"We want Kazanka to breathe again." The Ministry of Ecology told reporters about the Free Current project
Within the framework of the pilot project of the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan on eco-rehabilitation of water bodies this year, measures are being taken to clear the Kazanka River from debris of wood and debris. This was announced today during a press tour with journalists by Deputy Chairman of the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society in the Republic of Tatarstan Andrey Agarkov.
"In 2023, we will implement the Free Current project at Kazanka. Its main task is to free the river from the rubble of trees and collect garbage. At the moment, we have cleaned 12 km of the river, 1150 cubic meters of wood weighing about 700 tons have been pulled out of the water. Also, in the course of the movement from bottom to top, the accumulated garbage was collected, and this is more than 240 bags. We clean everything manually, as the work is carried out in places where the equipment cannot pass," the speaker shared the details.
According to the deputy chairman of the RGS, the project is very important, because the blockages of trees eventually lead to silting of rivers due to a decrease in the speed of the water flow. They also violate the natural conditions of the habitat, are the accumulator of household waste entering the river from settlements. "Free current" was a continuation of the pilot project of the Ministry of Ecology to improve the ecological condition of the rivers of Tatarstan. This project is being implemented using the example of the Kazanka River.
"About 10 people work at the facility. Blockages are completely different, for example, there are those that are sorted out in a couple of days, and there are blockages that require work for two to three weeks. The most difficult was in the area of the village of Dachny, a total of about 400-500 cubic meters of wood we pulled out of there. The guys worked on it, somewhere from one and a half to two and a half weeks. Basically, difficulties arise when trees are under water, they are more dense. They do not just block the river on the surface, but lie at a depth. We do not touch the trees that are located along the river. We want Kazanka to breathe," said the representative of the RGO. Work on dismantling the rubble at Kazanka has been underway since June and will continue. The speaker is sure that most of the work is still ahead - this is one of the most wooded areas of the project - Vysokogorsky. The plans are to walk 140 km to the source of the river.
Let us recall that the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan started implementing a pilot research project on the ecological rehabilitation of Kazanka in 2022. At the first stage, the Tatarstan branch of the Russian Geographical Society conducted geographical studies that confirmed the negative impact of diffuse runoff on the river. This year, the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan is implementing the second stage of the project. An analysis of the ecological state of the river is being carried out, analytical materials are being prepared to assess the sources of pollution, proposals are being made to reduce diffuse runoff into water bodies.