REPORT ON COMPETENT AUTHORITIES, ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND THE GENERAL INFORMATION ON RIVER BASIN DISTRICTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA.

Transcription

1 REPORT ON COMPETENT AUTHORITIES, ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND THE GENERAL INFORMATION ON RIVER BASIN DISTRICTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA. Vilnius 2004

2 NEMUNAS RIVER BASIN DISTRICT Geographical coverage of the Nemunas river basin district Description of the boundaries of the Nemunas river basin district The Nemunas river basin district (RBD) comprises the Lithuanian parts of the Nemunas and Prieglius river basins, as well as coastal rivers basin. The latter two basins were joined to the Nemunas RBD for the reason of relatively small areas of their catchments parts in the country if compared to the Nemunas river basin. Therefore, the development of management plans for those small basins and setting appropriate management structures is not considered to be a feasible option. The coastal rivers basin was assigned to the Nemunas RBD and not to the Venta one also because it affects the quality of Lithuanian Coastal waters, like the Nemunas river basin does too. The Nemunas river basin lies at N and E. The total length of the river is 937 km, and the basin area constitutes km 2 while the Lithuanian part of the basin covers an area of km 2. Its drainage area is located in the territories of Byelorussia, Lithuania, Russia (Kaliningrad region), Latvia and Poland. The Prieglius river basin covers the area of km 2 of which only 65 km 2 belong to Lithuania. The resulting total area of the Nemunas RBD (without coastal and transitional waters assigned) is km 2. A 1 nautical mile wide strip of Coastal waters assigned to the Nemunas RBD stretch along the 96 km long Lithuanian coastline. The Curonian Lagoon is the freshwater coastal lagoon of the southeastern Baltic Sea which also assigned to the Nemunas RBD as the transitional waters. Lithuania owns the northern part of the Lagoon, which comprises the water area of 413 km 2 (26.1 % of the total area). Other part of the Lagoon (1171 km 2 ) belongs to the Russian Federation. The length of the coastline of the lagoon in Lithuanian territory is about 150 km. In addition, the transitional waters also contain the waters of the so-called plume of the Curonian Lagoon which is the result of the Nemunas waters flow to the Lagoon and which is characterized by the mixture of saline and freshwater. The plume assigned to the transitional waters stretches about 4 nautical miles west into the open sea, about 5-6 miles north along the coast corresponding the direction of the permanent current and about 2 miles back south along the shoreline. The Nemunas takes its source near the Byelorussian settlement Verhnij Nemanec. The first 25 km of the river represent a narrow channel called Nemanec. It is only further from its confluence with the tributaries Losha (42 km) and Ussa (115 km) that the river is known under its original name, the Nemunas. The Nemunas flows through the territory of Byelorussia and Lithuania and falls into the Curonian Lagoon. The total water surface area of the Nemunas equals km 2.

3 Main Rivers within the river basin district The longest and the largest (according to the catchment area) tributaries of the Nemunas are Berezina, Schara, Zelva, Katra, Merkys, Neris/Vilija, Nevezis, Dubysa, Sesupe, Jura, and Minija. The lengths and sizes of the main rivers, which flow in Lithuania, are the following: Length, km Catchment Area, km² River In Total Lithuania Total In Lithuania Merkys Neris Dubysa Sesupe Jura Nevezis Minija Sventoji Zeimena Nemunas The Nemunas is divided into three parts upper course, mid-course and lower-course. Upper-course is about 400 km long from the source to the tributary Kotra i.e km from the mouth, with basin area of 32,983 km 2 (including the Kotra basin), and has 27 larger tributaries in this part. The entire upper course of the basin mainly lies in the territory of Byelorussia (Minsk, Brest and Grodno Regions). The Nemunas mid-course of the basin has 300 km of length and extends from the Kotra (534.7 km from the mouth, in Grodno Region of Byelorussia) to the confluence with the Neris/Vilija (located at km from the mouth, within the second biggest Lithuanian city Kaunas, with 470 thousand of inhabitants). The mid-course of the basin has 11 larger tributaries, and the basin area of the mid-course of the Nemunas is km 2, including the Neris/Vilija basin. In the mid course of the Nemunas River, Kaunas hydroelectric power station (at 223 km from the mouth) was built in and Kaunas Reservoir between Prienai (approximately 310 km from the mouth) and Kaunas cities (approximately km from the mouth) was formed. The lower-course of the Nemunas River is 200 km long, starting from the confluence with the Neris/Vilija River (207.7 km from the mouth) to the wide accumulative delta region. The lower course of the Nemunas basin has 19 tributaries, and the basin area of km 2. The Nemunas delta region, according to the hydrographical approach, could be divided into a smalltype and a large-type delta. The large-type delta lies in the territory of Kaliningrad Region. It starts at the first branch - Gilija/Matrosovka at 48.1 km from the Nemunas mouth, the length of which is 43 km. The small-type Nemunas delta region is surrounded by the Skirvyte (Severnaja) and the Atmata (13.2 km from the mouth) branches where the Rusne Island, belonging to Lithuania and covering an area of 45 km 2 lies. The Atmata branch, which is the northernmost branch of the Nemunas delta, is officially called the mouth of the Nemunas River. In the last strip 13.2 km in Atmata, several tributaries such as the Sysa, Lake Kroku Lanka, and the Minija (at 3 km from the mouth) join the

4 Nemunas almost at the very mouth of the river. At the same time, it should be noted that among the naturally formed Nemunas delta branches there is a wide network of channels and a polder system. The Nemunas river basin hydrographic network formed in the late Quaternary period, and the basin is situated mainly at the edge of the last glacial sheet. The upper course of the basin is the oldest (shaped before the last glacial period), while the mid-course and the lower-course belong to the last glacial period. The landscape of the river basin was shaped by the glacial shift. The rough and somewhere wavy or hilly relief was shaped during the last ice age, mainly as a result of the processes accompanying recession of the glacier. The Baltic Moraine Ridge across the central part of the basin from southwest to northeast. To the southeast of it, stretches the Byelorussian Height, which is bounded from the south by the Neris/Vilija River valley. The moraine hills of the Asmena Height spread farther to the south. The left side of the upper and the middle parts of the basin are taken up by the Novogrudok Height, the Volkovyjsk Height and the August Hollow. The prevailing heights here are about m, and m in the valleys of the rivers. In the lower reaches of the Nemunas to the northwest of the Baltic Moraine Ridge the landscape sharply goes down in the direction of the coast and in the outfall depression elevations make up only some meters above the sea level. In the Nemunas river drainage area the soils are mainly represented by moraine and sandy loams, which in some places are covered with peat formations. Loams prevail in the northwest of the basin,

5 covering almost completely the basins of the rivers Minija, Jura, Dubysa and Nevezis and the southern part of the Baltic Moraine Ridge. Sand and sandy loams cover significant areas in the upper part of the basin, in the littoral region (the Jura River Basin and the eastern part of the Dubysa River Basin), in the lower part of the Neris/Vilija River Basin, south of Kaunas City (between the rivers Nemunas and Esia), and part of the Minija River Basin. Sandy- mud deposits occur in river valleys and cover the whole mouth of the Nemunas. In the southeast of the Nemunas catchment area sandier grounds dominate, which are porous and permeable. Here the rain and snow waters are absorbed fast. Average annual runoff modules in this region are 7 9 l/s/km 2. The morphometry (depth, width, cross-sectional area, velocity, shape, etc.) of the river changes very quickly and depends on the intensity of the tributaries network. The depth varies from 1 metre in the upper-course basin to 3 metres in the lower-course basin. It should be stated that with each kilometre the Nemunas riverbed becomes deeper by 2 mm. The width in upper-course is 250 meters, in mid-course 250 meters and in some places varies from 100 to 150 meters, in lower-course - from 200 to 400 meters. The mean bottom slope varies as follows: in upper-course it is equal to %, in midcourse (between tributaries the Katra and the Neris/Vilija) is %, and in lower-course (downstream Neris/Vilija) is %. The Nemunas River is a very meandering river with large and wide meanders. The mean meandering coefficient is 1.76, in upper course , in mid-course , in lower-course (the river is considered to be very meandering when the coefficient of meandering is >1.60). Climate is changing between maritime and continental in the Nemunas river basin as in the whole Lithuania. The mean annual temperature is C, the average in January being -4.9 o C and in July +17 o C. Western and South-Western winds prevail. Lithuania is in the zone of surplus of humidity and its water resources are quite large Average precipitation varies from 600 to 700 mm with more precipitation amount in the largest tributary Neris/Vilija basin (from 650 up to 800 mm per year). Rainfall contains 75 % of the total precipitation. Evaporation contains 65 % approximately, and surface runoff about 32 %. The long-term average annual discharge to the Curonian Lagoon by the Nemunas River is 667 m 3 /s, which equals to 21.1 km 3. The Curonian Lagoon discharge to the Baltic Sea comprises approximately 23 km 3 per annum. For most of the Lithuanian rivers big spring floods are typical while in summer and winter the flow of rivers is significantly reduced. In the western part of the Nemunas river basin the highest water runoff coefficients of dominate, that is, about % of annual precipitation flows down to the rivers. Average annual runoff modules of 9 14 l/s/km 2 are the highest in all the country. The distribution of the river run-off throughout the year is soundly impacted by flood events. Spring floods in the rivers of this region usually start in the middle of May and last for days. During spring floods approximately 30 % of annual runoff flows down, while in summer 10 % and in autumnwinter season 60 %. Minimal winter runoff is approximately 3 times higher than the summer one. The division of annual runoff in mid region of the catchment is mostly uneven. The rivers in the mid of the river basin are subject to a less abundant runoff than in other regions. Average annual runoff modules there amount for l/s/km 2.

6 The general discharge of the river contains % of snowmelt water, % of rain runoff, and % of groundwater. Most of the discharge of the river basin comes from combined surface/subsurface runoff, including snowmelt water (in average by 40 %) that cannot infiltrate into deeper layers because of the frozen soil. In the past century most of the Lithuanian rivers regimes were affected and are affected till now by economical activities: water from the rivers was used for industrial and municipal consumption; dams for different purposes were built up on the rivers; lots of land reclamation works were done in the catchments of the rivers; the diversion of the run-off from one catchment to the other was practiced as well. All these processes had different effects on the characteristics of regimes of the rivers: they reduced or decreased the extreme values of the runoff, radically changed the distribution of the runoff per annum, alternated the size of the runoff and its fluctuation character. Most of the dams on the river are managed to control seasonal runoff what does not change the annual runoff size. Dams only increase evaporation. There are 2381 lakes with surface area above 0.5 ha in the Nemunas catchment s Lithuanian part. Land cover and land use in the Nemunas river basin are presented in Table 1.3. Neris Neris is the longest (510 km) and the largest ( km 2 ) tributary of the Nemunas River. Neris takes its source in Belarus, near Minsk highlands. In Belarus Neris is called Vilija. Neris/Vilija has 10 tributaries longer than 50 km (2 of them Asmena and Sventoji are longer than 100 km) but only 4 of them are in Lithuania. 6.5 km of the river flow on the Lithuanian Belarusian border and 56 % of all the river basin belongs to Lithuania.

7 The Neris basin is asymmetric 70 % of all catchment area lie on its right side. The length of the catchment boundary is 980 km. The slope of the bed is %. In the Neris/Vilija river catchment more permeable grounds dominate; forests constitute 28 %, wetlands 10 %, lakes 2.5 %. In the closest to the mouth of Neris/Vilija hydrological station the average discharge calculated for the monitoring period is 111 m 3 /s. The runoff module (hydro module) for the same period is 7.3 l/s/km 2. The runoff height is 230 mm for the same period. There are 26 dams on the Neris/Vilija river and the overall capacity of dams is 9583 thousands of m 3. In 1976 in Minsk (Belarus) the river Neris/Vilija was dammed to form a reservoir near the Vileika city. The surface area of the reservoir is 67 km 2 and the capacity million m 3. The discharge of water directed from Vileika reservoir is 12 m 3 /s. The presence of Vileika reservoir substantially change natural hydrological regime of Neris/Vilija River, especially during dry years. During flood periods water is accumulated in Vileika reservoir and prevents water from accessing the Neris, Nemunas and Curonian Lagoon. During dry summers this often negatively affects water ecosystems. Merkys Merkys is the right tributary of Nemunas. Merkys is the longest Southeast Lithuanian river (length is 203 km, catchment area is 4416 km 2 ). Approximately 14 % (635 km 2 ) of the overall river basin area and 13 km of river s bed stretches in Belarus. Merkys is a torrential river and the slope of the bed is %. The bed of Merkys is quite meandrous (medium value of the tortuosity coefficient is 1.56). The catchment boundary is 500 km. The catchment surface is sandy (67 % of the catchment area) where mainly the pinewoods are growing (forests approximately 40 %). The main tributaries of Merkys are: Ula Pelesa, Salcia, Visincia, Varene, Skroblus. There are 175 lakes (larger than 0.5 ha) in the catchment and their total territory is 39.4 % (lakes comprise 0.9 % of the catchment area). Swamps compose approximately 10 % of the river Merkys subbasin. The annual precipitation is mm. Approximately 450 mm evaporate and the resulting runoff coefficient is approximately The runoff is distributed evenly: during three spring months 35 % of annual runoff flows down the river, in summer and autumn 42 %, in winter 23%. In the closest to the mouth of Merkys hydrological station Puvociai the average discharge calculated for the monitoring period is 35.3 m 3 /s. The runoff module (hydro module) for the same period is 8.2 l/s/km 2. The runoff height is 259 mm for the same period. Floods in spring are relatively small. The thermal regime in Merkys is quite unusual. Contrary to other Lithuanian rivers, the highest water temperature is not in July but in June and even then it is hardly higher than 18 C. It is usualy the case that Merkys does not freeze at all in winter and during very cold winters the coverage of the ice stays only for days.

8 Merkys is a clean river. Partly it is because of the catchment features (abundance of forests, good filtration qualities of the ground, lower surface runoff) but as well it is because of the low level of the pollutants coming from the industry and households. Dubysa Dubysa has the length of 139 km with catchment area of 2033 km 2. The catchment is narrow and stretches from the North to the East approximately 90 km. The medium heaviness grounds dominate (70 %) on the surface of the catchment of the river Dubysa; sands and heavy clayey soil parts are not large (11 % and 9 % respectively). There are not so many forests remaining (13 % of the subbasin area). In the catchment of Dubysa there are 40 lakes (larger than 0.5 ha) and their overall surface area is only 5.5 km 2 (lakes comprise 0.27 % of the subbasin area) what means that mainly small lakes dominate. The reservoirs compensate the lack of the lakes and their total area (with the fishery reservoirs) is approximately 10 km 2 and water capacity is 37 millions of m 3. The annual precipitation is 720 mm and almost 1/3 of it become the runoff (η = 0.32). The runoff hydro module is 7 l/s/km 2, that is, an average discharge at the mouth of the river is 14.2 m 3 /s. There are no big cities or industrial companies near Dubysa. As a consequence the pollution by the industrial or households pollutants is not significant in the catchment. The analyses of the river water pollution at the mouth shows that the agricultural pollution affects the quality of the water mostly. In the basin of Dubysa there are 3 regional parks. Sesupe Almost all the basin of the Sesupe River is located in the Central Lowland of Lithuania. The origins are located in Poland, 18 km from the Suwalki town at Sesupele village in the place called the Suduva highland. In Poland the river flows for 24 km up to the state border with Lithuania. The mouth and the last 60 km of the river is located in Russia, the Kaliningrad region. Sesupe is the second largest left-side tributary of the river Nemunas with the catchment area of 6105 km 2 and the total length of km. The main sub-watersheds are: Kirsna, Dovine, Rausve, Pilve, Visakis, Sirvinta, Nova, Siesartis, Jotija, Tumannaja, Alsknupe. The average annual flow at the mouth is 35.5m 3 /s and average annual hydro module equals 6 l/s/km 2. The river bed is not deeply penetrated into clayey soil of the Mid-Lithuanian lowland. The river feeding by groundwater is insignificant. The Sesupe confluence with the Nemunas River is 85 km from the mouth of the Nemunas between The Smalininkai settlement (Lithuania) and Sovietsk city (Russia, Kaliningrad region), and 4 km upstream from the other quite large Nemunas tributary the Jura. There are 269 lakes (larger than 0.5 ha) in the Sesupe river basin and they contain 2 % of the river basin area, with the total area of lakes surface ha (or km 2 ), and mainly located in upstream part of the river. 57 lakes belong to Poland, 11 to Kaliningrad region, with their total surface area of 97.9 ha.

9 Wetlands (swamps, or bogs). There are several typical wetland areas located in the Sesupe river basin. The reason of the formation of these areas is bogged up of shallow watercourses and small watersheds. According the Sesupe river basin cadastre data, wetland area comprises 8.4 % of the total Sesupe river basin. Marshy (low-land) bogs are dominating in the basin. The Sesupe river hydrographical network contains about 178 rivers with the length bigger than 5 km, and 57 tributaries, the length of those are bigger than 10 km. The total length of the tributaries with the length more than 10 km lasts 1810 km, and the streams with the length less than 10 km accounts to 6286 km. The average density of the river network in the basin is 1.32 km/km 2. The longest tributaries are: Kirsna, Dovine, Rausve, Pilve, Visakis, Sirvinta, Nova, Siesartis, Jotija. There were 4 hydroelectric power stations on the main Sesupe River in the territory of Lithuania. Those are: Kalvarija, Marijampole, Kudirkos Naumiestis and Papilvys on Pilve stream. Two more powerful stations built on the lakes: Dusia and Zuvintas. The river flows along the narrow and shallow valley. Water level during the summer and winter drops significantly, and there is quite big spring flooding. The flooding could also occur in summer and autumn, but it is not significant for the Sesupe River. Sesupe is not a water-abundant river - average annual hydro module is 5.8 l/s/km 2, with high variation of flow during the seasons. The surface runoff in the Sesupe river varies as follows: (a) 90 mm in March-May, (b) mm in June-February, (c) 60 mm in June-November, (d) 50 mm in December-February. The average annual runoff coefficients are lower than The changes of the runoff during the seasons are up to 35 % in average (with spring floods and later summer droughts). The average annual long-term precipitation on the Sesupe river basin varies between mm per year; 164 mm flows with rivers, 51 mm goes to groundwater, 113 is surface runoff, 467 mm infiltration, and 516 mm evapotranspiration. Important climatic factor, which impacts evaporation, is the relative humidity. The relief of the Sesupe river subbasin area is plain; the river slopes are smooth, containing in average the slopes between %. The river channels are not highly developed. The average percentage of forested area in the Sesupe basin is only about 15 %. There are comparatively high anthropogenic activities developed in the Sesupe basin. But at the same time the basin has islands of natural landscape state reserves, national and regional parks. The Zuvintas lake and the wetlands are one of the significant State reserves. The Dusia Lake is a part of Meteliai Regional Park. The landscape-protected area in the Sesupe river basin is the Sesupe river reach as a border between Lithuania and Russia. The same landscape protected area status has the midcourse of the tributary Nova between Kudirkos Naumiestis and Sakiai road. Hydrographical protected areas are founded between the right-side tributaries Jotja and Aukspira and upper course of the tributary Sirvinta downstream the mouth of the river Aista. The Sesupe Nemunas Natural Park is established in Kaliningrad region. Jura Jura River debouches into Nemunas 81 km before its mouth. It is a right tributary of Nemunas; its length is 172 km and its catchment area 3994 km 2 (it comprises approximately 4 % of the Nemunas

10 river basin area). In the upper and mid Jura catchment area medium heaviness clay loams are dominating (approximately 80 % of the catchment area); towards the lower reaches the massy clay loam and clay are predominant. However, there are sandy islands as well, which comprise approximately 10 % of catchment area. In that area pinewoods are dominating while in the upper and mid Jura catchment area mixed forests and fir woods are more typical (forests comprise approximately 17 % of the catchment area). There are 20 lakes larger than 0.5 ha in the subbasin of the river Jura and their total area is 1,75 km 2 ; the basin contains 0.04 % of lakes area in average. There are much more reservoirs than lakes and they comprise 16 km 2 ; approximately 9 km 2 of the reservoirs are intended for fishery. Wetlands area comprises approximately 5% of the Jura river basin. Annual precipitation in the Jura river basin is approximately 900 mm and almost a half of it resolves into runoff (η = 0,47). The upper reaches of Jura are the most water abundant ones. In the closest to the mouth of Jura hydrological station at Taurage town the average discharge calculated for the monitoring period is 21 m 3 /s. The runoff module (hydro module) for the same period is 12.4 l/s/km 2. The runoff height is 391 mm for the same period. Rainwater is dominating the annual runoff comprising 50 % of it; melting snow 30 % and underground water 20 %. During the dry period Jura is abating noticeably and the discharge at the mouth decreases to 2.3 m 3 /s. Nevezis Nevezis is the most important Mid-Lithuanian river (length 209 km, catchment area 6146 km 2 ). On the surface of Nevezis catchment area more massy mechanical composition carbonaceous solids (sandy areas make up some 10 %) are predominant. There are not too many forests left and they comprise approximately 17 % of the subbasin area (in the upper reaches of the river 21 %). There are 89 lakes larger than 0.5 ha in the catchment but their total area is only 5.28 km 2 (lakes comprise 0.09 % of the basin area). The reservoirs compensate a bit the lack of lakes. In total there are 76 reservoirs with total area of 18.4 km 2. The medium slope of the bed of river Nevezis is only % (in the lower reaches %). The river is not very water abundant. The basin of Nevezis is notably affected by anthropogenic activities. In its territory dwell approximately 280 thousands of inhabitants and more than a half of them live in the cities on the banks of Nevezis Panevezys and Kedainiai. Both cities are known for industrial activities. The production processes consume big quantities of water, which is being taken from the Nevezis River. The biological wastewater treatment equipment capacity in Panevezys is m 3 /24 hours and in Kedainiai m 3 /24 hours and it is not sufficient to assure required quality for treated water. Potential polluters of Nevezis are Panevezys meat, milk, beer, sugar factories, as well as Kedainiai chemical and biochemical factories. The annual precipitation in the catchment area is mm, about 70 % of which precipitate during warm seasons of the year. In the closest to the mouth of Nevezis hydrological station the average discharge calculated for the monitoring period is 27.2 m 3 /s. The runoff module (hydro module) is 4.9 l/s/km 2. The runoff height is 155 mm.

11 The main tributaries of Nevezis are: Susve, Dotnuvele, Obelis, Juosta, Kirsinas, Barupe and Juoda. Minija Minija is North-western Lithuanian river (length is 202 km; catchment area is 2942 km 2 ). The average slope of the bed of Minija is %. The largest tributaries of Minija are: Tenenys, Veivirzas, Babrungas, Atlantas, Salantas, Zvelsa, Misupe, Sausdaravas, Agluona, Skinija and Pala. There are 39 lakes larger than 0.5 ha in the basin area and they comprise approximately 0.6% of the total catchment area. Forests cover some 21 % of the basin area. Fir and leafy forests are dominating; the pine forests can be found in more sandy areas. Wetlands comprise approximately 5 % of the Minija catchment area. At the moment there are 3 hydrological stations that are measuring runoff of the basin. The annual precipitation in the river Minija basin is 960 mm; mm of total precipitation is evaporating and eventually the runoff coefficient is η = 0, 41. In the closest to the mouth of Minija hydrological station the average discharge calculated for the monitoring period is 15.9 m 3 /s. At the mouth the discharge reaches 38.5 m 3 /s. The runoff module (hydro module) for the same period is 12.9 l/s/km 2. The runoff height is 407 mm for the same period. Floods are very typical for the Minija River, especially the spring high waters. Minija is mainly fed by rain water (55 % of annual runoff), melting snow (22 % of annual runoff) and underground water (23 % of annual runoff). There are neither big cities in the Minija catchment or big industrial enterprises. Therefore, the pollution from industry or households is insignificant. Sventoji Sventoji is the right tributary of the Neris River. The length of the river is 246 km and the catchment area is 6889 km 2. Sventoji subbasin covers 11 % of the Lithuanian territory and it is the longest purely Lithuanian river from the source to the mouth. The surface is dominated by medium heaviness clay loams (63 % of the subbasin area) but there are some areas covered with sand or grit (27 %) as well. Forests cover 10 %; dams 16 % and lakes 3 % of the catchment area. Annual precipitation in Sventoji river basin is 750 mm; about 32 % precipitate during the cold period of the year. The annual runoff coefficient is η = 0.42 and hydro module equals 8.2 l/s/km 2. Medium discharge at the mouth is 56.5 m 3 /s. The runoff is naturally settled; underground waters compose some 40 %, melting snow 32 % and rain waters 28 % of the total runoff. In the different parts of the catchment the hydrological ratios are not equal. The runoff hydro module in the upper reaches is the lowest. Sventoji river catchment contains 658 lakes (larger than 0.5 ha) and 3 of them are larger than 10 km 2. The pollution in the basin is relatively low. There are 3 regional parks: Grazude Sartai, Anyksciai, as well as 3 landscape and 3 hydrographical parks. The largest tributaries of Sventoji are: Sirvinta, Jara Seteksna and Siesartis.

12 Zeimena Zeimena is a first large (length 79.6 km; catchment area 2793 km 2 ) tributary of the river Neris. Zeimena compose 11 % of the river Neris catchment area and 25 % of annual runoff. In Zeimena river basin lie 479 lakes (larger than 0.5 ha) and their total area reaches 180 km 2 (lakes comprise 6.4% of the river basin area). 4 hydrological stations are built on Zeimena River. The annual runoff hydro module of Zeimena at the upper reaches is 7.1 l/(s -1 km 2 ); near the lower reaches it is 8.2 l/s/km 2. On the average, annual discharge of Zeimena at the mouth is 23 m 3 /s. Zeimena basin runoff coefficient at Pabrade is 0.39, that is, 39 % of the precipitation. The runoff is settled the underground waters compose 60 % of it. Zeimena is one of the cleanest rivers in Lithuania. The forests comprise 31 % of the river basin area; light mechanical composition grounds cover 76 % of the basin surface. Anthropogenic impact is rather low. Coastal rivers Total area of coastal rivers catchment is km 2. There is no single river with a size of some significance with exception for the Akmena/Dane River. The catchment is represented mainly by small watercouses draining straight into the Sea or the Curonian Lagoon. The catchment area of Akmena/Dane is 580 km 2, which is divided into some small subbasins in the west: Osupys, Raze, Rikine, Cypa. The length of Akmena/Dane is 62.5 km and it flows into the Curonian Lagoon. At the source the river is called Akmena and closer to the mouth Dane. The slope of the bed is 0.17 %; a part of the slope decreases to % and in the farthest point in the lower reaches it is %. The width of the river is m and the depth is 1-3 m, at the mouth it is 7 m; as a result bigger boats can enter the river. The largest tributaries of Akmena/Dane river are: Ekete, Slaveita and Tenze. In the upper reaches of Akmena there are two high dams, which resulted in the formation of the reservoirs Tubausiai and Padvariai. Annual discharge of the river at the mouth is 7.6 m 3 /s. The runoff coefficient is 13.1 l/s/km 2. Floods are very frequent in the catchment area. Rain water at Tubausiai HS comprises 67 %, melting snow waters - 26 % and underground waters 7 % of the Akmena/Dane river annual runoff. Beside Akmena/Dane River, another river-smeltale is flowing into Curonian Lagoon as well. Groundwaters within the Nemunas RBD The boundaries of groundwater bodies in the Nemunas and other river basin districts were delineated by grouping smaller groundwater bodies, which are using for groundwater extraction the most significant productive aquifer and following these principles:

13 Productive aquifer can be composed from several aquifers, hydro dynamically related and forming continuous hydrodynamic system a three-dimensional field of groundwater filtration; In the vertical section productive aquifers are separated by layers of low permeable deposits, on the horizontal plane by geological inclination of aquifers deposits or hydro chemical anomalies; Groundwater within delineated body is used for drinking water public supply; The most significant aquifer of basin is usually nearest to the earth s surface and consequently water quality of it is the most vulnerable; Other aquifers, water extraction of which is less than 30 % from extraction amount of whole body, are not separated into independent groundwater body, but are described as a part of existing body. For the purposes of integral water management in accordance to the WFD requirements groundwater bodies are assigned to river basin districts following these criteria: If the whole groundwater body lies entirely in one particular river basin district then it is assigned to that same river basin district in which it is lying; If the groundwater body crosses several RBDs then it is assigned to the RBD where its exploitation is mostly intensive; If the groundwater body crosses several RBDs and is evenly exploited in all of them then it is artificially splitted in accordance to the boundaries of RBDs and the spited parts are assigned to the appropriate RBDs. Taking into account all the above principles the Nemunas RBD was confirmed to contain 5 groundwater bodies (GWBs), which are the following: 1. The Neringa GWB of marine deposits (QIVm); 2. The Western Žemaičiai GWB of Quaternary deposits (QIV-I); 3. Upper and Lower Cretaceous GWB of Cenozoic Mesozoic deposits (Pg, J 3, J 2, K 2, K 1 ); 4. The South Eastern Lithuania GWB of Quaternary deposits (QIV-I); 5. GWB of Upper Middle Devonian deposits (D 3-2 šv-up). The first three GWBs are almost entirely in the Nemunas RBD and those minor parts that are extending to other RBDs are also assigned to the Nemunas district. The other GWBs have their parts that are extending to other districts assigned to the latter RBDs. Coastal and transitional waters associated to the Nemunas RBD The Curonian Lagoon is a large (length 95 km, width up to 48 km) shallow (mean depth of 3.8 m, the maximum 5.8 m) and highly specific transboundary water body in the south-eastern part of the Baltic Sea, which is considered as transitional waters. The Lagoon is shared by Russia (1171 km 2 ) and Lithuania (413 km 2 ) with total area comprising 1584 km 2. Total area becomes even bigger in flood periods. Overall the water level in the Lagoon is approximately 16 cm higher than that of the Baltic Sea. Therefore, many scientists consider the Lagoon as the avandelta of the River Nemunas and the Klaipeda strait as its mouth. The total water volume in this water body is 6.2 km 3. The Curonian is a fresh water body with limited water exchange with Baltic Sea. This is determined by the narrow Klaipeda strait Lagoon s gateway to the Sea. Furthermore, it is very shallow which, together with big outflow of the Nemunas waters prevents more saline and heavier sea water from

14 entering most of the time. However, because of the Harbour the Klaipeda Strait is artificially deepened down to 14 m what enables episodic stormy inflows of the seawater. As a result, the northern part of the Lagoon is oligohaline, with irregular salinity fluctuations from 0.5 to 7.5 PSU and distinct gradient in mean salinity from the outlet towards the inner parts of the water body. In general, the Curonian Lagoon is inhabited by freshwater flora and fauna, while euryhaline brackish water species occur in its northern part only, approximately within 40 km from the sea gate. The Lagoon has many values. First of all it is located in the middle of nature protection areas (as the Nemunas Delta Regional park from one side, and the Curonian Spit as UNESCO heritage area from the another side of the Curonian Lagoon). It is also of high recreational value. Finally, it has a high value for fisheries (commercial as well as individual sports fishing). The 1 mile wide Lithuanian coastal waters extend for about 96 km. Right in the middle in the area of the Klaipeda Harbour the continuity of coastal waters strip is interrupted by the Curonian waters discharge plume, which forms a part of the transitional waters. The coastal waters zone is characterized by shallow bottom and low gradient slope (except for the Harbour vicinity), big openness to frequent and strong storms, waves. In terms of bottom cover the sandy and in some places gravel substrate prevails. The salinity of the Lithuanian coastal waters varies from approximately PSU in the southern part to about 6 PSU going north along the coastline. This is due to the impact of the Curonian Lagoon freshwater plume, which spreads northward under the influence of permanent south-north current. Overall the salinity is low as in almost entire Baltic Sea because of a bad connection with the North Sea. The coastal waters represent significant benefits to the country. It serves as the recreational area for local people. Furthermore, it is important for the fishing industry as well. What is even more important that the area serves as one of the biggest revenue sources attributable to Harbour activities and the Butinge Oil terminal located in northernmost part of the shoreline. Other statistics and contextual information on the Nemunas RBD Protected areas Protected areas occupy about thousand hectares, which makes up about 5 % of the basin s territory. In the territory of the basin, 2 national parks, 4 regional parks and more than 20 republican or regional significance reserves are founded to preserve nature resources. In the territory of Lithuania the biggest and most important protected areas are Dzukija National park (559 km 2 ), Nemunas river Delta Regional park (239.5 km 2 ), Nemunas River loops Regional park (240.8 km 2 ), Kaunas Lake Regional park (96 km 2 ), Panemuniai Regional park (103.8 km 2 ) and the Zuvintas Reserve (54.21 km 2 ). Population Byelorussia Total population in the Nemunas basin territory in Byelorussia (according to the data of 1997) is 2 million from which 0.9 mln. live in rural territories. About 1.2 million people in 1995 lived in Grodno

15 region (0.5 mln. of them in rural territories), almost all the population of which belongs to the Nemunas basin. The biggest cities in the basin are: Grodno with 300 thousand inhabitants (in Grodno region), Baranovichi with more than 150 thousand inhabitants (in Brest region) and Molodechno with about 100 thousand inhabitants (in Minsk region). The rest of the cities in the basin (Novogrudok, Lida, Volkovisk, Skidel, Nesvizh, Slonim, Stolbtsy,Vileika, Smorgon and others) are not big (up to inhabitants). Lithuania In 2000, the Nemunas river basin population in Lithuania was 2.77 million. From that number 1.87 million lived in urban and 0.9 million in rural territories. The Nemunas is the most densely populated RBD in the country accounting for approximately 64 pers/km 2. Population of the biggest cities on the Nemunas River is the following: 1. Vilnius (in the Neris basin) (2003 data); 2. Kaunas (2003 data); 3. Klaipeda (2003 data); 4. Panevezys (Nevezis subbasin) (2003 data); 5. Druskininkai 21.5 thousand; 6. Alytus 77.6 thousand; 7. Prienai 13.9 thousand; 8. Birštonas 3.8 thousand. Russia The region is attributed to the territories of high anthropogenic load. Population density in Kaliningrad region is 65 persons/km 2 that is 8 times bigger, than the average density in the remaining part of Russia. The total number of inhabitants in the basin s territory is about 120 thousand, 70 thousand from which live in urban and 50 thousand in rural territories. Livestock production Industry and agriculture Livestock production in the Nemunas basin is reflected in the following figure and table:

16 Byelorussia According to the State Water Cadastre, in the year 2000, 1054 industrial enterprises reported on wastewater discharges into water bodies of the Nemunas River Basin (232 of this number discharge their wastewater into the Neris/Vilija River Basin). The biggest enterprises in the basin are located in Grodno City: the industrial amalgamation Azot, the Grodno Enterprise for water supply and sewerage, cement works etc. Priority industries in the region are the chemical industry, manufacturing of building materials, food processing, wood processing, metal processing, and furniture manufacturing. Lithuania Alytus and Kaunas are two main industrial cities lying on the Nemunas River in the territory of Lithuania. Druskininkai and Birštonas are health resorts, so industrial activities are not intense there. Another important polluter is Panevėžys city situated on the tributary Nevėžis, and Vilnius city the capital of Lithuania on the tributary Neris. The Klaipeda, the third largest city in Lithuania, is also present in the Nemunas RBD. The dominating industrial sectors in the main cities are food and beverages production, wood and wood products, textiles, chemicals and chemical products, metal products, machinery and equipment and furniture production. Russia, Kaliningrad region Industry in the Nemunas basin territory is not very intense. The biggest industrial enterprises here are the pulp-and-paper mills in Sovetsk and Nemunas cities, and also the municipal wastewater enterprises of the cities of Krasnoznamensk, Neman, Sovetsk and Nesterov. Poland Because only a very minor part of the Nemunas RBD is in Poland there are no big pressures from human activities in that country. The Polish part pressures come only from 16 households (16 multi-flat buildings) and from one rest-house.

17 LIELUPE RIVER BASIN DISTRICT Geographical coverage of the Lielupe river basin district Description of the boundaries of the Lielupe river basin district The Lielupe river basin district encompasses only one river basin the Lielupe one. It was not merged with other basins because this one covers a significant proportion of the neighbouring Latvian territory and is pretty much distinctive from other basins in terms of the magnitude and type of impacts it is subject to. The Lielupe river basin district is a shared one only with Latvia. The Lielupe River basin district measures approximately km 2, of which 8662 km 2 (8750 km 2 )* in Latvia and km 2 (8901 km 2 )* in Lithuania. According to the Water Framework Directive this is very large river basin (> km 2 ), and it also consists of the network of lowland rivers (altitude < 200 m). The River basin district extends between 22 o 40' and 25 o 57' eastern longitude and 55 o 38' and 56 o 58' northern latitude. The River has two major branches; one, the Musa River is 157 (164) km in length, of which 133 (140) km is in Lithuania, 18 km in Latvia and 7 (6) km along the border, starts from the Tyrelis bog at a height of approximately 87 m above the sea level. The other major branch is the Memele/Nemunelis River, which is approximately 199 (191) km in length (of which 40 (113)** km in Latvia) and originates in the Aukstaitija heights west of the city of Daugavpils at approximately 110 m above the sea level. The Musa River passes the border of Lithuania and Latvia at a height of 17 m above the sea level and is, 13 km after its border crossing, joined by the Memele/Nemunelis River at an elevation of 12 m above the sea level to become the Lielupe River. The length of Lielupe in Latvia is (119) km. Besides the Musa and Nemunelis subbasins, Lithuanian territory encompasses also numerous small tributaries of the Lielupe River, which sources are in the Lithuanian part of the basin. Note: *data from Latvian information sources are put in brackets, while data from Lithuanian information sources are without brackets missing data **In Latvian sources the Nemunelis/Memele river length along the border is assigned to the length of the Latvian part of this river

18 Main Rivers within the river basin district All the lengths and drainage areas of the main tributaries of the Lielupe are the following: Length, km Basin area, km 2 River Total In Lithuania In Latvia Total In Lithuania In Latvia Lielupe (119) (119) (-) (-) (-) Memele/ Nemunelis (converging river) Musa (converging river) (191) 75 (78) 40 (113) 84 (-) along the border 4047 (4050) 1892 (1940) 2155 (2110) (164) (140) 17.6 (18) 7 (6) along the border (5320) (5180) (140) Juodupe Laukupe Tatula Levuo Daugyvene Kruoja Obele Kulpe Sidabra 45.6 (-) 33.8 (-) 11.8 (-) 185 (-) 119 (-) 66(-) Iecava Svete 118 (116) - (48) (68) 2274 (2320) 483 (370) 1791 (1950) Dienvidsuseja Misa Berze Auce Svitene 68.6 (80) - (41) - (39) (462) (293) (169) Islice 60.7 (70) - (30) - (40) (623) (412) (211) Vircava 72 (75) - (37) - (38) (423) (270) (153) Platone 67.4 (75) - (35) - (40) 490 (434) (243) (191) Tervete Viesite Sesava 52.9 (58) - (18) - (40) (243) 57.5 (28) (215) Note: *data from Latvian information sources are put in brackets, while data from Lithuanian information sources are without brackets missing data **In Latvian sources the Nemunelis/Memele river length along the border is assigned to the length of the Latvian part of this river Lielupe The Lielupe River starts at the confluence of Musa and Nemunelis rivers 13 km from Lithuanian- Latvian border in Latvia where it stretches for km (according to different sources) up to the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. The Lielupe basin is essentially a flat valley plain stretching out south from the gulf of Riga. The Kurland Highland in Zemaitja Upland define the watershed to the west and southwest and the Sventoji and Augszemes Highlands to the east and southeast. On the Northeastern side - the watershed towards

19 the Daugava basin - the two River basins separated by a difference in altitude of only a few meters. The main part of the landscape is very flat. Altitude differences are small, with the highest point reaching over 150 m situated in the Zamaitija highland and Sventoji Hills. The geomorphology of the Liepule River basin is rather complex. The main branch of the Musa River is formed in a fluvioglacial valley north to the cities of Siauliai and Panevezys. As its natural flow path to the north is blocked by the semi-circular Zemgale moraine dam that stretches over more than 60 km, the river flows east for two-thirds of its length before it turns north-westwards in the direction of the Latvan border. A large number of small rivers rise from the north side of the Ziemgale moraine dam, in a fan-shaped formation. Most of these rivers join the Lielupe River within a few kilometres from the Latvian town Jelgava. A particular phenomenon in the river basin is the karst area. Karst relief forms can be found in regions where Devonian gypsum sediments are widespread. Such areas are common around Lithuanian-Latvian border (city of Birzai in Lithuania, Saukalne and Bauska in Latvia). Specific characteristic of karst areas is the high sensitivity of the underground water for contamination. Thin cover of Quaternary formations is a characteristic feature of basin's geological structure. The cover becomes thicker southwestwards. In some places Devonian formations reach the surface what is particularly true in eastern and northern parts of the Lielupe basin and in river valleys. Devonian sediments consist mainly of dolomite and limestone in general may be treated as calcareous. During the last ice age and period of deglaciation, large part of the river basin was covered with water. The result of it was that sandy marine and limnological deposits overlay the morain loams from the ice in the major parts of the basin. After passing the city of Jelgava the river flows through sand deposits - an area with high infiltration capability and high risk of nitrogen leakage. The large area is also covered with peat. In the middle reaches of Lielupe river basin, limnological and moraine plains with drumlins and hilly relief dominate. The Lielupe River basin is the driest region in both Latvia and Lithuania. Precipitation in the catchment varies between 550 and 870 mm per year. The lowest figures are in the upper reaches of the basin. Approximately 205 mm of this amount culminates in River discharge and the rest evaporates. The most intensive precipitation occurs in mid-summer. Due to the low gradient of the river channels in the basin, the basin is made up by a lot of small tributaries. The average slope of the Lielupe River is %, the biggest % characterising it as a typical lowland River. The rivers in the basin are slow flowing with shallow river channels. At the confluence of rivers Musa and Memele, for example, speed of flow is roughly m/s. During the low water period the Lielupe River runoff is decelerated, the stream at times is even stagnant in the lowland. Runoff is also strongly influenced by tide, which is raised by the wind. Starting in the area between Mezotne and the city of Jelgava, water level of the Lielupe River is normally within a few meters above sea level. From here and down to the river mouth the gradient of the river is five to ten centimetres per kilometre, and occasions of high water level in the Gulf of Riga have a damming effect on the flow of the river. The riverbed is much lower than average Baltic Sea level over a length of 100 km upstream from the mouth. The depth of the riverbed there is from 8 to 12 m, with 15 to 20 m at places. Such a range of the depths and the low riverbed diminish nearly to nothing the straight stream gradient. Hence the direction of current frequently changes, from forward to backward. The high tide influence can be observed up to 92 km from the River Lielupe estuary. Salty seawaters may flood into the river up to km from the river mouth and reach Kalnciems region.

20 The average channel width of the Lielupe River is m in the lower reaches. Only Lielupe river is suitable for navigation in the entire river basin district. Nevertheless, the river becomes navigable 16 km downstream the confluence of Musa and Nemunelis/Memele rivers. The landuse (land cover) in the whole Lielupe basin can be characterized with 61.8 % of agricultural land (71.5 % in Lithuanian part), 33.6 % of forests and semi-natural areas (24 %), 2.3 % of urban areas (3.3 %), 1.5 % of wetlands and bogs (0.6 %) and 0.8 % of water (0.6 %). Musa Musa is one of the main tributaries of Lielupe river; its length to the junction with Nemunelis is 157 km and catchment area is 5463 km 2. Musa is considered to be purely Lithuanian river because its length in Lithuanian territory is 140 km (including 7 km on the border). Musa river s main tributaries are: Voverkis, Tautinys, Kulpe, Siladis, Pala, Kruoja, Pyvesa, Tatula, Daugyvene. The lakes comprise 0.5 % of the catchment area; in the Lithuanian part of Musa basin in total there are 38 lakes larger than 0.5 ha and the largest is Rekyva lake (total area is 11.7 km 2 and depth is 4.5 m). At the moment in the Musa river catchment area there are 23 reservoirs. Swamps and dams comprise 5 % of the Musa river basin area. Annual runoff hydro modules variation in the Musa basin is quite moderate from 4.6 to 5.9 l/s/km 2 and in the larger part of the basin it is from 5.6 to 5.9 l/s/km 2. Annual discharge is 24.4 m 3 /s and the runoff height is 154 mm. Musa River s runoff is mainly consisting from melting snow water (approximately 50 %). The lowest runoff of most of the Lithuanian rivers is more typical for summer autumn period. The underground waters of the catchment area are polluted by agricultural activities and household waste water. In the upper reaches of Musa river wastewaters are flowing from Siauliai, Radviliskis and Pakruojis and in the mid-river area - Kupiskis and Pasvalys. Nemunelis Nemunelis in Latvia is called Memele. It is a right tributary of Lielupe (length 199 km; basin area 4047 km 2 ). The upper reaches (80 km) of the catchment area belong to Lithuania, the mid-reaches of the river flow on the border and 40 km lie in the territory of Latvia. Approximately 74% of catchment area lies in Lithuania. The largest tributaries of Nemunelis river are: Apascia, Vyzuona, Vingerine, Nereta, Laukupe. There are 40 lakes in the catchment area, which are larger than 0.5 ha (lakes comprise 0.4 % of total catchment area) and their total area size is 8,4 km 2. Altogether in Nemunelis river basin area there are 7 reservoirs. Medium annual runoff hydro modules in different parts of Nemunelis River vary from 5.8 l/s/km 2 to 9.2 l/s/km 2. Annual discharge at the closest to the mouth hydrological station is m 3 /s. The runoff height is 232 mm. The average slope of the Nemunelis River bottom is 0.07 %, the highest equals to 0.12 %.