On 19 December 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers (CM) approved amendments to the regulations drafted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. These amendments provide for updating the list of water bodies* included in the CM regulations** that are at risk of failing to achieve good ecological status by 2027 if the load on these water bodies does not decrease or if additional pressure deteriorates their current status.
The territory of Latvia is divided into the Daugava, Gauja, Lielupe and Venta river basin districts. To promote sustainable water resource management balanced with economic development interests, river basin management plans are being developed. An integral part of these plans is a list of water bodies at risk, where there is a risk of failing to achieve the good surface water status defined in accordance with the Water Management Law. During the development of the river basin management plans for 2022–2027, the network of river and lake water bodies was refined and significantly expanded; the total number of water bodies has increased considerably. Following significant improvements in the methodologies for assessing the quality of river and lake water bodies, there have also been changes to the list of water bodies at risk. The risk of failing to achieve good quality in rivers and lakes mainly exists due to affected habitats (resulting from various hydromorphological changes) and pollution of waters with nutrients***, while for coastal and transitional water bodies, the most significant risks are transboundary impacts and pressures such as pollution transported by rivers and the load of pollution accumulated in the sea.
During the development of the management plans for the Daugava, Gauja, Lielupe and Venta river basin districts, water bodies at risk were identified as follows: in the Daugava river basin district, 131 rivers or their sections and 127 lakes; in the Gauja river basin district, 61 rivers or their sections and 21 lakes; in the Lielupe river basin district, 67 rivers or their sections and 10 lakes; and in the Venta river basin district, 89 rivers or their sections and 24 lakes, for which one or more measures need to be taken to reduce various loads. Some of these had already been identified as water bodies at risk in previous management plans, while others have been included in the list of risk objects for the first time.
The list of water bodies at risk has also been updated with information on the territorial division of water bodies in accordance with the administrative-territorial reform implemented on 1 July 2021, and information on water body names available in the Place Name Database maintained by the Latvian Geospatial Information Agency.
The approved management plans for 2022–2027 are available on the website of the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre: https://videscentrs.lvgmc.lv/lapas/udens-apsaimniekosana-un-pludu-parvaldiba#58821703.
* In Cabinet Regulation No. 418 of 31 May 2011, "Regulations regarding water bodies at risk"
** In this context, the term "water body" refers to a watercourse (river, stream, canal or a section thereof), a water reservoir (lake, pond, reservoir or a part thereof), as well as a section of transitional or coastal waters.
*** Plant nutrients (biogenic elements or biogens) are chemical elements or their compounds that serve as food for plants. The main nutrients include nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron.