Water consumption in the Vitebsk region has decreased by 10% over the past five years

January 27, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Water consumption in the Vitebsk region has decreased by 10% over the past five years. This was announced today during the final board meeting by the chairman of the Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Ruslan Vinokurov, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. According to Ruslan Vinokurov, water use for production needs has decreased in recent years, and the volume of wastewater discharge is also declining. The latter has decreased by 9.9 million cubic meters per year compared to 2005. A number of iron removal stations and treatment facilities commissioned in 2009 will help improve the efficiency of water resource use in the Vitebsk region. They have been launched in Senno, Lepel, Tolochinsky, Vitebsky, Verkhnedvinsky, Gluboksky, Lioznensky, and Polotsky districts. At the same time, the resolution of certain issues related to the economical use of water remains under special control, the head of the committee noted. In particular, out of 3.4 thousand operating water supply sources, only 90.4% are equipped with water meters. Only Beshenkovichsky, Gluboksky, Lepelsky, Miorsky, Postavsky, Rossonsky, and Sharkovshchinsky districts, as well as cities in the region, have fully resolved this issue. This work is being carried out most weakly in Tolochinsky (48%) and Polotsky (70%) districts. In addition, the lack of special water use permits for agricultural enterprises is a pressing problem. In 2009, the regional committee for natural resources and environmental protection issued 220 such permits. As of January 1, 2010, a total of 471 farms, or 81%, have a special permit, and 108 farms are carrying out unauthorized water use. -0-