All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodiesDo something for our planet, print this page only if needed. Even a small action can make an enormous difference when millions of people do it!
In Lithuania the most intensive use of surface water is in the energy sector. Groundwater is mainly used for economic and household needs. Over the last decade, a fall in the level of groundwater and an increase in evaporation have reduced surface run-off. The urban population of Lithuania is served by a centralised supply of groundwater for drinking, while a large part of the rural population still uses water from wells. These wells are mainly found in areas of intensive agriculture. For this reason, diffuse agricultural pollution affects not only the quality of surface waters but also the health of those extracting water from wells. Diffuse agricultural pollution is the main source of nitrate nitrogen pollution and accounts for up to 70 % of the total nitrate nitrogen pollution load in water bodies. Another source of surface water pollution is inadequately-treated or untreated waste water discharged into the environment from towns and villages which do not yet have modern waste water treatment plants. Estimates show that about 70 % of total point-source pollution load to water bodies is released via discharge from urban and rural waste water treatment plants.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/soer/2010/countries/lt/freshwater-why-care-lithuania or scan the QR code.
PDF generated on 29 Mar 2024, 09:35 AM
The country assessments are the sole responsibility of the EEA member and cooperating countries supported by the EEA through guidance, translation and editing.
Engineered by: EEA Web Team
Software updated on 26 September 2023 08:13 from version 23.8.18
Software version: EEA Plone KGS 23.9.14
Document Actions
Share with others