{"id":448427,"date":"2020-06-27T12:07:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T12:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=448427"},"modified":"2020-06-29T15:43:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T15:43:00","slug":"a-natural-water-cycle-the-floodwater-dangers-that-are-neglected-in-moldova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/a-natural-water-cycle-the-floodwater-dangers-that-are-neglected-in-moldova\/","title":{"rendered":"A natural water cycle? The floodwater dangers that are neglected in Moldova"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Due to heavy rains in Ukraine, Romania and the Republic of Moldova, the employees of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (GIES) were working during the entire week to eliminate the consequences of the floods in the whole\u00a0country.<\/p>\n

The water level in the Dniester River increased by up to 3.5 m in some northern localities, while the State Hydrometeorological Service<\/strong> forecasted further increases of water level by July 2. Therefore,\u00a0residents were evacuated from the villages at risk of flooding both from the Dniester and the Prut riverbeds, cleaning works were performed, protection dams were build or fortified, according to a note<\/a> of the Government of Moldova<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However, beside the problem of flooded households and farmlands, there is also a critical ecological problem. Moldova is still a country with a limited access to centralised sewerage systems. The majority of population (especially in rural areas) still use an improvised toilet placed in the yard (latrine). Moreover, there are still localities in Moldova with no access to a centralised water supply systems, the water from local reservoirs being consumed. The floodwater accelerates the transfer of dangerous pollutants from various sources of pollution<\/span> (including latrines) to the water that\u00a0gets in the supply systems or local wells.<\/p>\n

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Source: gov.md<\/p><\/div>\n

No water supply systems<\/h3>\n

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data<\/a>, 81.8%<\/strong> of population\u00a0 had access to the public water supply service\u00a0in 2019. 53 cities and 724 rural localities had access to the public water supply system in the last year, which represented only 50.7%<\/strong> of the country’s localities.<\/p>\n

About 51% of Moldovan villages do not have access to drinking water supply from public systems.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The localities from Chisinau (88.6%) and Gagauzia (78.1%) have the highest level of connection to the public water supply network. The lowest level is recorded in the North (35.5%). The water is usually captured from surface sources – 64.6%, from underground sources – 25.5%, or from other sources – 9.9%, informed the NBS.<\/p>\n

Floods can lead to a higher risk of running out of drinking water for all localities in the Prut and the Dniester riverbeds, which do not have access to centralised water supply systems. Moreover, even those that do have access to such systems risk to drink contaminated water, if the water is captured from sources that came in contact with floodwater.<\/p>\n

The National Agency for Public Health (NAPH) reported<\/a> high levels of non-compliance of\u00a0 the water from local wells, concerning both chemical and microbiological parameters. “This situation is determined by the lack of centralised sewerage systems, unsanitary conditions, the location of latrines and landfills in the immediate vicinity of wells,”<\/em> noted the agency.<\/p>\n

It also warned<\/a> that the contaminated water from wells need to be pumped out and walls need to be cleaned in case if floods. When the water in the natural reservoirs is back it needs to be disinfected and tested. The question is how many flooded localities from Moldova respect the NAPH recommendations.<\/p>\n

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Source: gov.md<\/p><\/div>\n

No sewerage systems<\/h3>\n

A\u00a0reportage<\/a> of Moldova.org disclosed that seven out of ten households<\/strong> in the Republic of Moldova do not have a toilet in the house.\u00a0On average, 21 out of 30 people use a latrine.<\/p>\n

Only 126\u00a0out of 1682 localities<\/strong> have sewerage systems and only 73 of them have functional sewage treatment plants. Without a sewage treatment plant, wastewater reaches the soil and rivers, causing serious pollution.<\/p>\n

Only 7.6% of Moldovan localities are provided with public sewerage system (95.0% of cities and 4.4% of rural localities).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The highest share of localities with access to the public sewerage system is registered in the capital city area (71.4%) and Gagauzia (15.6%), while the localities in the South and North have almost no access to such systems ( 5.4% and 4.7%), said the official NBS data<\/a> for 2019.<\/p>\n

Only a few localities from Moldova have access to\u00a0decentralised sewerage systems with attached treatment plants and there are rare cases of households where home treatment plants attached to the individual sewerage system are built.<\/p>\n

“In the 21st century, latrines must go down in history,”<\/em> claimed the NAPH. In case the improvised toilets, built in the yards, are flooded, that could cause\u00a0a real ecological catastrophe.<\/p>\n

No sewage treatment plants<\/h3>\n

The rivers in the Republic of Moldova are highly polluted due to sewage that is discharged in rivers, as the National Environmental Center (NEC)\u00a0warned<\/a>. “The level of pollution and degradation of rivers is so high that we risk causing irreversible damage to the environment, which in turn endangers human life,”<\/em> said the NEC representatives.<\/p>\n