National and regional story (Czech Republic) - What are the state (S) and impacts (I) in accordance with the country’s own priority issues within the freshwater area?

Development in the quality of watercourses
A comparison of maps from 1991–1992 and 2007–2008 under the national classification scheme indicates that there has been a positive shift in the water quality of watercourses from Categories IV and V to Categories I-III. Despite this rapid improvement, there are still some watercourse sections in Category V (see Fig. (for years 1991-92) and Fig. (for the last monitored years)).

Average nutrient concentrations in freshwater have decreased slightly since 1990. The last 10 years have seen a stagnation in concentrations of nitrates and a moderate decrease in phosphorus (see Fig. (for nitrate concentrations) and Fig. (for phosphorus concentrations)). Biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand concentrations have fallen sharply and are not a problem at present. More information: http://issar.cenia.cz/issar/page.php?id=1775.

Nitrates in drinking water
The public water supply is of a good quality and has had no adverse effects on health. There have only been slight problems with nitrates in drinking water in shallow water wells, usually as a result of agricultural activity. In 2002, huge floods affected the quality of groundwater, however, nitrogenous content has been decreasing since 2003.

Bathing water quality
Despite a general reduction in the amount of nutrients in tributaries, it is still difficult to estimate long-term progress in the quality of stagnant water. Almost every year, there are some problems with the quality of bathing water, however it is continuously monitored by the Ministry of Health in accordance with the Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/ES. There have been no reports of epidemics or adverse effects on health in recent years. More information: http://geoportal.cenia.cz (CZ version).