In the Vitebsk region, 12 municipal treatment facilities will be reconstructed and built by 2025

By the end of the five-year period, 12 municipal treatment facilities will be built or reconstructed in the Vitebsk region.

"The Vitebsk region has 1360 lakes with a total surface area of about 1 thousand sq. km. 85% of the surface waters in the Western Dvina basin have been assigned a good or higher ecological status. At the same time, the main river artery of the region experiences significant anthropogenic impact in the sections below the cities of Vitebsk, Novopolotsk, and Polotsk. One of the main factors of human impact on water bodies is the discharge of domestic and industrial wastewater. Under the "Clean Water" program for 2021-2025, the reconstruction and construction of 12 municipal treatment facilities of UP "Vitebskobvodokanal" are planned in the region. These works will be carried out in Braslav, Vitebsk, Glubokoye, Polotsk, Miory districts and the cities of Vitebsk and Orsha," noted the head of the committee.

The implementation of the state program for environmental protection provides for the modernization of the water treatment system, and as a result, the index of discharge of insufficiently treated water into water bodies should decrease by 30% compared to the 2015 level. In recent years, the Vitebsk region has seen the construction of sewage networks and new treatment facility communications in Verkhnedvinsk, Glubokoye, Disna, treatment facilities in the Shumilino district, Miory, facilities for treating industrial and surface wastewater in Vitebsk, etc. Reconstruction of such facilities is systematically carried out in individual branches of "Vitebskobvodokanal".

Viktor Galanov also said that since the beginning of the year, inspectors of regional inspections for natural resources and environmental protection have identified inefficient operation of 13 treatment facilities, including six municipal ones. The discharge of insufficiently treated wastewater into surface water bodies amounted to 52 thousand cubic meters, which is 5 times higher than the figure for 2020. Vitebskoblavodokanal has been issued 127 orders to eliminate violations of environmental legislation this year, including the operation of 66 treatment facilities.