Slovakia

Slovakia’s Landscape, climate and water flow

While a major part of the Slovak territory is located in the Carpathian Mountains, lowlands form almost one quarter of the country. The Vienna Basin extends into Slovakia from the west, the Pannonian Plain from the southwest and the Great Danubian Basin from the southeast. These lowlands form part of the ecological region known as the “Hungarian lowlands”. The climate of Slovakia is influenced by its location in a temperate zone. There are several types of climate regions within the country – from cold and mountainous (along the upper Váh River) to warm and dry regions with moderate winters and more sunlight in the south.

Streams rising in Slovakia have relatively unstable discharges. High discharges occur periodically in spring months from March to April, with low discharges in summer and autumn. Slovakia’s borders overlap several hydrologic areas, giving rise to problems of assessing water flow in and out of the country. Several rivers with high water-bearing capacity have an eccentric influence on the country. In particular this affects the Danube River flowing from Austria and the Tisza River flowing from Ukraine and the Morava River flowing from the Czech Republic. The average discharge of Slovak Rivers is 3,328 m³.s-. Out of this amount only 398 m³.s-1 (12 %) rose in the country.

Natural highlights include:

While a major part of the Slovak territory is located in the Carpathian Mountains, lowlands form almost one quarter of the country. The Vienna Basin extends into Slovakia from the west, the Pannonian Plain from the southwest and the Great Danubian Basin from the southeast. These lowlands form part of the ecological region known as the “Hungarian lowlands”. The climate of Slovakia is influenced by its location in a temperate zone. There are several types of climate regions within the country – from cold and mountainous (along the upper Váh River) to warm and dry regions with moderate winters and more sunlight in the south.

Streams rising in Slovakia have relatively unstable discharges. High discharges occur periodically in spring months from March to April, with low discharges in summer and autumn. Slovakia’s borders overlap several hydrologic areas, giving rise to problems of assessing water flow in and out of the country. Several rivers with high water-bearing capacity have an eccentric influence on the country. In particular this affects the Danube River flowing from Austria and the Tisza River flowing from Ukraine and the Morava River flowing from the Czech Republic. The average discharge of Slovak Rivers is 3,328 m³.s-. Out of this amount only 398 m³.s-1 (12 %) rose in the country.

Natural highlights include:

• The Danube Floodplains – from Bratislava to Klizská;
• the Morava Floodplains – a well-developed complex of diverse wetlands;
• the Latorica Floodplain area – housing many threatened and rare aquatic and swamp species; and
• a 6 km stretch of the Tisza River – shared with Hungary and Ukraine and containing rare examples of natural and near-natural wetland types.

The Danube Floodplains – from Bratislava to Klizská; the Morava Floodplains – a well-developed complex of diverse wetlands; the Latorica Floodplain area – housing many threatened and rare aquatic and swamp species; and a 6 km stretch of the Tisza River – shared with Hungary and Ukraine and containing rare examples of natural and near-natural wetland types.

Manmade Impacts

Some 2,825 settlements are situated in the Slovak share of the Danube River Basin District with over 5 million inhabitants. In urban areas, most of the larger rivers are modified for flood protection. On larger rivers with catchments above 1,000km², the most radical regulations are seen on the Uh and Latorica Rivers and on the Morava, which is 100% regulated. The hydropower potential of several rivers is used for energy production, including the Danube, Váh, Hornád and the Ondava. Half of the land in the Danube River Basin District of the Slovak Republic is used for agriculture.

Pollution

Since 1995, the volume of wastewater discharged into surface waters has been declining. In 2018, the decrease in the production of wastewater was 49% compared to 1995. Major part of pollution is caused by discharges of municipal waste waters. As of  2018, 67,72 % of inhabitants were connected to the pubic sewage systems.

Out of 1436 surface water bodies identified in the Slovak part of the Danube River Basin District, 44 achieved “high ecological status”, 750 achieved “good ecological status”, 507 achieved “moderate ecological status”, 125 achieved “poor ecological status” and 10 achieved “bad ecological status”.  356 surface water bodies in the Danube River Basin District are at risk of failing to achieve good ecological status/potential by 2021.

Moreover, out of 71 groundwater bodies (quaternary and pre-quaternary) identified in the Slovak part of the Danube River Basin District, 7 are at risk of failing to achieve good chemical status by 2021.  60 groundwater bodies achieved “good chemical status” and 11 achieved “bad chemical status”.   Three groundwater bodies are at risk of failing to achieve good quantitative status. All 23 water bodies identified as lakes are heavily modified water bodies.  

Photo credits: header banner: SVP, štátny podnik; featured photo: VÚVH (Water Research Institute)

For detailed information on the above, download the fact sheet below.