Assessment of trends in concentrations of chemical and physico-chemical indicators of the status of surface water bodies

This article presents the results of trend assessment of selected chemical and physicochemical indicators of surface water status. The assessment approach is based on a similar procedure for assessing significant upward trends of pollutants and trend reversals in groundwater bodies. The procedure is based on measured concentrations from 2010 to 2018 and estimates concentrations at the end of 2021, 2024, and 2027. For the trend assessment, data from Czech river basin state enterprises were used to assess the ecological status/potential and the chemical status of surface water bodies. However, only part of the profiles with measured concentrations met the time series requirements. The assessment of trends towards the end of 2024 and 2027 shows that some indicators (polyaromatic hydrocarbons, adsorbable organically bound halogens – AOX, and nitrate nitrogen) are projected to improve compared to the status as of 2018. On the other hand, a slight deterioration is predicted for biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved nickel, and ammonia nitrogen.

Juvenile fish assemblages – appropriate tool for monitoring of the ecological status

Aquatic organisms have a very good ability to reflect the conditions of the environment they live in and, therefore, they are often used to assess the ecological status of that particular environment. of juvenile fish assemblages (0+) represent an appropriate tool for monitoring the ecological status of watercourses as they show a very rapid response to changes in environmental conditions. The goal of this study was to assess assemblages of juvenile fish (0+) at 22 sites across the Czech Republic between 2019 and 2021.

Interview with Mgr. Petr Hladík, Minister of the Environment

The Minister of the Environment wants to give people the opportunity to live in harmony with nature, and by that he does not mean just planting trees on city streets. Why does Petr Hladík call the Ministry of the Environment the Ministry of the Future? The use of rainwater, solar panels, and deposit PET bottles no longer have to represent an excessively progressive approach, but a standard for returning to our planet at least the minimum of what we take from it. Grey water subsidies? Why should we want it and what will we actually benefit from it? The new Minister of the Environment, Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL), answers these questions for VTEI journal.