Briefly, the factors shaping the problem of water resources. Environmental problems of water bodies on the territory of russia. Environmental problems associated with oil and gas production in the Okrug

To remove the problem of providing the inhabitants of the Earth with water resources, it is necessary to radically revise the ways and means of using the hydrosphere, use water resources more economically and carefully protect water bodies from pollution, which is most often associated with human economic activities.

Scientists identify hydrological-geographical and technical methods for solving the water problem.

The primary technical task is to reduce the volume of wastewater discharge into reservoirs and the introduction of recycling water supply at enterprises, built on closed cycles. A number of industrial enterprises and public utilities are faced with the urgent task of using part of the runoff for irrigation of cultivated areas after appropriate treatment. Such technologies are being developed very actively today.

One way to overcome the scarcity of water suitable for drinking and cooking is to introduce a water conservation regime. For this purpose, household and industrial water consumption control systems are being developed, which can significantly reduce unreasonable water consumption. Such control systems help not only save valuable resources, but also reduce the financial costs of the population for this type of utilities.

The most technologically advanced states are developing new ways of doing business and production methods that make it possible to get rid of technical water consumption or at least reduce the consumption of water resources. An example is the transition from systems to air systems, as well as the introduction of a method for melting metals without blast furnaces and open hearths, invented in Japan.

Hydrological and geographical methods

Hydrological and geographical methods consist in managing the circulation of water resources on the scale of entire regions and in purposefully changing the water balance of large areas of land. At the same time, we are not talking about an absolute increase in the volume of water resources.

The goal of this approach is to reproduce water by maintaining a steady flow, creating groundwater reserves, increasing the proportion of soil moisture through the use of flood waters and natural glaciers.

Hydrologists are developing methods for regulating the flow of large rivers. Measures are also planned to accumulate moisture in underground wells, which may eventually turn into large reservoirs. It is quite possible to drain waste and thoroughly purified industrial water into such tanks.

The advantage of this method is that with it the water, passing through the soil layers, is additionally purified. In areas where a stable snow cover has been observed for a long period, snow retention works are possible, which also make it possible to resolve the issue of water availability.

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Ministry of Education and Science of Russia

federal state budgetary educational institution

higher professional education

St. Petersburg State Technological Institute

(Technical University)"

UGS (code, name) 080000 Economics and Management

Direction of training (code, name) 080100.62 Economics

Profile (name) Economics of enterprises and organizations

Faculty of Economics and Management

Department of Economics and Organization of Production ___

Academic discipline Environmental management

Report

Theme: Environmental problems of water resources

Student Shtanko I.P.

Saint Petersburg 2013

Introduction

Water is one of the most widespread and unusual chemical compounds on Earth. Life itself is impossible without water. Water, a carrier of mechanical and thermal energy, plays an essential role in the exchange of matter and energy between geospheres and geographic regions of the Earth. Its abnormal physical and chemical properties also contribute to this. One of the founders of geochemistry, V.I. Vernadsky, wrote: “Water stands alone in the history of our planet. There is no natural body that could compare with it in its influence on the course of the main, most grandiose geological processes. There is no earthly substance - a mineral, a rock, a living body that would not All earthly matter - under the influence of the particular forces inherent in water, its vaporous state, its omnipresence in the upper part of the planet - is permeated and embraced by it. "

Hydrology is a complex of sciences that study natural waters on Earth and hydrological processes. The term "hydrology" (hydro - water, logos - science) was first mentioned in 1694 in a book containing "the beginning of the doctrine of waters", published by Melchior in Frankfurt am Main, and the first hydrological observations, according to the American hydrologist Raymond Nice, 5000 years ago they spent on the river. Nile Egyptians, who annually recorded the height of floods on rocks, walls of buildings, steps of coastal stairs. But hydrology took shape as an independent science only at the beginning of the 20th century and developed productively, relying on the fundamental sciences: physics, chemistry, mathematics. It is most closely associated with meteorology and climatology, as well as with geology, biology, soil science and geochemistry.

The greatest development in the last 50-60 years has received the section of hydrology - land hydrology. This is a consequence of the rapidly increasing use of fresh water, its increased role in the development of the economy and the life of human society. The most important task of land hydrology is to assess changes in water resources as a source of water supply and water consumption. A special place is occupied by a quantitative assessment of changes in time and space of river water flow, which constitutes the main, annually renewable water resources and provides the bulk of possible water consumption for economic needs. Modern studies of water resources, especially in terms of forecasting them for the future, are closely related to taking into account global climate change and the impact of human economic activity on water bodies.

The result of not always reasonable human economic activity was an increase in irreversible water consumption (until the complete depletion of water sources) and a threatening pollution of natural waters, which often makes irreversible changes in the water balance and ecological conditions of vast areas. This led to the emergence of a new direction of hydrological science - hydrological and ecological, which is at the same time an important component of geoecology - a science that studies irreversible processes and phenomena in the natural environment and the biosphere that arise as a result of intense anthropogenic impact, as well as the close and distant consequences of these impacts. ...

The main attention in the article is paid to the annually renewable fresh water resources - river runoff, since the water reserves concentrated in lakes and underground horizons are still poorly used. On the territory of Russia, less than 1% of the total reserves of lake waters (about 25,000 km3) are used, and less than 10% of the potential operational reserves of groundwater are annually extracted from underground horizons. This is mainly due to the peculiarities of the geographic location of lakes and groundwater reserves: most of them are concentrated in areas of excessive and sufficient moisture, for example, 23,000 km3 of lake water is located in Lake Baikal, where there are few water users and much more accessible river waters.

1. Water availability and main water problems

The world reserves of fresh water are 34,980 thousand km3, and annually renewable (total annual flow of rivers) - 46,800 km3 per year. The current total water consumption in the world is 4130 km3 per year, and irrecoverable - 2360 km3 per year. The reserves of fresh surface and groundwater on the territory of the Russian Federation are more than 2 million km3, and the annually renewable water resources are 4270 km3 per year. The average water supply for the river runoff of each inhabitant of Russia is about 31 thousand m3 per year, and the specific water resources per unit of territory (1 km2) exceed 250 thousand m3 per year. But in the most densely populated southern and central regions of the European part of Russia, water availability is very low: in the North Caucasus and Central Black Earth regions, the total water resources are about 90 km3 per year, and local waters are only 60 km3 per year.

The world's water resources are even more unevenly distributed across the Earth, they are not unlimited and are becoming the main factor limiting sustainable economic development in many regions. Everywhere the need for fresh water is increasing to meet the needs of a growing population, urbanization, industrial development, irrigation for food, etc. This situation is undoubtedly worsening with population growth, pollution of surface and ground waters and the threat of climate change. There are even forecasts that with a doubling of the world's population by the middle of the next century and with rapidly growing demands, a global water crisis will occur in a few years. Under these circumstances, the world's freshwater resources could become a source of conflict in some of the 200 international river basins. In addition, the growth of the population, concentrated around rivers as the main sources of water, will inevitably lead to a significant increase in flood victims, the number of which still accounts for 25% of the total number of victims of all natural disasters on Earth, and the number of people suffering from floods annually is equal to the number of those suffering against droughts (32 and 33%). As water scarcity aggravates the suffering of droughts, therefore, disasters caused by temporary surplus or shortage of water add up to 65% of the affected population.

In recent decades, in many countries of the world, there has been a deterioration in the ecological state of water bodies on land (rivers, lakes, reservoirs) and adjacent territories. This is primarily due to the significantly increased anthropogenic impact on natural waters. It manifests itself in a change in water reserves, the hydrological regime of streams and reservoirs, and especially in a change in water quality. By the nature of the impact on resources, the regime and quality of water bodies on land, the factors of economic activity are grouped into three groups.

1. Factors directly affecting a water body by direct withdrawals of water and discharges of natural and waste waters or by transforming the morphological elements of streams and reservoirs (creation of reservoirs and ponds in river beds, embankment and straightening of river beds).

2. Factors affecting a water body by changing the surface of river catchments and individual territories (agrotechnical measures, drainage of swamps and wetlands, deforestation and planting of forests, urbanization, etc.).

3. Factors affecting the main elements of moisture circulation within specific river catchments and individual territories through changes in climatic characteristics on a global and regional scale.

2. Withdrawal of river flow

The problem of accounting for quantitative changes in water resources under the influence of economic activity arose in the 50s of the XX century, when water consumption increased sharply throughout the world. If for the period from 1900 to 1950 the average increase in water consumption per decade was 156 km3, then from 1950 to 1960 it was 630 km3, that is, it increased 4 times, and in subsequent years it increased by 800 - 1000 km3 per decade. The most intensively used river runoff is in Europe and Asia (about 13% of the total annual volume), somewhat less - in North America (about 8%) and much less - in Africa, Australia and South America (from 1 to 3% of the volume of water resources) ... At the same time, there are large regions on all continents where the intensity of river runoff use reaches 30 - 65% of the total volume of river water resources.

In Russia, river flow is most intensively used in the southern regions of the European part of the territory. Therefore, if the annual runoff of the river. The Volga decreased by 10% compared to the natural flow rate, then the flow of the Don, Kuban, Terek rivers - by 25 - 40%. In general, in the CIS countries, the annual decrease in the total river flow is approximately 150 km3, which is equal to only 3 - 5% of the total water resources. But the greatest decrease in runoff due to the anthropogenic factor, reaching 30%, also falls on the rivers of the southern regions, where natural water resources amount to 490 km3 per year, or 11% of the total runoff of the CIS rivers (4500 km3 per year). Together with the unfavorable ecological situation in the river basins of the southern regions of the CIS, as a result of excessive withdrawal of river runoff, an unfavorable ecological situation has developed on many natural reservoirs that they feed - lakes Balkhash, Issyk-Kul, Sevan, and the Aral Sea and all the Aral Sea region have been declared an ecological disaster zone , since the withdrawal of runoff from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers that feed it exceeds 90% of the annual runoff norm.

Small rivers

Factors affecting water bodies by changing the surface of river catchments have a particularly noticeable effect on the ecological state of small rivers. Small rivers are 26 to 100 km long, which corresponds to rivers with catchment areas from 150 to 1500 km. Small rivers play a decisive role in the formation of water resources; in the European part of Russia, they account for about 80% of the average long-term runoff. In some areas, the resource-forming role of small rivers is even more significant.

One of the main features of small rivers is the close connection between the flow formation and the basin landscape. This determines the extraordinary vulnerability of rivers during intensive development of the catchment area. An increase in plowing of land, a lag in soil protection measures and plowing to the water's edge, deforestation and drainage of swamps in their catchments, the construction of large livestock complexes, farms and poultry farms without accompanying environmental protection measures and the discharge of wastewater into rivers without proper treatment quickly lead to a violation of the ecological situation , accelerated aging of small rivers. Rational integrated use of the resources of small rivers, their protection from pollution and depletion require urgent measures. Without reasonable regulation of the increasing water management load on small rivers, it becomes more and more difficult to manage the rational use and protection of large territories and large rivers.

Water pollution

The most acute hydrological problem is the change in the quality of natural waters and the state of aquatic ecosystems under the influence of economic activities. The rapid spread of anthropogenic substances has led to the fact that there are practically no freshwater ecosystems left on the Earth's surface, the water quality of which would not change to one degree or another. A consequence of the chemical and physical impacts of anthropogenic origin is a change in the composition of bottom sediments and living matter of water bodies.

The largest amount of pollutants enters water bodies from enterprises of the oil refining, chemical, pulp and paper, metallurgical, textile industries. The formation of the chemical composition of surface and groundwater under anthropogenic impact is characterized by: 1) an increase (or decrease) in the concentration of those components of natural waters that are usually present in unpolluted water; 2) a change in the direction of natural hydrochemical processes; 3) enrichment of waters with substances alien to natural water. For example, if the water surface is covered with a film of oil, fatty acids or other floating pollutants coming with wastewater, then many chemical and biochemical processes change significantly, since the supply of oxygen and light to the water is limited, water evaporation decreases, and the state of the carbonate system changes.

The problem of self-purification and purification of water systems, protection of water from pollution has become not only hydrological. Chemists, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, hydrogeologists take part in its solution.

Climate change

In 1979 in Geneva, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, and other international organizations convened an expert conference on the relationship between climate and human activities. Experts in various fields of knowledge gathered at the conference came to the conclusion that along with natural climate fluctuations associated with a change in the supply of energy from the Sun, its redistribution between the main reservoirs of the Earth (atmosphere, oceans and glaciers), with volcanic emissions, a significant impact on the climate has become to render human activities. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and land-use changes, emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides have led to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is an extremely important factor in determining the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. This causes additional changes in the distribution of temperature, precipitation and other meteorological parameters of the atmosphere, which, affecting local climate changes, may be favorable or unfavorable for human life and economic activity.

An analysis of stationary observations and numerous scientific studies over the past 15 years confirm the anthropogenic impact on climate change in the 20th century. Therefore, attention to the influence of greenhouse gases on the climate and the consequences of its changes in recent years has increased so much that it became necessary to adopt the International Agreement on the Limitation of Industrial Waste Emissions into the Atmosphere - the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Progress has been made in the development of climate change projections. They are based on the hypothesis of a change in the temperature gradient between the equator and the poles, which causes changes in atmospheric circulation. If the north polar region cools more strongly than the equatorial region, then the monsoon belts in Asia and Africa and the baroclinic zones of temperate latitudes, in which westerly winds prevail, will shift towards the equator. With a relative increase in temperature at the poles, the opposite picture will be observed. This hypothesis is supported by paleoclimatic data and numerical modeling. Changes in the zones of transfer of moist air masses inevitably affect the amount and seasonal distribution of atmospheric precipitation, and, consequently, on the flow of river water and total water resources, since under natural conditions the annual formation of water resources is determined by the difference in the main elements of the water balance - the amount of precipitation and evaporation from catchments rivers.

Global warming from the beginning of the XX century to the present time amounted to about 0.5 ° C, and local changes in the amount of atmospheric precipitation reach significant values. Obviously, in the next 50 years, the Earth's climate will evolve under the influence of continuous natural variations, combined with a constantly persisting tendency towards warming due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This warming trend is slowed down by the thermal inertia of the oceans, but it will persist long after the composition of the atmosphere stabilizes. Regardless of how decisive action is taken to control changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, some global warming in the next century is likely to be inevitable. Therefore, climatic changes in water resources over the past century and in the future are of interest to water management and other organizations.

Statistical research methodology

Assessment of the effects of climate change on water resources is based on deterministic modeling of changes in the components of the water balance and a comprehensive statistical analysis of data from long-term (at least 30 years) continuous observations of river water flow. Using the bank of hydrological data created with the participation of the author on the points of the longest hydrological observations (150 - 60 years) on the rivers of the world, the flow of which is not distorted by direct economic activity, a comprehensive statistical analysis of the values ​​of the average monthly and annual water flow was carried out. The main indicators of changes in runoff under the influence of climate or economic activity are violations of the stationarity of the observation series - significant changes (breaks) in the direction of changes, the presence of stable trends - one-sided deviations of values ​​from their average value.

To assess the spatial patterns of the direction and intensity of runoff changes, we used the results of calculations only for a 35-year (1951 - 1985) observation period using a somewhat simplified methodology, which is based on a special trend test. The selection of the trend and its analysis were carried out by the least squares method. The statistical parameters required for the analysis were obtained after preliminary functional smoothing of the time series.

Results of a comprehensive analysis of runoff changes

Comprehensive statistical analysis made it possible to establish that in the various latitudinal and climatic conditions of the continents of Eurasia, America, Africa, Australia, changes in river runoff are noted in the 20th century. In some areas, climatic changes in runoff at certain periods were so great that violations of the stationarity of the series were noted. Thus, on the rivers of the northwestern part of the territory of Russia, Northern Ukraine and the Baltic countries, significant changes in the water content of rivers in the direction of decrease occurred in the 30s, and in the northeastern regions of European 60s (Table 1). In the Asian part of Russia in the basin of the river. Amur, in the 60s, there was a violation of the stationarity of the rows due to significant negative changes, and on the rivers of Siberia and the rest of the Far East, although changes were noted, they did not lead to a violation of the stationarity of the rows. On the rivers of Central Asia, where accounting for changes in water resources is especially important, the greatest changes towards a decrease in runoff were noted in the 60s. On the rivers of Western and Central Europe, directional changes in the direction of negative changes were observed at the end of the last century, and in the 80s of the XX century - in the direction of positive changes. The turning points in the series of runoff observations on rivers in North America and West Africa occurred in the early 1970s, and in Australia at the end of the 1960s. At the same time, the direction of changes in the second half of the 20th century was not the same. For example, there are positive trends in the flow of rivers on the Atlantic coast of North America, there are no changes in the inland areas, and negative trends prevail on the Pacific coast. Positive trends were noted in the flow of rivers in the subequatorial zone of Australia, and negative trends in the southeastern tip of the island. ecological water resource

Direction of changes in annual and seasonal runoff

A more detailed study of the direction of runoff changes based on observation data on almost 450 rivers in 1951 - 1985 made it possible to assess the causes and territorial patterns of their spatial distribution. The most detailed studies were carried out on the territory of Eurasia. Changes in the water flow of rivers in Western and Central Europe in the second half of the 20th century are characterized by the predominance of positive trends, the probability of which increases from west to east and from south to north. The exception is the rivers of the Alpine region, where negative trends are noted or changes are insignificant. In the runoff of the rivers of the Eastern Carpathians, on the territory of Poland, Romania, Ukraine, on the contrary, there is an increased probability of positive changes in the average annual, spring and summer runoff.

On the European territory of Russia, in the runoff of most rivers of the Volga basins (except for the Kama and its tributaries), Don, and Dnieper, there are no significant changes in the average annual runoff. But the runoff decreases during the spring flood, and increases during the summer-autumn and winter periods. On the rivers of the river. The Kama and other rivers flowing from the western slopes of the Northern Urals show positive changes in runoff, while on the rivers of the Middle and Lower Volga regions, changes in the average annual and seasonal runoff are insignificant, with a slight increase in the winter months. On the rivers of the north of the European part of Russia, there is a decrease in runoff during the high-water period of the spring flood and its increase in the winter months. In fig. 3 shows the long-term variation of the average annual runoff on the Volga (upstream), Northern Dvina and Bolshoi Naryn (Central Asia) rivers.

On the rivers of Siberia within 50 - 60? with. NS. there are positive changes in the average annual runoff and high-water spring period, which indicates an increase in the amount of precipitation in the winter months. North of 60? with. NS. and south of 40? with. NS. flow changes are either insignificant or negative. On the rivers of the Far East, which form the runoff in a monsoon climate, its increase is noted in winter and spring periods, but a decrease in high-water summer periods.

To find out the reasons for changes in water runoff in the second half of the XX century, tests were carried out for the trend of the sums of average annual and seasonal precipitation for 150 meteorological stations on the territory of the CIS. The analysis of the results indicates that in the annual and winter precipitation amounts in most of the territory within the range of 50 - 60? with. NS. positive changes were observed, except for the northwestern part of the territory. To the north and south, the changes are either insignificant or negative (in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Primorye, the Baltic States). Taking into account the fact that for most of the rivers of the territory under consideration the main source of runoff formation is the precipitation accumulated during the winter in the form of a snow cover, it is quite possible to explain why the positive changes in water runoff fall on the territory within the range of 50 - 60? with. sh., and negative ones are observed in the south of the Far East, north-west of the European territory of the CIS and in Central Asia, where the amount of annual and seasonal precipitation in the second half of the century tended to decrease.

Conclusion

The problem of providing drinking water to the growing population and warning of catastrophic floods and floods is becoming one of the most important not only for hydrological science. Global warming of the Earth's climate and the increasing anthropogenic load on water bodies complicate the development of water supply systems and hydrological forecasts of changes in renewable water resources - river water flow. With the development of economic activity, the dependence of water resources on climate change increases. The results of a comprehensive statistical analysis of observational data on river runoff from different continents of the globe indicate the presence of directional changes in runoff in the 20th century, which in some regions are so significant that they can be quantified and predicted. The direction of these changes depends mainly on the latitudinal redistribution of annual and seasonal precipitation amounts. The increase in the amount of atmospheric precipitation and the increase in air temperature observed in some regions of Russia during the cold and transitional periods of the year have a favorable effect on the flow of river water. But in a number of regions (northwest and south of Russia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, inland regions of America), on the contrary, there has been a tendency towards a decrease in the amount of annually renewed water resources.

The continuing increase in water intake from rivers and freshwater reservoirs, pollution of water bodies increase the danger of a water crisis in areas of unfavorable changes in river flow. To prevent a water crisis, in addition to strengthening administrative measures for the protection of natural resources, it is necessary to organize a broad geo-ecological education of the population, especially young people. This will contribute to the integrity of the perception of changes in the landscape envelope of the Earth, the need to preserve from destruction of natural connections between its components: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.

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Modern problems of water resources

The problems of clean water and the protection of aquatic ecosystems are becoming more acute as the historical development of society, the impact on nature caused by scientific and technological progress is rapidly increasing.

Already now, in many regions of the world, there are great difficulties in ensuring water supply and water use due to the qualitative and quantitative depletion of water resources, which is associated with pollution and irrational use of water.

Water pollution mainly occurs due to the discharge of industrial, household and agricultural waste into it. In some water bodies, pollution is so great that they have completely degraded as sources of water supply.

A small amount of pollution cannot cause a significant deterioration in the state of the reservoir, since it has the ability to biologically cleanse, but the problem is that, as a rule, the amount of pollutants discharged into the water is very large and the reservoir cannot cope with their neutralization.

Water supply and water use are often complicated by biological obstacles: overgrowth of canals reduces their throughput, algal blooms deteriorate the quality of water, its sanitary condition, fouling interferes with navigation and the functioning of hydraulic structures. Therefore, the development of measures with biological obstacles is of great practical importance and becomes one of the most important problems of hydrobiology.

Due to the violation of the ecological balance in water bodies, there is a serious threat of a significant deterioration of the ecological situation in general. Therefore, humanity is faced with the enormous task of protecting the hydrosphere and maintaining the biological balance in the biosphere.

The problem of pollution of the oceans

Oil and petroleum products are the most common pollutants in the oceans. By the beginning of the 1980s, about 6 million tons of oil entered the ocean annually, which amounted to 0.23% of world production. The greatest losses of oil are associated with its transportation from production areas. Emergency situations, overboard discharge of washing and ballast water by tankers - all this causes the presence of permanent fields of pollution along the routes of sea routes. In the period 1962-79, as a result of accidents, about 2 million tons of oil entered the marine environment. Over the past 30 years, since 1964, about 2000 wells have been drilled in the World Ocean, of which 1000 and 350 industrial wells have been installed in the North Sea alone. Due to minor leaks, 0.1 million tons of oil is lost annually. Large masses of oil enter the seas along rivers, with domestic and storm water flows.

The volume of pollution from this source is 2.0 million tons / year. With industrial effluents, 0.5 million tons of oil gets annually. Once in the marine environment, oil first spreads out in the form of a film, forming layers of varying thickness.

The oil film changes the composition of the spectrum and the intensity of light penetration into the water. Light transmission of thin films of crude oil is 1-10% (280 nm), 60-70% (400nm).

The film with a thickness of 30-40 microns completely absorbs infrared radiation. Mixing with water, oil forms an emulsion of two types: direct - "oil in water" - and reverse - "water in oil". When volatile fractions are removed, oil forms viscous inverse emulsions, which can remain on the surface, carried by the current, washed ashore and settle to the bottom.

Pesticides. Pesticides are a group of artificially created substances used to control pests and plant diseases. It was found that pesticides, destroying pests, harm many beneficial organisms and undermine the health of biocenoses. Agriculture has long faced the problem of transition from chemical (polluting), to biological (environmentally friendly) methods of pest control. The industrial production of pesticides is accompanied by the appearance of a large number of by-products that pollute wastewater.

Heavy metals. Heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, arsenic) are common and highly toxic pollutants. They are widely used in various industrial industries, therefore, despite treatment measures, the content of heavy metal compounds in industrial wastewater is quite high. Large masses of these compounds enter the ocean through the atmosphere. For marine biocenoses, the most dangerous are mercury, lead and cadmium. Mercury is transported to the ocean by inland runoff and through the atmosphere. During the weathering of sedimentary and igneous rocks, 3.5 thousand tons of mercury are released annually. The atmospheric dust contains about 12 thousand tons of mercury, and a significant part of it is of anthropogenic origin. About half of the annual industrial production of this metal (910 thousand tons / year) enters the ocean in various ways. In areas polluted by industrial waters, the concentration of mercury in the solution and suspended matter increases dramatically. Contamination of seafood has repeatedly led to mercury poisoning of coastal populations. Lead is a typical trace element contained in all components of the environment: in rocks, soils, natural waters, atmosphere, living organisms. Finally, lead is actively dispersed into the environment in the course of human economic activity. These are emissions from industrial and domestic wastewaters, from the smoke and dust of industrial enterprises, from the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines.

Thermal pollution. Thermal pollution of the surface of water bodies and coastal sea areas occurs as a result of the discharge of heated wastewater from power plants and some industrial industries. Discharge of heated water in many cases causes an increase in water temperature in reservoirs by 6-8 degrees Celsius. The area of ​​hot water spots in coastal areas can reach 30 square meters. km. More stable temperature stratification prevents water exchange in the surface and bottom layers. The solubility of oxygen decreases, and its consumption increases, since with an increase in temperature, the activity of aerobic bacteria that decompose organic matter increases. The species diversity of phytoplankton and the entire flora of algae is increasing.

Freshwater pollution

The water cycle, this long path of its movement, consists of several stages: evaporation, the formation of clouds, rainfall, runoff into streams and rivers and again evaporation.All along its path, the water itself is able to cleanse itself of contaminants that enter it - products of rotting organic matter, dissolved gases and minerals, suspended solids.

In places with a large concentration of people and animals, natural clean water is usually not enough, especially if it is used to collect sewage and transfer them away from settlements. If not a lot of sewage enters the soil, soil organisms recycle them, reusing nutrients, and clean water seeps into neighboring streams. But if impurities enter the water immediately, they rot, and oxygen is consumed for their oxidation. The so-called biochemical oxygen demand is created. The higher this demand, the less oxygen remains in the water for living microorganisms, especially for fish and algae. Sometimes, due to lack of oxygen, all living things die. The water becomes biologically dead, only anaerobic bacteria remain in it; they thrive without oxygen and in the course of their life they emit hydrogen sulfide - a poisonous gas with a specific smell of rotten eggs. The already lifeless water acquires a putrid smell and becomes completely unsuitable for humans and animals. This can happen with an excess of substances such as nitrates and phosphates in the water; they enter the water from agricultural fertilizers in the fields or from wastewater contaminated with detergents. These nutrients stimulate the growth of algae, algae begin to consume a lot of oxygen, and when it becomes insufficient, they die. Under natural conditions, the lake existed for about 20 thousand years before silting and disappearing. An excess of nutrients accelerates the aging process and shortens the life of the lake. Oxygen dissolves worse in warm water than in cold water. Some businesses, especially power plants, consume huge amounts of water for cooling. The heated water is discharged back into the rivers and further disturbs the biological balance of the water system. The reduced oxygen content hinders the development of some living species and gives an advantage to others. But these new, thermophilic species also suffer greatly as soon as the heating of the water stops. Organic waste, nutrients and heat only interfere with the normal development of freshwater ecological systems when they overload these systems. But in recent years, huge quantities of absolutely foreign substances have fallen on ecological systems, from which they do not know protection. Pesticides used in agriculture, metals and chemicals from industrial wastewater have managed to enter the aquatic food chain, which can have unpredictable consequences. Species at the beginning of the food chain can accumulate these substances in dangerous concentrations and become even more vulnerable to other harmful effects. Contaminated water can be treated. Under favorable conditions, this happens naturally in the course of the natural water cycle. But polluted basins - rivers, lakes, etc. - take much longer to recover. For natural systems to be able to recover, it is necessary, first of all, to stop the further flow of waste into rivers. Industrial emissions not only pollute but also poison wastewater. In spite of everything, some municipalities and industrial enterprises still prefer to dump waste into neighboring rivers and are very reluctant to refuse it only when the water becomes completely unusable or even dangerous.

Visiting Radio "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Acting Head of the Federal Agency for Water Resources Vadim Nikanorov [audio]

Photo: Ivan MAKEEV

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Afonina:

Over the next hour, we would like to talk about the wealth that our country has. When they look at Russia and say that it is a storehouse of wealth, I mean, of course, not only our subsoil, but also water resources. So, in conditions of population growth, industrial development, environmental pollution, people's access to suitable fresh water sources is really reduced. That is why some are especially zealous and look at Russia as such a storehouse of water resources. We decided to talk about this. With us in the studio Acting Head of the Federal Agency for Water Resources Vadim Nikanorov... What is the uniqueness of the water resource potential of our country, what do we have and what the rest do not?

Nikanorov:

Probably, to put the question like this is a little wrong, everyone has a little bit of everything. It's just that Russia has a lot of that. Russia is washed by the waters of 12 seas, there are over 2.5 million large and small rivers, more than 2 million lakes. And this is its water potential, the basis of the water fund of Russia. The only drawback of Russia in this part is that these water bodies are located very unevenly on its territory. Nevertheless, 120 thousand rivers over 10 km long create the water frame of Russia. We have more than 400 thousand kilometers favorable for navigation on the territory of Russia, and this also contributes to economic development. 90% of the annual river runoff falls on the basins of the Arctic and Pacific oceans. And only less than 8% - to the Caspian and Azov basins. At the same time, more than 80% of the population of Russia lives in the Caspian and Azov basins. And the main part of the country's economic infrastructure is also concentrated. On the territory of the Siberian District, which, in principle, is the richest in our part of water, there are the largest river systems. These are Angara-Yeniseiskaya, as well as Ob and Irtysh. And in general, the Siberian District accounts for 43% of the resources of the entire river flow in Russia.

As for the lakes. We have about 2 million of them. Fresh, salty, salty. And among them the deepest freshwater lake in the world is Baikal. Also, many researchers attribute the Caspian Sea to lakes. Lakes are also unevenly distributed over the territory of Russia. Most of them are located in the northwest - the Kola Peninsula, Karelia, the Urals, Western Siberia, the Lensko-Vilyui Upland, Transbaikalia and the Amur basin. Here is the number of lakes as we have, it really practically does not repeat itself. Only Canada has more lakes than Russia. Therefore, this is also our wealth.

And, of course, Baikal. The bulk of fresh water resources are concentrated in Lake Baikal. This is 23 thousand cubic kilometers. Or 20% of the world and more than 90% of the national reserves of fresh water. Ladoga and Onega lakes can also be classified as large or great lakes in Russia. And only 12 of the largest lakes contain about 25 thousand cubic meters of fresh water. Given that the total supply of fresh water in the lakes is 26.5-26.7 thousand cubic meters.

Afonina:

Vadim Anatolyevich, you just said about Lake Baikal, I think that our radio listeners immediately remembered what scandals are associated with this lake. How difficult it is now to say that this is one of the cleanest lakes on our planet. Alas, unfortunately, but it really is. We remember those actions that volunteers organized when they cleaned Baikal, we remember those scandals related to water pollution by enterprises ... Who should be responsible for the waste of water resources? Who is the culprit? At enterprises located along rivers and lakes? Blame for those who gave permission for the construction of these objects? How can this situation be changed for the better now? After all, such a task is certainly worth it.

Nikanorov:

Yes, of course, there is such a task, but I would not talk about wasting water resources, we are still talking about how to make Baikal cleaner, or rather, not even make it cleaner, and not to allow its further pollution. And all the efforts of all are directed at this - both the environmental services, as well as the subjects of the Federation, which are located along the shores of Lake Baikal. These are mainly the Irkutsk Region, the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Republic of Buryatia. In fact, probably, those organizations and enterprises that are located along Lake Baikal, permits for their construction were issued for a very long time. And now, remembering someone with unkind words is probably not worth it. It is necessary to make sure that these enterprises become cleaner, they begin to discharge the water that would not damage Lake Baikal. The biggest problem is that almost all of these enterprises operate without treatment facilities. Now all the efforts of scientists who are located in the Baikal region, who are also dealing with the problems of water purification, and who are dealing with Baikal itself and the quality of water in it, they are looking at how to do so as to provide all large and small enterprises with treatment facilities. In fact, from the side of the Republic of Buryatia, there are no large enterprises directly located on the territory of Lake Baikal. The Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill is closed. There are problems with past environmental damage. This issue is being resolved. There are no new discharges. But those sanatoriums that are located, small enterprises, recreation centers, etc. - they all work without treatment facilities. And this is probably one of the main problems.

The second main problem is the growth of new algae in Lake Baikal. The so-called spirogyra. Scientists have proven that the main medium for their growth is the chemicals found in detergents. And one of the tasks now facing the authorities of the constituent entities of the federation, and before the environmental structures, is to impose a ban on the sale and distribution of such detergents on the territory of the Baikal region. According to the scientists of the Limnological Institute, who are closely dealing with the problems of Lake Baikal, this will dramatically improve the state of the ecosystem of Lake Baikal.

Afonina:

It turns out that the purity of water resources depends on each of us, and if we do not use such means in everyday life, maybe the situation will really change?

Vadim Anatolyevich, now we have just talked about one lake - about Lake Baikal - of course, scientists come, investigate, look, we are doing our best to maintain this world pearl in due order. But let's remember that in Soviet times, for example, there was a slogan "turn the rivers back." And they turned. Let's adjust, as they say, water wealth to the needs of a person. Have you moved away from such a policy now?

Nikanorov:

They are moving away from such a policy. Water resources management is based on different principles and almost no one inside the country has any desire to turn rivers back. Although there are such violent heads in our country and in neighboring states who often say that Russia has too much water and let's share it with neighboring states, and offer to transfer it to neighboring states, sell it abroad, etc. But so far, thank God, there are no such serious attempts, because we understand that the amount of water that we have and what we talked about in the first part of our program, they are unevenly distributed, and secondly, it is subject to cyclicality. And if in one year there is a lot of this water - we have floods, floods - then in another year it may not be enough. And we are entering, or some region of our country may enter the stage of low water. Thus, unfortunately, we cannot predict in advance whether Russia will be able to fulfill its international agreements for a long period of time by supplying water somewhere abroad. Therefore, I think it is necessary to move away from such a policy and use water for the good of Russia inside the country.

Afonina:

And what are the main challenges of our time? How would you define them?

Nikanorov:

If we are talking about what is happening inside our country, then, as I said, these are alternating floods and periods of low water alternating with them. This is a very complex system, which depends both on the climate, on its change, and on other factors, including technological ones. And if, in principle, we know how to deal with floods, in the presence of reservoirs we cut off the peaks of floods, we collect in the spring with the proper forecast of Roshydromet, we empty the reservoirs and fill them with flood water, not letting them downstream, preventing some cities from being flooded, then in the period of low water everything is exacerbated. There is not enough water for some purposes for which it was used before, and problems begin. Problems in organizations, problems in shipping, problems in industry. The point is that, in accordance with the Water Code, in the absence of an adequate amount of water resources, the needs of the population are first and foremost met. Thus, we restrict consumption by other industries and supply water without restrictions - we are trying - to provide the population, economic facilities. Therefore, problems with low water are a whole chain of problems. In particular, for several years we had very big problems at the Volga-Kama cascade. This is the largest cascade in the European territory of the Russian Federation and for several years there was such a long period of low water. This was related to the restrictions on shipping, the underloading of ships, the incomplete loading of enterprises that used water in the region of the Volga-Kama cascade were also associated with this. This was due to the restriction of the tourist business, because the Upper Volga reservoirs partially fall into the system of the Golden Ring of Russia, tourists' ships were transported along them, and this also had to be limited. That is, you understand that when a country enters a period of low water, it entails a lot of restrictions.

Afonina:

But they will tell you - this is the element, in fact, who can predict it and what to do about it? Well, yes, probably, there is some kind of algorithm of actions for this or that case, but it is probably impossible to identify any frequency. This to some extent relieves, perhaps, a certain share of responsibility?

Nikanorov:

It is in principle possible to identify the frequency, but it is very difficult to have such large reserves of water to provide a period of some dry years. This requires very large reservoirs with a long-term period of their operation. We have few such reservoirs. Basically, we have reservoirs with seasonal or annual regulation. Therefore, it is, of course, difficult to accumulate water for a cycle of dry years. The way out of this is the construction of new reservoirs, maintaining the existing reservoirs in working order and, of course, adapting the water management structure, which includes waterways, and water intake facilities of enterprises, water intake facilities of housing and communal services. For work with low levels, it is precisely the solution to this problem in such a period.

Afonina:

Unfortunately, in the history of modern Russia there have been situations when it even came to human sacrifice. Now I'm talking about an excessive amount of water ... It seems that they don't listen to the experts, for example, they don't consult, for example, with the federal agency of water resources when they arrange these unauthorized buildings, and the authorities don't react to this, and then people's homes washes away and people die. When it turns out that basic safety measures for being near water bodies are not being followed. By the way, do our radio listeners know what they write? I will read to you just a couple of such messages. “Northern Donets. The banks of the river are littered with debris. It's disgusting to watch. Nothing is really being done ”- this is a message from Belgorod. Egor from Tver writes: "On the whole, I am satisfied, with the exception of the development close to the rivers by some comrades who do not clean up the garbage after themselves." “We have a city on the Amur,” writes our radio listener from Khabarovsk, “the state of the water is terrible, you can't swim, it's dangerous to fish. Most of the pollution comes from the "Chinese brothers". And this is the great Russian river? " That is, the questions, probably, are not even about the deepest rivers or, conversely, the insufficient amount of water, but about how they approach this and how they handle it. Is there any opportunity to answer these claims to our radio listeners?

Nikanorov:

They are absolutely right. Buildings near rivers, in the so-called water protection zones or coastal protection belts - this is the main problem. The fact is that if all building regulations were observed, of course, there would be much less damage from floods. But people are drawn to water and believe that the closer he builds a house or makes some kind of personal plot, then he will be better. Indeed, for a certain period of time it satisfies everyone, but then a lot of water comes, the house washes away or it stands for a long period of time under water, loses its qualities and people try to appeal to the state to make up for the damage from the flood.

Afonina:

Yes, but now, as I understand it, the state is ready, for example, to ensure that people themselves fully insure their homes, which are located in such a dangerous zone and, accordingly, later pay for themselves ... if you cannot get rid of your own problems, that you really want to live by the water and at the same time understand the danger, then you have to pay for it. There is one more interesting message concerning the state of the Simferopol reservoir. “Simferopol reservoir is the largest fresh water reservoir in Crimea. A very sad picture. Terrible littering of the coastline, no sanitary zone is observed, cars drive around right next to the water, especially on weekends and holidays, fuel and lubricants get to the ground. Since the water level is changing all the time, sooner or later all this falls into the water. Just a barbaric attitude - both on the part of local residents and on the part of the city authorities, who cannot put things in order, ”writes Andrei.

Nikanorov:

Yes, in fact, there are a lot of such examples. We at the agency see this constantly, because we receive letters from people who are dissatisfied with the state of the coastline of water bodies and the use of water bodies on their territory. And I will say that here full responsibility for this state, for all these things, lies with the local authorities, with the subjects of the federation. This is due to the fact that in accordance with the Water Code in force in our country, the 26th article of it transferred the authority to manage water resources on its territory to the constituent entities of the Federation.

Afonina:

In general, who manages water resources? Is it the state or is this scheme differently arranged? In order to understand, maybe we already have all the rivers in private property, but we do not know about it - who is the manager?

Nikanorov:

No, our rivers are not privately owned and cannot be. In our private property, we can get small water bodies that are located on the territory of one land plot, small quarries, ponds - here they can be privately owned. And they are really actively transferred to private property. As for all other water bodies, they are all owned by the state. Federally owned. However, as I said, the federation has transferred some of the powers to govern them to the subjects of the federations. Reserving the management of large reservoirs, cascades of reservoirs, which are of strategic importance for the country, and reservoirs that are used for household drinking water supply to two or more federal subjects. There is such a list of reservoirs and they are managed by the Federal Agency for Water Resources.

Afonina:

And why is this done? Why don't the subjects of the federation govern? What is the danger if all this is left to the discretion of the regional authorities?

Nikanorov:

Here, first of all, to avoid possible conflicts between neighbors, between the subjects of the federation on water allocation. Therefore, in order to avoid such possible conflicts and to ensure that the needs of the population and industry in water resources of these constituent entities of the federation are guaranteed, the state controls this. The structure of water resources management in Russia is based on the basin principle. We have 15 basin departments. These are our territorial bodies. Here they are in their place making sure that all the possibilities of large reservoirs are used to meet the needs of a particular entity. For this, basin councils are created on the territory of these basin administrations, which include representatives of the subjects of federations, large water users, and other stakeholders, who together solve all problems arising in the basin. Such meetings of basin councils are held at least twice a year and there, in addition to solving urgent problems of today, planning activities for the future, discussing issues of what needs to be done and on which water bodies in the near future. And these plans are then fixed by the subjects in the form of some of their regional programs for the use of water resources, and the subject and the basin as a whole move along them.

Afonina:

Let us now turn to our radio listeners again - are you satisfied with the state of rivers and lakes? And Alexander phoned us. Good afternoon.

Alexander:

Good day. As you said, we have the Volga-Don basin, the city of Belgorod, the Seversky Donets river, flows through two states. A glaring case! Unfortunately, our authorities do not pay attention to this, the reservoir is becoming shallower and blooming. We, residents who have been living for a long time, have repeatedly addressed, but the land is being plundered ... our power has not changed for 25 years in the region ... and I would like to ask - have you ever been in our long-suffering region from the point of view of water?

Afonina:

Vadim Anatolyevich, have you been to the Belgorod region?

Nikanorov:

Oh sure. And not only in the Belgorod region, I once drove through the entire basin of the Seversky Donets, I know all the problems that are there. There, the river really begins in the Belgorod region, passes through Ukraine and ends in the Rostov region, flowing into the Don and carrying there all the muck that has accumulated over the entire course of the Seversky Donets. Indeed, the river is in a very unsatisfactory condition. Both on the territory of the Belgorod region and on the territory of Ukraine. A huge amount of all sorts of prohibited, let's say, substances are dumped there ... When our relations with Ukraine were better, these problems were discussed every year at the level of the intergovernmental commission, there were laboratories that monitored the quality of water both in the Belgorod region, before supplying it to Ukraine, and in the Rostov region, when we tracked what Ukraine dumps to us. The situation was more or less satisfactory. And now we continue to measure the amount of pollutants that come to us from the territory of Ukraine, but, unfortunately, we cannot do anything about it yet. The only reassuring thing is that due to the current situation in Donbass, the industry now practically does not work there, therefore, discharges to the Seversky Donets are minimized.

As for the Belgorod region itself, then, of course, it is necessary to pay attention to the local leadership, the governor, to the state of the Seversky Donets River, and we, for our part, will also ask the Don Basin Water Administration, whose prerogative is to monitor the state of water resources in the Belgorod region, to consider at the nearest basin council, the state of the river and reservoirs located on the territory of the Belgorod region, to discuss it and make some emergency, and maybe even planned decisions.

Afonina:

Yes, we have come up with a topic that, I think, is also of interest to our radio listeners. It turns out that the joint use of water resources by different states sometimes leads to quite serious conflicts. Let's remember the conflict between Turkey and Syria over the Tigris and Euphrates. Between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Nile River. Between Israel, Palestinian Authority and Jordan over the Jordan River Basin. In Central Asia, these conflicts are constantly going on over the division of water resources. Yes, by the way, scientists also scared that the first nuclear conflict on our planet would break out not between Russia and the United States, but between India and Pakistan because of problems around access to drinking water on the Indian subcontinent. That is, here we have such a topic of a rather global conflict, which may unfold because of what we think is ordinary, fresh water. Is Russia in this sense not subject to such influences, fears, and the emergence of certain conflicts? After all, our rivers, as we understand, are also not only our welfare and only our prerogative to use them? Here is one example you just gave. Are there still others? What conflicts can arise? Where are the pain points?

Nikanorov:

Yes, the problem of water use in the world is becoming a major factor that affects the economy, social sphere, regional and national security. And so I want to quote that in the report of the 2015 World Economic Forum "Global Risks" the water crisis was put forward as the primary threat to humanity in terms of the magnitude of the expected impact. The authors of the report suggest that water demand by 2030 will exceed available water resources by 40%. This is very fresh data and it is impossible not to listen to them. As for Russia, as I said earlier, Russia is one of the countries with the richest water resources and the average long-term renewable resources of Russia make up 10% of the world river flow. It is the second largest in the world after Brazil. That is, in principle, Russia is not threatened with a water crisis. And on average in our country there is a little more than 30 thousand cubic meters of water per person per year. That significantly exceeds the critical indicator set by the UN. And it is equal to 1.7 thousand cubic meters. That is, the difference is noticeable. And even this minimum level set by the UN, it guarantees the minimum needs of the population, the economy and the preservation of the environment.

Afonina:

Yes, this is, rather, an answer to the question of one of our radio listeners, probably already the final such remark, one of those who listens to us writes: “The water goes underground. Instead of mined minerals, we will die of thirst. " We will not die, an expert in our studio tells us, yes, as I understand it, Vadim Anatolyevich?

Nikanorov:

Yes, absolutely right.

Afonina:

We will not be left without fresh water, like this. Well, thanks a lot! The acting head of the Federal Agency for Water Resources Vadim Nikanorov was with us in the studio.

Water resources are unevenly distributed throughout the country: 90% of the total annual runoff falls on the basin of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, and less than 8% - on the basin of the Caspian and Azov Seas, where over 80% of Russia's population lives and its main industrial and agricultural potential is concentrated. ... In general, the total water withdrawal for economic needs is relatively small - 3% of the average long-term river flow.

However, in the Volga basin, it accounts for 33% of the total water withdrawal throughout the country, and in a number of river basins, the withdrawal of the average annual flow exceeds the ecologically permissible volumes of withdrawal (Don - 64%, Terek - 68, Kuban - 80%, etc.). In the south of the European territory of Russia, practically all water resources are involved in national economic activities. Even in the basins of the Ural, Tobol and Ishim rivers, water tensions have become a factor, to a certain extent, restraining the development of the national economy.

Surface water pollution

The long-term tendency of increasing pollution of surface waters continues. The annual volume of discharged wastewater has remained practically unchanged over the past 5 years and amounts to 27 km 3. A huge amount of toxic waste comes from wastewater from industry, agriculture and municipal services and water bodies. The Volga with its tributaries Kama and Oka will undergo the greatest anthropogenic load. The average annual toxic load on the ecosystems of the Volga is 6 times higher than the load on aquatic ecosystems in other regions of the country. The water quality of the Volga basin does not correspond to the hygienic, fishery and recreational standards.

Due to the congestion and low efficiency of the treatment facilities, the volume of normatively treated wastewater discharged into water bodies is only 8.7% of the total volume of water to be treated.

The MPCs of harmful ingredients in water exceed tens, and sometimes hundreds of times: the waters of the Ural River near the cities of Orel and Orenburg contain iron, oil products, ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, the average annual concentration of which ranges from 5 to 40 MPC; in Primorye, the waters of the Rudnaya River are polluted with boron-containing substances and metal compounds - the concentrations of copper, zinc, boron reach, respectively, 30, 60 and 800 MPC, etc.

The results of checking the quality of water sources showed: only 12% of the surveyed water bodies can be attributed to conditionally clean (background); 32% are in states of anthropogenic environmental stress (moderately polluted); 56% - are polluted suitable objects (or their parts), the ecosystems of which are in a state of ecological regression.

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