Analysis of the water state monitoring regulatory support in Ukraine

Abstract

The problem of water quality status in Ukraine remains relevant. Water resources act as a source of industrial and household water supply, therefore they play a decisive role in the development of the entire national economy and in the life of the population. During the implementation of the water management policy in our country for many decades, water has never been considered as the basis for the life support of natural ecosystems and humans, the economic state of water systems and their impact on biodiversity have not been taken into account or predicted. Traditionally, water was considered and used only as an economic resource for industrial and agricultural production, electricity generation, as well as for wastewater discharge, which ultimately led to the exhaustion of the natural and ecological potential of water resources. Among the main problems associated with water resources, which in turn are due to the peculiarities of the formation of water resources in the regions of Ukraine, is the imbalance of the placement schemes of the most water-intensive enterprises and the inheritance of imperfect water policy. State water monitoring is carried out for the protection and reproduction of water resources. Currently in Ukraine, the main requirements for the organization of state water monitoring are determined by the "Procedure for state water monitoring implementation", approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution dated September 19, 2018 No. 758, which entered into force on January 1, 2019. It defines the purpose, main tasks of monitoring, its organization, etc., which do not contradict the main positions of similar European documents. Actually, the most significant difference between the modern environmental legislation of Ukraine from the European one is that it is predominantly declarative is almost not implemented, instead the sources of EU law determine the quantitative and qualitative indicators that must be achieved by each country over a certain period of time. The course taken by our state towards European integration in this area also requires compliance with the level of requirements of domestic regulatory documents with the level of requirements adopted in the EU documents. In this article, the state of normative and methodological support for monitoring the state of the waters of our country is investigated and recommendations are developed for improving the current regulatory documentation to bring it into line with the level of international and European standards.