another type of CW are subsurface flow filters including filters of vertical flow (VF) and horizontal flow (HF). To evaluate BOD5, COD and suspended solids removal efficiency, the database of the studies on different construction of CW collected within the period of 1995–2006 was used. The objective of the studies was to compare BOD5, COD and SS removal efficiency in constructed wetlands of different construction under the climatic conditions of Lithuania. As the comparative analysis has shown, the most efficient removal of mentioned pollutants (when calculating for area unit of a filter) is observed in filters of vertical flow (VF); in filters of horizontal flow (HF) the process is less efficient, while in macrophytes filters (MF) pollutants are removed least efficiently. When the load according to BOD5 is the same in all filters (4 g/m2/d), treatment efficiency in VF reaches 97.0%, in HF and MF it is 77.5% and 34.5% respectively. To reach the normative treatment level according to BOD5 (25 mgO2/l), possible load of VF would be 19.0 g/m2/d BOD5, while the load of HF and MF would be only 6.0 and 3.6 g/m2/d BOD5 respectively. Having calculated the average load of filters according to COD (8 g/m2/d), treatment efficiency in VF reaches 97.5%, in HF it is 80.8%, in MF it is only 32.3%. Under the conditions of normative treatment efficiency, according to COD (125 mgO2/l), COD concentrations contained in wastewater after the treatment process are as follows: VF – 83.7, HF – 72.8, MF – 75.6 mgO2/l. When the load of filters according to suspended solids (SS) is 4 g/m2/d, treatment efficiency in VF reaches 87.3%, in HF it is 67.5%, in MF it is 59.0%. Keywords: BOD5, COD, constructed wetlands, suspended solids, wastewater treatment. *contact person Valerijus Gasiūnas*, senior researcher of Water Treatment Laboratory, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – natural wastewater treatment methods. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT-58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. Phone: +370 347 6 80 20, fax: +370 347 6 80 20. E-mail: v.gasiunas@water.omnitel.net. Zenonas Strusevičius, head of Water Treatment Laboratory, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – natural wastewater treatment methods. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 78–84 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture RELATION BETWEEN NITRATE CONCENTRATION AND WATER RUNOFF IN LITHUANIAN MIDDLE-SIZED RIVER: THE ŠUŠVĖ CASE STUDY Saulius KUTRA The paper presents the study results and analysis of the relationship between nitrate concentration and water runoff in the river Šušvė within the period of 1992–2004. Both nitrate concentration and runoff changes during a year take a form of sinusoid curve. During the cold season of the year (November–April) the concentration was on the average 1.2–2.1 times higher than in the warm season (May–September). Dependence of the average nitrate concentration on the runoff is expressed by second degree polynomials. Maximum values of concentrations were observed when the annual average runoff was 12 l s-1 km-2 and the discharges during the cold and warm periods were 12 l s-1 km-2 and 8 l s-1 km-2 respectively. The annual distribution of nitrate concentrations is close to Weibull and corresponds to inherent distribution of water runoff from watershed. There exists a relationship between the runoff and nitrate concentration probability. Higher runoff predicts probability for higher concentration to occur. A mode of the concentration in river Šušve is 3–4 mg l-1. Based on the results from this study, river Šušvė pollution can be predicted on a basis of the river water discharge. Keywords: nitrate concentration, runoff, water pollution. Dr. Saulius Kutra, the head of Water Protection Department, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture. Research interests – environmental engineering and landscape management, GIS, pollution modeling, application of remote sensing. Address: Parko 6, Vilainiai, LT-58102 Kėdainiai district, Lithuania. E-mail: kutra@water.omnitel.net. Received 06 2006. ISSN 1648–4363 Water Management Engineering, 3(6), 2006, 85-93 © Lithuanian University of Agriculture © Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture water supply and wastewater economy: problems, investments AND PerspeCTives Birutė DARAŠKEVIČIŪTĖ*, Rasa GLINSKIENĖ, Povilas ŠUKYS In Lithuania water supply and wastewater economy is managed by local municipalities. Recently, specialized water supply enterprises of municipalities encounter many problems. In many places water supply and sewerage networks are worn out, wastewater treatment facilities are physically and morally out of date, and there is a lack of funds for their renovation. During the period of independence the demand of water used by inhabitants and industrial enterprises decreased therefore the potential of water supply companies is employed insufficiently, and thus the cost price of water supply services increased. Water supply companies have lost a certain part of consumers, and their activity has become loss-making. The losses are to be covered from state or municipality budgets. After Lithuania has entered the European Union, the main attention in water management sector is focused on the implementation of Common Water Policy Directive, which requires rather large financial investments. After joining the European Union, it was necessary to harmonize the national requirements according to the legislation of the European Union: the core attention in water management sector was to be given to the implementation of the Directive of the Common Water Policy. The implementation of the European Union requirements in the water management sector required huge financial investments. Recently, European Union funds and international financing institutions have become the principle financing sources for the development of water supply sector. The European Union, International financing institution and national resources are the main sources for the financing the development of water sector. On the basis of statistical data, official documents and publications, the paper analyzes the problems of water supply and wastewater economy, also summarizes the prospects and possibilities provided by EU investments for the solution of problems of this sector. During the last years, a significant progress was made in the field of the reduction of water pollution and water supply sector. Investments made into the water supply economy allowed to construct new wastewater treatment facilities. Reconstructed old treatment facilities allowed to increase the capacity of water supply companies and thus to decrease the discharge of pollutants into surface water bodies. In 2000, nearly 86% of wastewater discharge did not correspond to the requirements of European Union water quality standard. Only 14% of wastewater were treated sufficiently well. In 2004, treated wastewater corresponding to the new standard made up 62% of total polluted wastewater amount. However, our country is still far behind other EU countries where on the average 92% of wastewater are treated. As the statistical study has shown, the amount of polluted wastewater in our country mostly depends on the amount of water consumed in domestic and fishery sectors. Domestic sector encounters some problems of the implementation of ecological technologies related to the reduction of water pollution. A new problem requiring scientific economical analysis was revealed: exploitation expenses of the constructed objects increase the cost price of services provided by water supply companies, which results in increased taxes of services for consumers. Keywords: investments, problems, state of water economy. *contact person Master Birutė Daraškevičiūtė, Ph. D. Student of the Kaunas University of Technology. Research interests – environmental management, foreign direct investment. Address: Nemuno str. 33, LT-37164, Panevėžys, Lithuania. Phone: +370 45 570030. E-mail: darabi@takas.lt. Dr. Rasa Glinskienė, the head of Economics Department, Kaunas University of Technology. Research interests – environmental management, integration processes. Dr. Povilas Šukys, senior researcher of Geofiltration Research Sector, Water Management Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture; associate professor of Economics Department, Kaunas University of Technology. Research interests – environmental engineering, prognosis of business environment. Received 06 2006. |
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