The Russian authorities are determined to ensure that the Crimean peninsula experiences no water shortage following the drought and cut of freshwater supplies by Ukraine, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Saturday
SIMFEROPOL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2020) The Russian authorities are determined to ensure that the Crimean peninsula experiences no water shortage following the drought and cut of freshwater supplies by Ukraine, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Saturday.
This past Thursday, President Vladimir Putin pledged during his annual grand press-conference that the issue of secure water supplies in Crimea would be resolved at any costs. Since mid-October, the city of Sevastopol has been on high alert over water shortages in reservoirs following a prolonged drought. The authorities launched the construction of a new reservoir system, scheduled to be completed by March 1. Until then, water will be supplied from supplementary wells.
"The government put together a program for solving the Crimea water shortage issues," Khusnullin said via video-call during a ceremony of the launch of water supplies from the Kadykovskiy well to Sevastopol, describing the launch as "the first serious achievement of the program."
Despite the significant altitude difference between the reservoir and the city, the official said the launch had been made possible sooner than expected thanks to "good technical solutions of the Ministry of Defense."
Additionally, new underground water springs were discovered near Sevastopol and will be integrated into the larger water infrastructure on the Belbek river, according to Khusnullin.
"I would like to ask you to synchronize the projects so that this new underground reservoir begins operations together with the reservoir on the Belbek river. I ask you to ensure that by the time the construction ends, both the underground and surface components are synchronized. This is an estimated additional 10,000 cubic meters (2.6 gallons) of water," the official said.
According to Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev, the wells will be ready for use by mid-February.
"We will ensure that all works are completed as scheduled. I am convinced that Crimea and Sevastopol will be ensured secure water supplies," Khusnullin said.
Crimea used to rely on Ukraine for over 85 percent of its freshwater supply. Following the Crimean referendum on reunification with Russia in 2014, Kiev unilaterally cut all supplies, leaving the peninsula almost completely dependent on supplies from reservoirs fillable by either rainwater or underground springs.
Following the drought this year, the reservoirs dried up, prompting Simferopol and several other parts of Crimea to make consumer supplies strictly rationed and scheduled. The Russian government has allotted some 50 billion rubles ($681 million) to modernize the Crimean water infrastructure and secure sustainable supplies.
