INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) is an EU initiative aimed at building infrastructure for the storage of spatial information. It has been set up by Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and transposed into Slovak legislation through Act No 3/2010 Coll. establishing a national infrastructure for spatial information, as amended.
INSPIRE has the following priorities:
- efficient collection and management of spatial information (according to the ‘one and enough’ principle);
- ensuring the interoperability and harmonisation of the spatial information collected;
- organisation and administration of the INSPIRE infrastructure as an open system.
Our Institute acts as an obliged person publishing metadata, ensuring the management and storage of spatial data, providing access to such data (view and download services) via the National Spatial Data Registry.
As an institution entrusted by the Ministry of the Environment, we collect and manage data on public water supply and sewerage systems (via ZberVaK) in accordance with Decree No 605/2005 Coll. of the Ministry of the Environment, which lays out details about the provision of data on the structures and facilities of public water supply and sewerage systems, from property records and operational records. Data is also entered into the ZberVaK database in accordance with the obligations arising from Act No 442/2002 Coll. on public water supply and sewerage systems.
The obligation to keep records of data on sewage sludge production and management in all municipal sewage treatment plants is laid down in Act No 188/2003 Coll. on the application of sewage sludge and bottom sediments to soils, amending Act No 223/2001 Coll. on waste, as amended. By providing such data, the operators of municipal sewage treatment plants only meet their obligation as laid down in Section 8(1)(c) of Act No 188/2003 Coll., as amended. However, it is still necessary to provide data on public sewerage systems according to Decree No 605/2005 Coll. laying down details on the provision of data on the structures and facilities of public water supply and sewerage systems, from property records and operational records.
The ‘Integrated Monitoring’ (iMON) database is used to collect field data, photos and the results of analyses from integrated monitoring for planning field trips and recording the status of monitoring points that constitute the Institute’s targeted monitoring network. It contains data on more than 1,300 monitoring points in Slovakia’s current and former vulnerable areas, which are used to monitor the concentration of nitrogenous substances, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other hazardous substances in groundwater bodies in accordance with the Water Monitoring Programme. The iMON database also contains data from the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute’s monitoring network, where the concentration of nitrogenous substances in water is monitored for the purposes specified in the Nitrates Directive. The database also includes datasets with an export module for the evaluation of water quality and water bodies’ status.
The ‘Integrated Pollution Source Monitoring’ (IPSM) database is a tool for evaluating the point sources of water pollution. It was set up on the basis of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) for collecting, recording and archiving data obtained from groundwater monitoring in industrial sites, landfills and polluted areas – sites that can be classified as pollution sources. The purpose of this database is to document potential sources of pollution and to distinguish them from actual pollution sources, on the basis of the results of mandatory groundwater monitoring performed by natural and legal persons (i.e. the owners of industrial plants, landfills, mud ponds, etc.) under a decision or permit for the management of hazardous substances. Information from groundwater monitoring about the concentration of pollutants in potential sources of pollution enable us to assess the actual impact of industrial activities on groundwater quality.
The IPSM database is mainly compiled by the owners and operators of potential sources of pollution, who electronically enter requested data into the database via its web interface.
The owner of a public water supply system is obliged to ensure raw-water quality monitoring, sample taking at water abstraction points, and sample analysis in accordance with Section 12(4) of Act No 442/2002 Coll. on public water supply and sewerage systems.
Under Act No 375/2021 Coll. of 28 September 2021, amending Act No 442/2002 Coll., the owner shall deliver the values of raw-water parameters to the legal entity entrusted by the Ministry (i.e. to the Water Research Institute), which is obliged to analyse those parameters and to publish results on its website within 30 days.
Under Article 2(4) of Decree No 605/2005 Coll. issued by the Ministry of the Environment, the owner of a public water supply system shall provide data (listed in Annex 3, Part II) on the quality of water taken from the water supply system on a quarter-on-quarter basis, by the 15th day of each quarter. Data providers shall bear responsibility for the accuracy of data provided.
It should be noted that the data in question indicates the quality of raw water, which is subsequently disinfected and subjected to an appropriate treatment procedure, or only disinfected, in order to meet the quality requirements for drinking water set out in Decree No 247/2017 Coll. of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.
Please note that the terms ‘raw water’ and ‘drinking water’, as defined in the aforementioned laws and decrees, are not to be confused.