Government Decision No. HG484/2025 validating the Criteria for establishing the national importance of ponds and reservoirs, as well as the List of ponds and reservoirs declared of national importance.

This Government Decision approves the criteria for determining the national importance of ponds and storage lakes and the list of such waterbodies declared of national importance. The Act operates within the framework of national water legislation, focusing on the classification of specific artificial waterbodies (ponds and reservoirs) according to their size, functions and strategic relevance, without addressing ownership or broader water rights issues. Annex No. 1 sets out the criteria under which ponds and storage lakes are qualified as being of national importance. A waterbody is so classified if at least one of the following conditions is met: (i) it has a water surface area of more than 50 hectares at normal retention level and an average depth of more than 2 metres; (ii) it forms part of centralized irrigation systems, is used as a water source for irrigation, or serves as a raw water source for centralized drinking water supply systems; (iii) the dam crest also functions as road infrastructure, being crossed by a road of national importance; or (iv) it is intersected by the State border line. These criteria link national importance to hydrotechnical characteristics, strategic water supply and irrigation roles, transport infrastructure, and transboundary location. Annex No. 2 contains a detailed list of ponds and storage lakes declared of national importance, indicating for each the name of the waterbody, its location (settlement and district), cadastral numbers where available, and the specific criteria from Annex No. 1 that it fulfils. The Decision assigns to the Public Institution National Administration “Apele Moldovei” the task of elaborating an instruction on monitoring and appropriate management of the ponds and storage lakes declared of national importance. It also clarifies that classification by importance does not constitute a legal basis for confirming ownership rights over water fund lands or associated hydrotechnical constructions.