A protection scheme for the Western Dvina River until 2020 has been developed in the Vitebsk region

A protection scheme for the Western Dvina River has been developed in the Vitebsk region, Petr Duk, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, informed a BELTA correspondent.

In 2012, the Central Research Institute for Integrated Water Resources Management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus developed a comprehensive scheme for the use and protection of the Western Dvina River basin waters until 2020, which assesses the current state and prospects for the river's use. It also includes a wide range of environmental protection measures, including the construction of treatment facilities, modernization and reconstruction of existing facilities, embankment of hazardous sites, relocation of facilities from water protection zones, and others. The scheme harmoniously and fully complements the measures of the Vitebsk Regional Program "Clean Water".

At the end of February, the scheme was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and has currently been submitted to the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. "We are currently preparing a decision of the Regional Executive Committee for its approval, which will define the scope and sources of funding," noted Petr Duk. He also emphasized that the Western Dvina River flows through most of the region's districts, and therefore, it is difficult to overestimate the significance of this project for the entire Vitebsk region.

"The next stage of the strategy for protecting the region's water resources involves the development of a similar scheme for the protection of the Dnieper River, whose basin includes the Orsha, Tolochin, Dubrovno, and Chashniki districts," added Petr Duk, noting that such a scheme has already been approved for the Neman River (Postavy, Glubokoye, Dokshitsy districts).

In terms of water bodies, the Vitebsk region ranks first in the republic: it has about 1.8 thousand lakes with a total area of over 900 sq. km, 16 reservoirs, two large rivers - the Western Dvina and the Dnieper, and over 5 thousand small rivers with a total length of 9 thousand km, including transboundary water bodies. In 2011, the volume of river flow in the region was 18.2 cubic km/year. The withdrawal of river water for use was 0.1 cubic km/year. As of January 1, 2012, the region's groundwater resources amounted to 3.36 cubic km/year (ranking second in the republic after the Minsk region). Groundwater extraction for use in 2012 in the region was 0.106 cubic km/year, or one-third of the exploitable reserves (0.33 cubic km/year). 25 deposits of mineral groundwater have been explored in the region, of which 9 are being developed.

Water users in the region have over 5.3 thousand water intake wells on their balance sheet. 99.7% of active water supply sources are equipped with water metering devices. To reduce the level of groundwater pollution, 177 water intake wells have been plugged since 2009. The region also has 1,162 business entities involved in water use, of which 573 carry out special water use. 91 water users have 255 wastewater treatment facilities on their balance sheet, of which 151 discharge wastewater into water bodies.