34 deposits of fresh groundwater have been explored in the Vitebsk region

March 9, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. As of early 2011, 34 deposits of fresh groundwater were explored in the Vitebsk region, the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection informed a BELTA correspondent. For the first time, the state enterprise "BelNIGRI" of the Department of Geology of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection has developed a Catalog of explored deposits of fresh groundwater in the Vitebsk region. According to experts, it will contribute to increasing the efficiency of the use of explored deposits of fresh groundwater. The catalog provides information on approved groundwater reserves, their chemical composition, the geological structure of water intakes, as well as other data on the deposits. Groundwater can be used for centralized economic drinking water supply of regional cities, district centers, and other settlements. Thus, according to the catalog, as of January 1, 2011, 34 deposits of fresh groundwater were explored in the Vitebsk region, 16 of which are active. Of the total number of active ones, seven are located in Vitebsk. During 2011-2012, it is planned to re-evaluate the operational reserves for 3 exploited and 7 unexploited deposits of fresh water in the Vitebsk region. At the same time, some water intakes in the region are operated without re-evaluation of reserves, which is a violation of the Subsoil Code of the Republic of Belarus. For example, the calculated period of operational reserves for the "Sporitsa" deposit in Postavy ended in 2002, and for the Orsha "Yelinovo" deposit - in 2004. Fresh and mineral groundwater contained in the subsoil of the Republic of Belarus is the most valuable national wealth of the country. Drinking-quality groundwater is vital for providing the population with a water supply source protected from man-made pollution. Most of the world's freshwater reserves are concentrated in the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland. The third largest source of water is groundwater. -0-