The delineation of groundwater bodies in the Dnipro River Basin according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is an important step to guarantee that from now on all groundwater resources which are important for current and future uses (private and public drinking water supply, irrigation etc.) and which are important for the health of dependent ecosystems (rivers, lakes and wetlands) will receive full attention in the whole water management system.

In previous years, the groundwater management was primarily focused at deeply located and well protected groundwater resources which are important sources for central drinking water supply, but the shallow aquifers, which are most endangered by pollution from human activities but which are commonly used by rural population for their drinking water supply by private wells, were rather neglected.

The holistic approach of the WFD requires to consider all relevant groundwaters and to delineate appropriate management units, so called ‘groundwater bodies’.  Thanks to the results of this study, from now on also the shallow groundwater resources, which are in many cases essential for the health of a significant share of the Ukrainian population and for all the connected ecosystems, will receive full water management attention. These groundwater bodies will be part of regular groundwater monitoring and the establishment of appropriate measures to achieve or to keep their good status.