Sustainable development of the Hungarian-Serbian transboundary aquifer | Održivo korišćenje mađarsko-srpskih međugraničnih vodnih tela

Transboundary groundwater management is today a very actual issue. Many multi or bilateral projects of this type had been worldwide initiated and drafted, but just a very few were successfully implemented. One of the good examples is the Sustainable development of Hungarian – Serbian transboundary aquifer (SUDEHSTRA). Groundwater resources within thick Tertiary aquifer layers deposited between the Danube and Tisa Rivers are vital for the economy and the society of the two countries, considering that all of almost one million of inhabitants use them for drinking purpose. The results of the conducted hydrogeological survey, measurements and modelling show insignificant depletion of the groundwater table, without expansion tendency for the forecasted period of the next 20 years and for the simulated extraction rates, which should remain the same or it might increase slightly (in Hungary). The main pressure on groundwater extraction is shared between different water-bearing layers. While in Serbia the main tapping is from the upper section up to 200 m depth, for the water supply of the main Hungarian consumers and for geothermal energy the deeper aquifer layers are utilized. The studied aquifer system is located between the Danube and Tisa Rivers and extends to the vicinity of Kiskunfelegyhaza on the Hungarian side (North) and to Vrbas in Serbia (South). The main groundwater consumers are cities and industries of Szeged, Kiskunhalas, Baja, Tompa, Hodmezovasarhely (Csongrad and Bacs-Kiskun Counties in Hungary) and Subotica, Sombor, Backa Topola, Vrbas, Kula (in total 16 municipalities in Serbia). There are living over 800,000 inhabitants, about 60% of them are in the Serbian side of the border. The project Sustainable development of Hungarian – Serbian transboundary aquifer (SUDEHSTRA) started in June 2007 and was completed in August 2008. It was one of the Cross-border cooperation programmes funded by the European Union the objectives and tasks of which were fully in line with the EU Water Frame Directive (EC2000/60) and EU Groundwater Daughter Directive targets. Experts from leading national institutions of the two countries have jointly worked on this important mirror project aiming to improve the knowledge about the common groundwater resources. Despite the very short period of work, the foundation has been successfully created for future mutual cooperation and sustainable water management.