Water bodies and state of the water supply within the territory of the Southern Federal District

Summary

Drinking water has been an essential factor of the formation of public health and life quality. The problem of maintaining water quality as a factor producing a significant effect not only on the infectious case rate but also on the sick rate of the population is one of the priority tasks of the activities of the state sanitary and epidemiological service. The data on the water supply sources and state of the public water supply within the territory of the Southern Federal District is presented. Virtually all the water sources, both surface and underground, in all the substituent territories of the Southern Federal District are subject to the anthropogenic and technogenic impact of different intensity. The causes of the water quality deterioration in the surface water bodies are considered. The main cause of the pollution is discharging big amounts of raw or partially treated wastewater, storm water, drainage water from the irrigation systems into the water bodies. Unsatisfactory performance of the wastewater treatment facilities alongside with the delayed construction of the wastewater collection systems, lack of the effluent disinfection result in the pollution of the underground waters and rivers as well as in flooding the communities with underground water. The suggestions on certain measures to be taken to improve the state of the water supply and wastewater disposal of the communities of the Southern Federal District and provide for the epidemiological welfare of the population are presented.

Key words

potable water , water supply , water disposal , water resources , anthropogenic pollution , water quality control

Water supply and wastewater disposal in the Arctic region:
Greenland, Canada, USA (a review)

Summary

The specific features of the water supply and sanitation infrastructure in the Arctic Region are determined by the extreme dramatically changing climatic conditions, scattering throughout the vast territory of separate communities; the lack, with a few exceptions, of road communication between settlements; differences in the views of traditional and modern culture on the role of water supply and sanitation systems. The transport infrastructure involves the prevailing use of ships, aircraft and helicopters. In light of this almost all communities have autonomous systems of power supply, water supply and sanitation. Public water supply is provided only in some of the largest cities; in most cases, the water transported in tanks is stored by residents in tanks or independently delivered from water distribution points. Wastewater is either discharged untreated or passes passive purification under natural conditions organized in stabilization ponds and/or in marshy areas where self-purfication takes place due to sedimentation, biodegradation and inactivation of microorganisms under the impact of sunlight. After passive treatment the effluent is discharged into estuaries or the sea. In households of small settlements bio toilets with removable plastic bags are widely used. These bags are collected, transported and emptied at sea by municipal services, outsourcing companies or individual collectors. Recently local wastewater treatment and reuse systems have become common; monitoring of anthropogenic pollution of the natural aquatic environment is becoming regular.

Key words

water supply , anthropogenic pollution , aquatic environment , the Arctic Region , Greenland , Canadian Arctic , Alaska