Over 97% of residents in cities and district centers of the Vitebsk region are provided with quality drinking water

The state program for water supply and sanitation "Clean Water" for 2011-2015 and the corresponding regional program are designed to create favorable living conditions for people by improving the provision of quality drinking water to the population.

Over 97% of residents in cities and district centers of the Vitebsk region are provided with quality drinking water. These are the results of the implementation of the regional program "Clean Water" in the outgoing five-year period, announced at the meeting of the regional executive committee by the head of the housing and communal services department, Yuri Dyadelo.

The state program for water supply and sanitation "Clean Water" for 2011-2015 and the corresponding regional program are designed to create favorable living conditions for people by improving the provision of quality drinking water to the population, modernizing wastewater treatment facilities, and developing and increasing the reliability of water supply and sanitation systems. Over the past period, Br145 billion has been allocated for the implementation of the program in the Vitebsk region. The implementation of the planned measures has made it possible to provide centralized water supply and drinking water of normative quality to 97.1% of the population of regional and district centers, as well as 78.8% of the population of agro-towns, and to improve the environmental situation and increase the reliability of the sewage system in Gorodok, Dubrovno, Sharkovshchina, and Rossony.

A total of 147 facilities were included in the program: treatment facilities, water intakes, iron removal stations, etc. So far, 47 have been built and commissioned. In 2015, the measures are being implemented in accordance with the allocated funding. Thus, the construction and reconstruction of 15 water supply facilities are underway, with deadlines extended for two of them. In parallel, design and major repair work is being carried out on 13 water supply and sewerage facilities. Funding for these purposes is provided from the regional budget in the amount of Br8.6 billion. Through the loan funds of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), 5 water supply and sewerage facilities were commissioned in 2011-2014. Design of sewerage systems in the cities of Verkhnedvinsk and Glubokoye has been completed. The construction of these facilities is planned for subsequent years. The Republic of Belarus plans to attract an additional IBRD loan for these purposes, with an amount of $22.2 million allocated for the Vitebsk region. In the current situation, where a shortage of funds does not allow for the full implementation of the outgoing five-year program, a significant portion of the planned facilities (with a low degree of readiness or not started at all) has to be postponed to subsequent years. It is proposed to include 137 facilities in the Vitebsk region in the draft state program "Clean Water" for 2016-2020.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.