case study: Pinios

1. Name Partner

2. General case study characteristics

2a. Geographical characteristics

The total surface area of Pinios River Basin is 9.500 km²(the drainage basin of the Former Lake Karla is not included - about 1.050 km²) and the main tributaries are the rivers Titarisios, Enipeas, Kalentzis and Litheos. The main part of the basin includes a mountainous terrain with altitudes more than 2000 m, agricultural plains, urban areas and a delta (72 km²). The major cities are Larissa and Volos.

2b. Land use characteristics

The number of inhabitants in the river basin amounts to 700.000. The main economic activities are agriculture, industry, cattle breeding, fisheries and forestry. Irrigation water amounts to 96% and drinking water to 3% of the total water consumption in the river basin. The total water availability is about 3,140 hm3 and consists of 2,550 hm³ surface water and 590 hm³ groundwater.

3. Pressure and impact analysis

3a. Main pressure(s) and/or pollutant(s)

Thessaly plain is heavily exploited for agriculture. Pollution loading from non-point sources is significant and can be attributed to the agricultural and breeding activities. The areas destined for cultivation are spread all over the plain areas and the land-application of all nitrogen-containing fertilizers feeds the watercourses causing significant pollution trends. Pollution trends in the watercourses are caused also by point sources (municipal waste water, industry). Although loading from urban waste water is a major source of pollution in the catchment, the total outlets have been reduced due to the urban waste water treatment plants, constructed in the major cities of Thessaly during the last decade.

3b. Impact(s)

The water quality of the Pinios River is generally good, but nitrite concentrations exceed their limit values for drinking water and pesticides show elevated levels at a number of sampling points. As a consequence, the Thessaly plain is designated as a vulnerable zone (according to the criteria of 91/676/EC Directive). In order to achieve the good water status objectives of the WFD, these elevated levels have to be reduced.

4. Definition goods and services provided by aquatic ecosystem

Most important goods and services provided by the aquatic ecosystem include drinking water, recreation, irrigation water and water used for other industrial processes such as food processing.

5. Beneficiaries / stakeholders involved

Households (drinking water, recreation) and agriculture (irrigation).

6. Definition environmental and resource costs and benefits

Environmental costs are the costs of not reaching good ecological status by 2015 throughout the entire Pinios basin.

7. Main objective monetary valuation environmental and resource costs and benefits

Estimation of environmental and resource benefits of reaching good ecological status for inclusion in a DSS to assist local authorities in designing water tariffs and investments according to WFD article 9 and Annex III.

8. Economic valuation method

Stated preference and restoration cost approaches will be applied in order to assess the use and non-use values associated with reaching good ecological status.

9. Key methodological issues

Linking economic values to pressure and/or biological impact indicators
Aggregation/upscaling economic values from individual water body to basin level
Benefits transfer across sub-basins, taking into account spatial (upstream-downstream) interrelationships and possible substitution effects (e.g. recreation)
Integration of water values in an appropriate DSS

10. Available data, information sources and stakeholder involvement

Hydrological and water quality data from the official monitoring network of the Ministry of the Environment.
Published water valuation studies in Greece.
Municipality of Larissa, National Union of Water Utilities, Members of the Water Committee of the Ministry of the Environment.

Case Study Status Report Pinios River Basin, April 2007 [pdf, 946 KB]