and Sense of Nonpoint Source Water Pollution in

$ and Sense of Non-point Source Water Pollution in Eastern Europe and USAID/ Moldova Case Study Mohammad A. Latif, P. E. Bureau Environmental Officer USAID Europe and Eurasia Bureau Chisinau, Moldova, October 2006 a

Danube River Catchment & Hot Spots 2 Project Overview

Water Quality Monitoring Stations along the Romania / Hungary border 3 Activities & Results: Hungary

Point & Non-point Source water pollution challenges in Romania • Industrial Sites – Petroleum, phenols, suspended solids, zinc, chromium, heavy metals, copper, cyanide, hexavalent chromium • Incompletely Treated Wastewater From Oradea Municipal Plant Discharged to Rapid Cris • Institutional Issues, Inadequate Infrastructure • Agriculture and mining Activities & Results: Romania 4

USAID/CNFA-Moldova Agribusiness Development Project 2001 -2004 Environmental Programs Water Quality Monitoring 5

Site Specific Mitigation and Monitoring, and Point Source Water quality monitoring Environmental Review Documents (ERD) were prepared for each Farm Store and Farm Service Center By USAID Implementers. Each ERD contained: A. ER Checklist (of Environmental Consequences) B. Impacts (Explanation of) C. Recommended Environmental Threshold Determination D. Mitigation Measures E. Monitoring Procedures F. Approvals Over 100 site specific M&M documents were prepared during the CNFA and project and maintained in a central database 6

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List of CNFA Water Quality Monitoring Stations 1) 2) 3) 4) Sireuti station, Prut River near Sireuti village Cahul station, The lower part of the Prut stream near Cahul town Mereseuca station, Dniester River near Mereseuca village Rascaieti station, Lower part of Dniester River near Rascaieti village 5) Balti station, Raut River near Balti town 6) Orhei station, Raut River near Orhei town 7) Straseni station, Bic River near Straseni town 8) Bulboaca station, Bic River near its confluence with the Dniester River, near Bulboaca village 9) Causeni station, Lower part of Botna River near Causeni town 10)Cimislia station, Cogilnic River near Cimislia town 8

List of CNFA Water Quality Monitoring Stations 11) Aluat station, Downstream of Yalpug River near Aluat village 12) Cahul (Vulcanesti), The Cahul River South of Vulcanesti town, New added stations 13) Egorovca borehole, Soroca town 14) Mitoc borehole, Mitoc village 15) Costesti water body, Costesti village 16) Ghidighici water body, Vatra village 17) Dubasari water body, Dubasari town 18) Taraclia water body, Taraclia town 19) Cuciurgan water body, Dnestrovsc town 20) Comrat water body, Comrat town 9

Non-point Source Water Pollution sampling and testing • Samples were taken in the fall and in the spring • Samples were taken under normal weather conditions (after a nonrain period of at least 2 -3 days) • Samples were tested for 27 ingredients at the Monitoring Center on Environmental Quality (MCEQ) of the State Hydrometeorological Service in Moldova. 10

11 S 12 M 13 E 10 R 14 M 1 5 C 9 O 1 6 G 8 S 4 G 2 1 C 2 V 0 18 C T 3 I 1 7 D 7 B 6 U 5 R E 19 C 11

Water quality in the Prut River INSERT GRAPHIC TO ADD PHOTO 12

Water quality in the Upper Dniester 13

Major pollutant values in the Bic River a) before it enters industrial and municipal areas and b) near its confluence with the Dniester 14

Water quality in the Lower Dniester 15

Concentrations of major pollutants of the Cogilnic River 16

Persistent Organic Pollutants 17

Observations and Conclusions • There seems to be no growing tendency in water pollution levels; in majority of stations, concentrations of most ingredients is decreasing compared when compared with soviet times. • Increased ammonia concentrations, while exceeds Moldova MAC in some cases are still lower than European MAC standard. • In cases of increased concentrations of Zn where registered, it could be explained by the presence of widely spread Vendian Age rocks rich in zinc. • There is still a cumulative, prolonged effect of soviet time agricultural practices characterized by over usage of copper containing pesticides and ammonia containing fertilizers. 18 Summary and Results

References 1) Mohammad A. Latif: USAID'S Transboundary Pollution Reduction Program in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania for Global Environmental Facility (GEF), Danube River Project; First International Conference on Management of Transboundary Waters in Europe, Mrzezyno, Poland, September 1997. 2) Mohammad A. Latif : Environmental Impacts, USAID'S Global Environmental Facility (GEF)/ Danube River Pollution Reduction Program in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania; XIXth Conference of the Danube Countries on Hydrological Forecasting and Hydrological Bases of Water Management, Osijek, Croatia, June 1998. 3) Mohammad A. Latif: USAID Water Projects in Europe and Eurasia Region. Case Studies in Environmental and Water Management Technology Applications in Romania and Poland; Second Annual Environmental Conference on water and Mining in Romania, Bucharest, Romania, September 2005. 4) Constantin Mihailescu (Moldova Minister of Environment), Aureliu Overcenco (CNFA) and Mohammad A. Latif: USAID/CNFA-Moldova-20012004 Environmental Programs, Water Quality Monitoring, December 2005 5) USAID/Bureau Environmental Officer’s office Compliance Records at USAID/Washington, DC 19

Ensure that the environmental consequences of USAID financed activities are identified and considered by USAID and the host country prior to a final decision to proceed and ensure to adapt appropriate environmental safeguards. If you want to save money ($), it makes sense to do timely water quality monitoring to attract investment for economic growth and infrastructure upgrade Thank You 20