Oulujoki -Pilot River Basin

Testing the implementation guidance of Water framework directive in the diverse Oulujoki River Basin

The implementation of a Common Strategy for of Water framework directive started with the development of Guidance Documents. In order to ensure that applications and practices across the wide range of conditions found in the Member States, these docu-ments must be validated. The guidance documents are tested in 18 countries all around Europe. The catchment of Oulujoki is one of 15 Pilot River Basins.

©National land survey of Finland, no 7/MYY/03 ©Finnish Environment Institute

The Oulujoki drainage basin is diverse having both heavy modified water bodies (many river courses and lakes at the main channel), and natural waters (the watercourses of Sotkamo). The costal area of Oulujoki represents unique brackish water.

There are plenty of pressures caused by point and non-point loading as well as hydrological and morphological changes, because of flow regulation and drainage.

The diversity of the drainage of Oulujoki provides good possibility to apply the gathered results to other catchment areas in Finland and also in other Nordic countries

Basic data of Oulujoki River basin

The testing work includes identification of surface water bodies and identification of natural types of them. The definition of reference (=natural) conditions of a water body and handling physical changes such as dredging riverbed for timber floating are challengeable, because the human activities are extensive and the using of biological data is new. However, the information of nutrient loads has been gathered for long time and it is based on a newer database, which is bound to geographic information systems.

	The sand shore of the regulated Lake Ontojärvi is sliding down because of elevating water surface made in the 50s. Photo: Seppo Hellsten

The testing of guidance documents of heavy modified water bodies and the recognition of slight modifications in water bodies require accurate research of historical data. 

The guidance document for assessment and classification of groundwater is tested to chart the quality and the extent of groundwater. There has been chosen some groundwater areas as an example for the testing work and for developing a database system.

During the whole testing period, the tools and methods are developed considering the national circumstances. Therefore, a great amount of national research and development projects has been linked to the pilot project. Additionally, the interface with other European projects has been maintained.

It is important to activate the users of waters to cooperate. The testing of the guidance documents in Oulujoki Pilot River Basin is a large and challengeable project. 

The time range of the implementation work in river basin district is so short, that it has to be started at the same time as the testing. That means that the result of the pilot river basin will be directly applied.

Organization

The project coordinator is Dr. Seppo Hellsten from Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), department of Oulu. 

The organization consist of following parts:

Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)
Address: Mechelininkatu 34 a, PO.Box 140, 00251 Helsinki, Finland
Telephone: +358 (0)9 403 000
Fax: +358 (0)9 4030 0190

In Oulu: Linnanmaa F2, Biologintie, 90570 Oulu, Finland
Address: PO.Box 413, 90101 University of Oulu, Finland
Telephone: +358 (0)9 403 000
Fax: +358 (0)8 547 2786

North Ostrobothnia Regional Environment Centre
Address: Veteraanikatu 1, PO.Box 124, 90101 Oulu, Finland
Telephone: +358 (0)20490 111, Fax: +358 (0)20490 6305

Kainuu Regional Environment Centre
Address: Kalliokatu 4 , PO.Box 115, 87101 Kajaani, Finland
Telephone: +358 (0)20 490 112, Fax: +358 (0)20490 6577