New springs opened in Tatarstan on the Bersut River thanks to the national project "Ecology"
More than 65 thousand cubic meters of bottom sediments were lifted from the bottom of the Bersut River in the Mamadyshsky district, where work on clearing the riverbed was completed this year. Environmental protection measures were launched in 2022 within the framework of the federal project "Conservation of unique water bodies" of the national project "Ecology". 113.2 million rubles were allocated from the federal budget to clean up the river.
According to the Deputy Minister of Ecology Egor Tarnavsky, the work on clearing the river was necessary to return the reservoir to a normal watercourse and save it from further swamp formation. "20-34% of the surface of the water area was covered with duckweed, 40% of the total area of the river is occupied by thickets, fallen trees and the object has already lost the ability to self-clean. Thanks to the support of the Federal Agency for Water Resources, we managed to include river clearing in the program and now the work in the village of Kamsky Forestry has already been completed, we have cleared about 7 km."
Thousands of cubic meters of bottom sediments, which were raised as a result of the work, allowed to deepen the bottom of the river by almost 1.5 meters. The clearing area was 24 hectares.
"Basically, difficulties arose because of flooded trees, there were a lot of them. Also, the work was slowed down by the huge amount of garbage that was in the river. We took out several KAMAZ trucks – these are not just tires and galoshes, of which we found a lot here, they are even concrete slabs and pillars, perhaps they once built a bridge at this place," says Stanislav Maksimov, hydraulic engineer at Laishevsky Meliovodstroy.
After the riverbed was cleared and the silt accumulated over the years was removed, the hydrological properties of the river, the watercourse and water exchange improved. The underground power supply of this unique water body was also restored, new springs were clogged. Locals are already saying that fish have reappeared in the river. In general, thanks to all the work, the environmental living conditions for 2.5 thousand residents of the village of Kamsky Lespromkhoz, Zverosovkhoz, Novy and Bersut have improved.
"I would like to note that thanks to the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the federal project "Preservation of unique water bodies" will be included in a single unified federal project for the improvement of water bodies of our country from 2025, which means we will continue to clear and preserve our reservoirs," said Deputy Minister of Ecology Egor Tarnavsky.