Danube pollution worst in Budapest, Belgrade

The Danube River is most polluted in the areas around Budapest and Belgrade, while one if its cleanest stretches is between the Hungarian capital and Komárom (Komárno) several dozen kilometers to the north, researchers who recently examined the water quality of Europe's second-longest river have announced.

Béla Csányi, the leader of the international group that is examining the water quality and ecological condition of the whole length of the river, said the problem around Budapest is due to the large volume of untreated sewage discharged into the Danube. He added that this problem will not be solved until 2010, when a new treatment system capable of purifying nearly all of the city's sewage will be completed.

The researchers found that the water quality of the river in the stretches between its source and the Hungarian border has not deteriorated compared to earlier years.

The Danube is 2,850 kilometers (1,771 miles) long, making it the longest river in the European Union. It originates in the Black Forest in Germany and flows through ten countries before emptying into the Black Sea in Romania. In addition to the Hungarian capital, it passes through the capitals of Austria, Slovakia and Serbia.

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