EUROLAKES: Integrated water resource management for important deep European lakes and their catchment areas

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 99.0190

Key words (English)

Water resource management; sustainable development; hydrodynamics of Lake Geneva; Economic Aspects; Environmental Protection; Information Processing; Information Systems

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: EVK1-1999-00004

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.4a.1 Sustainable management and quality of water

Short description (English)

See abstract

Further information (English)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
EPF Lausanne
Laboratoire de recherches hydrauliques

Partners and International Organizations (English)

Coordinator: Hydromod, Wedel (D)

Abstract (English)

EUROLAKES aims at the improvement of planning strategies and EU regulations - in particular the EU Water Framework Directive - concerning sustainable water management of deep European lakes and their catchment areas. This includes long-term management, short-term pollution control and integrated monitoring approaches for these important natural drinking water reservoirs. Ecosystem quality targets for the integrated management and protection of those ecosystems will be established as well.

Scientific objectives and approach:

Main subject of the project investigations will be the following topics:
- Improving strategies concerning long-term management, short-term pollution control, and integrated monitoring regarding deep European lakes and their catchment areas.
- Describing the seasonal and intra-annual dynamics and quantifying of key processes and parameters in deep European lakes for preceding pathways and energy fluxes.
- Establishing ecological criteria to substantiate water and ecosystem quality targets.
- Generalising a combined water quality lake/catchment management model to assess the impact of changing uses water intakes, land use, and tourism.
- Proposing recommendations to European legislation and especially the EU Water Framework Directive by considering the specific problems and circumstances of integrated water management of deep lakes in connection with their respective catchment areas.

Problems to be solved:

EUROLAKES will be looking at topics of deep European lakes and their catchment areas in combination. This is in good agreement with recommendations of the EC Task Force 'Environment - Water' with some of its priority action lines 2 (water resource management at the local-regional level), 9 (international co-operation), 10 (promotion of water research).Amongst others the following problems will be studied:
- What ecological improvements for lakes and their corresponding catchment areas can be achieved by sewage plant extension works considering the pre-loads of the catchment area and, in particular, the pre-loads of smaller flowing waters in rural catchment areas (ecological catchment area model as a base for river basin management plans)?
- How can we control the efficiency of water quality improving actions considering the management structure of the catchment area (economic catchment model)?
- How can we ensure the protection and provision of high quality of water in sufficient quantity at affordable cost by means of e.g. optimisation possibilities for water intake operations depending on short-term variations in water quality and suspended matter concentrations. Another key point will be the support of implementation of various EU policies (esp. the Water Framework Directive) related to the sustainable and integrated management of water resources and standardisation by a combined effort involving stakeholders and end-users of results including intra-national water protection bodies for European lakes, external experts and water management authorities.

Expected Impacts:

EUROLAKES wants to establish a common framework serving the conflicting parties from the rural economy and the water economy in the framework of the realisation of environmental protection actions (herein: protection of important drinking water reservoirs). The development of a common, unbiased, and accurate information base will lead to an efficient dialogue between the involved partners from the public, the administration and the economy. EUROLAKES will investigate key problems in managing the valuable resource of surface water which is existential not only for mankind but for the whole living environment. In this respect project results are essentially focussed on guidelines and tools to be used to ensure sustainable development concerning our precious water resources. Furthermore EUROLAKES is concerned with key questions regarding methods and strategies, which are very important to address the ever-increasing pressures on drinking water resources in the world. Therefore results of the project (and thereby experiences drawn by the partners) will enhance the competitiveness of the commercial partners involved on a European and global scale. This in turn will improve employment opportunities of specialists in Europe which otherwise would be lost to overseas competitors.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 99.0190