September 18 is World Water Monitoring Day
World Water
Monitoring Day was established in 2003 by the America’s Clean Water Foundation
(ACWF) and has been observed annually ever since. The purpose of this day is to
raise public awareness and encourage involvement in the protection of global
water resources.
The
National Environment Agency of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and
Agriculture of Georgia has taken significant steps to improve water quality
monitoring — the monitoring network is expanding, and the number of measured
parameters is increasing.
Currently,
the Agency conducts surface water monitoring at 238 locations throughout the
year, while groundwater (fresh drinking water) monitoring is carried out at 72
water points.
As
for the expansion of the hydrological observation network, monitoring has been
conducted at approximately 60 locations over the past 10 years.
The
National Environment Agency also continuously monitors the quality of Black Sea
water at 12 locations. Studies determine the physical and chemical parameters
of seawater. It is noteworthy that, based on laboratory studies conducted by
the Agency so far, the quality of Black Sea water along the entire coastline of
Georgia is within the norm.
Water quality studies are carried out in the National Environment Agency’s laboratory for the analysis of atmospheric air, water, and soil, which is equipped with high-tech analytical instruments and fully complies with modern requirements. The laboratory is accredited in accordance with the international ISO 17025 standard.
