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For World Water Day, the managing director of the Apele Romane National Administration (ANAR), Gabriel Francisc Stika, said in an interview, that underground waters play an essential role in the hydro cycle and are vital for maintaining the wetlands and river flow, acting as a buffer-reservoir during dry periods.
Furthermore, the specialist considers that the effect of human activity on underground resources will have a significant impact on the quality of aquatic and ground ecosystems that are directly dependent, if there will be no way of alleviating the bio-degradation of the soil and underground.
"The specialists of the Apele Romane National Administration, along with those from the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management have defined and characterized 143 bodies of underground water, of which 115 are ground water, and 28 are deep underground bodies of water. From the most recent evaluations made by ANAR, nationwide, from the total of 143 defined bodies of water, 131, which is 91%, are in a good condition, chemically-wise, and 12 bodies of water, meaning 9%, are in a weak chemical state, because of the high concentration of nitrogen. Quantity-wise, all underground bodies of water are in a good condition. Diffuse pollution is the main source of chemical pollution of underground waters and it is determined by human clusters without a system of collecting and purifying wastewater, agricultural activities (agricultural and livestock facilities that do not have an adequate animal waste storage system, non-compliant deposits of fertilizers, improper use of fertilizer and pesticides), industrial activities through non-compliant deposits of raw and auxiliary materials, of waste, namely through emissions of polluting substances," Stika said.
Underground water being the "hidden part" of water-flow in nature is affected by climate change through hydraulic relations with surface water and the influence of rainfall quantity through infiltration of phreatic aquifer. This can have an indirect role on climate change, by using aquifer waters in irrigating cultures," the ANAR director adds.
"I wish for your readers to remember a very important message I want to send today, on the occasion of World Water Day: "Water is not an ordinary commercial product, it is a natural heritage that needs to be protected, treated and defended as such. Water is a strategic resource for safety and national security," according to the Romanian legislation, namely the Water Law," director Stika adds.
"As administrators of water resources, we are looking to identify the best solutions and measures for preventing, limiting pollution and over-exploitation. Monitoring the quality of drinking water targeted for human consumption is done by the central public authority in the area of health, as well as local public authorities, in accordance with the applicable provisions, through norms regarding the quality of drinking water, surveillance, sanitary inspection and monitoring the quality of drinking water, approved through Government Decision. Regarding pollution, the persistence of plastic waste on shores and / or in streams can, in the long-run, produce quality changes in water, macro-plastics decomposing into micro-plastic with an impact on the usage of water and on aquatic ecosystems," the ANAR director also said, Agerpres informs.
