Amendments to the Water Code of the Russian Federation

Summary

The analysis of the amendments to the Water Code of the Russian Federation made with FZ-282 Federal Law is presented. The amendments were adopted with the purpose of overcoming the crisis of the water protection zones; the amendments allow economic activity as well as the existence of horticultural, gardening and holiday villages on the territories of the water protection zones provided treatment facilities are available. To prevent from the negative impact on the water bodies the Federal Law prohibits building new settlements and capital projects without special protection measures. In flooded and impounded zones the regime of water protection zones is reproduced. The situations are discussed that can arise in the process of implementing the mentioned amendments in case of horticultural, gardening and holiday villages on the territories of the water protection zones obtaining legal status. It is related to connecting buildings to the sewers and conveying wastewater to the public or local treatment facilities as well as to the impossibility of constructing raw wastewater storage tanks made of water-proof materials. The amendments to the RF Water Code do not specify the concept of territory impounding which makes this statutory provision uncertain. Broad interpretation of the term «wastewater» including infiltration water can result in unpredictable effects since more than half of the existing domestic water intakes used for potable water supply are referred to infiltration ones; most of them lack any treatment facilities.

Key words

treatment facilities , RF Water Code , water protection zone , flooded area , impounded zone