The study of the quality of transboundary water bodies in the Western Dvina basin will continue in 2016

The study of the quality of Belarusian-Russian transboundary water bodies of the Western Dvina basin will be continued in 2016, as reported by the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

On November 11-12, a meeting of the joint Belarusian-Russian working group on the Western Dvina River basin was held in Polotsk. The quality of surface waters of transboundary water bodies (Usvyacha, Obol, Ushcha rivers and Lake Yezeryshche) in the spring-summer period of 2015 was assessed.

First of all, which particularly concerned the Belarusian side, data on the impact of pig complexes in the Pskov region on environmental components were presented. Cartographic material characterizing the locations of pig complexes, as well as sampling sites for hydrochemical analysis, has been prepared. Sampling was carried out quarterly throughout 2015. Based on a comparative analysis of the dynamics of pollutant concentrations, as well as taking into account other natural factors, a decision was made to continue the research on the quality of transboundary water bodies in 2016 in order to identify negative sources of impact.

In general, the situation in the transboundary water bodies of the Western Dvina basin in 2015 was stable, the committee added. There were no cases of flooding of settlements and economic facilities, and the population and economic entities were provided with the required water norms. In the summer-autumn period, water levels in the basin's watercourses were close, and in the middle and lower reaches of the Western Dvina, they were below the minimum observed over the entire observation period.

Spring floods and summer high waters in the transboundary territories did not have a negative impact on the life activities of the population and economic facilities of Belarus and Russia.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.