The health of people and ecosystems depends directly on the purity of groundwater. Drinking water with a high nitrate content poses a health risk, and in ecosystems, pollution disrupts the natural balance and damages biodiversity.

Groundwater nitrate pollution has increased in Estonia. Very high nitrate concentrations have been detected in new drinking water wells built by local residents, and national groundwater monitoring in Nitrate Vulnerable Zone also indicates an increase in pollution.

At the same time, the Ministry of Climate's official assessment of groundwater status may present more favourable picture than the reality. This is because the monitoring network is inadequate, not all available data are used, and samples are mostly taken at times when pollution levels are lower and from locations that do not reflect agricultural pollution. Therefore, there is no certainty about the true condition of Estonia's groundwater.  Estonia will not be able to fulfil its commitment to the European Commission to achieve good status for all groundwater bodies by 2027. In the worst-case scenario, this could result in infringement proceedings and financial penalties.

Main observations

The Ministry of Climate has not ensured that water protection regulations and monitoring prevent groundwater pollution. The measures set out in the water management plan and the provisions of the Water Act are insufficient to protect groundwater. Current regulations on the fertilisation of fields allow nutrients to leach into groundwater and surface water. One reason is that the permitted amount of fertiliser is based on the planned crop yield. If the actual yield is lower, part of the fertiliser may remain unused by the plants and subsequently leach into the environment. There is no verification of whether the planned yield is realistic, nor are there measures to address situations where the actual yield falls short of expectations. It is permitted to spread manure at the time of year when leaching is at its highest – in autumn and on fields without vegetation cover. No limits have been established for nutrient leaching, and the Environmental Board has not been tasked with assessing this as part of its supervisory duties. Although water management plans do set out various measures to protect groundwater, the Ministry of Climate has not assessed whether these measures are actually effective.

The principles governing the assessment of the status of groundwater bodies, for which the Ministry of Climate is responsible, allow the status of groundwater to be assessed on the basis of insufficient data and may therefore present results that are more favourable then the actual situation. Consequently, there is no certainty about the true condition of Estonia's groundwater. In planning the groundwater monitoring network, the Ministry of Climate has not taken agricultural pollution into account: samples are largely taken from locations that do not, and cannot, indicate agricultural pollution. Data for certain indicators (such as the status of surface waters) are entirely lacking, yet this does not prevent the Ministry of Climate from classifying the status of groundwater as good.

Although the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture is required to ensure, when allocating the agricultural subsidies received from the European Union, that pollution pressure is reduced and water quality improves, the Ministry is unable to say what impact the 366 million euros paid out in the most recent period has had on the water protection. The Ministry has not assessed whether these support measures have achieving the intended results in protecting groundwater. Agriculture is the largest source of groundwater pollution. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to nutrient leaching resulting from agricultural practices, as this would make it possible to assess the impact of the support measures being implemented. The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture does not systematically carry out land drainage monitoring to determine the levels of pollutants leaching from fields. Furthermore, the Ministry still has no overview of how much, where and what types of agricultural chemicals and manure are being used. Therefore, there is a risk that the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture will also plan the next funding period without knowing which support measures and to what extent will, in practice, ensure the protection of groundwater.

Main recommendations of the National Audit Office

Recommendations of the National Audit Office to the Minister of Infrastructure:

• set clear and measurable targets at national level to reduce the leaching of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) into groundwater, and implement measures to help achieve these targets;
• expand the groundwater body monitoring network, particularly in areas where the risk of pollution from agriculture is higher; include springs in the monitoring programme; use all monitoring samples from nitrate vulnerable zones when assessing the status of groundwater bodies; and adapt the assessment methodology in such a way that, amongst other things, groundwater status cannot be classified as ‘good’ where data on its status are in fact lacking;
• amend the fertilisation regulations so that they are not based solely on planned yields, but take into account potential variations in yield and the risk of nutrient leaching, and provide for solutions in situations where the planned yield is not achieved.