In 5 years, there have been 1.3 times fewer cases of excess detected in Tatarstan's water bodies
The Minister of Ecology spoke about the protection of water bodies and monitoring of rivers and lakes as part of his report to the final board of the department.
In 2024, more than 35,000 samples were examined. 4,230 exceedances were detected, which is 11.8%. (in 2023 it was 12.2%)
"Since 2019, we have seen a positive trend - there is a decrease in the excess of the maximum permissible concentration of pollutants in the surface waters of the republic. Over the past 5 years, there have been 1.3 times fewer cases of excess. In recent years, we have seen an improvement in water quality in a number of reservoirs. The number and frequency of exceedances have decreased, which means that the water body already meets higher standards of cleanliness."
A pilot project on the Kazanka River was also aimed at "Improving the ecological condition of rivers and reservoirs of the Republic of Tatarstan." Together with the Russian Geographical Society, leading staff of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan and institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the contribution of diffuse runoff to water pollution was studied.
Scientists have substantiated the main measures to combat this type of pollution: These are the creation of protective forest belts, strict observance of the regime of protection of coastal zones, and the rational use of fertilizers in the fields.
"I appeal to the heads of agricultural enterprises! Even the elementary construction of lagoons for livestock waste, changes in the plowing method already have a great effect on the environment at minimal cost," said the head of the environmental protection agency.
At the same time, since 2023, as part of the Free Current project, the Tatarstan branch of the Russian Geographical Society has been clearing rubble at Kazanka. The Minister of Ecology separately thanked Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov, Head of Tatarstan, for his support of the project.
An important role in the protection of water resources is played by the establishment of water protection zones.
On behalf of the Russian Government, the Ministry has defined the boundaries of water bodies with a length of almost 16 thousand kilometers.
Such work makes it possible to prevent the development of the coastal strip and reduce the anthropogenic load on rivers and lakes. Last year, the Ministry identified 1,337 land plots formed with violations, including restrictions on free access to water.
In total, 170 violations of water legislation were identified in 2024, and 8 claims for damages were filed, totaling 21 million rubles.
Traditionally, the head of the Ministry of Ecology announced the malicious violators.
"For the third year in a row, our anti-lead is Archa LLC, which carries out the discharge on the basis of an agreement with Vodokanal-Service. Moreover, there was a period when the reset was carried out without it at all. Raw sewage from dairies is a direct route to the destruction of water bodies and the rapid failure of sewage treatment plants. On our initiative, together with the prosecutor's office of the Arsky district, we conducted an inspection. Measures have been taken regarding the violations identified. The damage caused to biological resources and the river amounted to 4.8 million rubles," Alexander Shadrikov cited the damage amounts.
He also named Clean Waters LLC and the Elmai enterprise, which dumped untreated wastewater into the Kamenka River, a tributary of the Kazanka. Measures have been taken in all these cases, and claims for damages have been filed.