According to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), the Member States which have a trans-boundary groundwater bodies should carry out joint activities to monitor, share data and assess the chemical and quantitative status of cross-border groundwater bodies.

During B-solution project “Lithuanian Geological Survey (LGS) and Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC) institutional cooperation on cross-border groundwater management” an intensive cooperation was carried out to tackle identified obstacles which do not allow to implement directive’s requirements.

The most important results are harmonization of cross-border groundwater bodies which further will be used to report to European Commission (Fig.1).

Figure 1. Cross-border groundwater bodies.

During the characterization process (Fig.2) of these cross-border groundwater bodies and their status assessment both partners identified the potential risks and pressures and developed recommendations for better management principles of common groundwater resources.

Figure 2.Characterization of the cross-border groundwater bodies.

The long-term outcome of the project is an improved cooperation between main actors in groundwater management field in Lithuania and Latvia – LGS and LEGMC. This in turn will serve as a platform for future collaboration projects.

The project “Lithuanian Geological Survey and Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre institutional cooperation on cross-border groundwater management” is financed by the European Union.