GREY WATER FOOTPRINT OF POINT SOURCES OF POLLUTION: THE CZECH REPUBLIC STUDY

Abstract

Grey Water Footprint is an indicator of anthropogenic pollution load into the inland water. The indicator is used for quantification of water needed for pollutant dilution to such an extent that the quality of the ambient water remains above agreed water quality standards of pollution discharged from point sources in the Czech Republic. Grey Water Footprint was calculated for 6 382 point pollution sources, recorded in the national register of wastewater discharges, from period 2009–2018. The domestic, industry and agriculture sectors were analyzed separately in the assessment. The total Grey Water Footprint of point sources of pollution varied between 1.90 × 10¹⁰ and 2.46 × 10¹⁰ m³/year. The Grey Water Footprint of domestic pollution represented about ¾ of the total Grey Water Footprint. The Grey Water Footprint of industrial pollution represented about ¼ of the total Grey Water Footprint. The Grey Water Footprint of agricultural point sources of pollution can be neglected on the national level in the Czech Republic. In most cases, the Grey Water Footprint is determined by ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N).