Assessment and protection of water resources in the Czech Republic

0520251 - ÚBO 2021 RIV CH eng M - Monography Chapter
Rulík, M. - Opatřilová, L. - Jurajda, Pavel - Špaček, J. - Grulich, V.
Rivers in the Czech Republic.
Assessment and protection of water resources in the Czech Republic. Cham: Springer, 2020 - (Zelenakova, M.; Fialová, J.; Negm, A.), s. 39-69. Springer Water. ISBN 978-3-030-18362-2
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : Hydrography * Pollution * Water stress * Catchment plans
OECD category: Fishery
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-18363-9_3

Being an inland country in Central Europe with rugged relief and located on the main European divide of three seas, the Czech Republic has no other source of water than precipitation. Four major rivers and their numerous tributaries drain the Czech Republic and flow into the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. From a hydromorphologic point of view, two general regions exist within Czech Republic: (i) watercourses of the Bohemian Massif—characterized by minimal transport of bed loads and relatively stable channels, and (ii) watercourses of the Western Carpathians—characterized by significant transport of bed loads even during normal discharge and having dynamic channel development. Although there has been a significant improvement in water quality since 1990, substantial amounts of nitrate are transported downstream without uptake. Of the 76,000 km of natural watercourses, 28.4% are altered. One-third of the length of river channels important for water management has been altered, whereas nearly 40% of small streams in agricultural landscapes have been altered. Eutrophication, morphological alterations of the channels, and interruptions of sediment transport and fish migration are some of the main challenges for the management of our rivers.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0304951