From Moscow to the outskirts: in which cities of Russia you still can drink water

Quite recently, Novye Izvestia published an extremely alarming article that Moscow drinking water may become unfit for consumption or, in any case, dangerous in the near future. The reason for this is the massive development of territories in floodplain lands along the Moscow River. However, the “water problem” is by no means limited to Moscow: experts say that drinking water is not ideal in all regions of the country, and people's health and life depend on its quality. In this regard, the Hitech online publication publishes material written by biochemist Maria Kuleshova about the quality of water in different regions and how to make it safe. Already at the very beginning of her article, Kuleshova claims that a study of water sources in all regions of Russia showed that there is no clean water in the cities of the country. Including in the capitals.

In Moscow - it's too hard, in St. Petersburg - it's too soft

True, as far as Moscow is concerned, so far all indicators of water quality are within the normal range, and the problem is the presence of salts in tap water. It is known that the hardness of capital water does not exceed 4.5 J0, but the salt content above 3.5 J0 already leads to the formation of scale on household appliances, which adversely affects the health of the kidneys, and also provokes the deposition of salts in the joints, slows down digestion, worsens skin conditions. So far, employees of the Moscow water utility are unable to reduce the hardness of the water, since this is precisely the composition of the Moscow River, the main source of fresh water in the capital.

In St. Petersburg, the problem is the color of the water, which in many areas exceeds the maximum limit of 200 units, ranging from 220 to 600. This is a sign of secondary contamination of water with iron during passage through water pipes, and their average age in the city is 45 years, and the degree of wear is estimated at 55.9%.

In addition, the water in the Neva is too soft, and that affects the increased wear of pipes. Yes, it does not leave scale on the devices, but it is very corrosive, because it contains few salts and “draws” minerals from the environment. Passing through the pipes, it takes a lot of iron, its level in St. Petersburg water exceeds the norm by 2.5 times.

Regular use of such water disrupts the functioning of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, heart rate, thyroid gland, causes a breakdown, allergies and skin diseases.

Each region is unhappy in its own way

But what about the regions? The expert provides data on some of them.

For example, in Vladimir, it would seem that almost all water indicators are normal. Except for two: the color of the water is at the bottom mark, and the amount of fluoride is above the norm, And this is a danger to the health of the thyroid and parathyroid glands, as well as teeth - they are subject to rapid destruction.

In Tula, the indicators of calcium in drinking water are strongly - 1.5-2 times - overestimated. And although calcium is considered a useful mineral, its excess harms the child's body, disrupting the absorption of zinc, iron, and this is fraught with anemia. In adults, excess calcium causes the formation of stones in the kidneys and urinary tract, as well as deposits on the walls of blood vessels.

The water in Yaroslavl is of good quality, but its hardness is only 2.3 J0, it is supersaturated with iron, and this causes diabetes and allergic reactions.

In the Samara region, in 12% of cases of sampling, deviations from sanitary standards were found, and in 1.5% - from microbiological standards. The local water has a high level of color, which means its poor-quality purification and poor organoleptic properties that negatively affect the functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

According to the Institute of Earth Sciences of the Southern Federal District, the water there needs high-quality and competent treatment. The water of the main river of the district, the Don, was assigned the third class of purity - "polluted". In addition, infrastructure, and especially worn pipes, negatively affects the composition and quality of drinking water.

The decline in water quality in the Don increases the amount of volatile organic substances that give it an unpleasant fishy, swampy smell. One of the main problems with the chemical composition of this water is too much hardness, which leads to the formation of stones in the gallbladder and kidneys. According to European indicators, water, the level of hardness of which exceeds 4-6 mg-eq / l, is no longer considered suitable for drinking.

For a year and a half, residents of Rostov-on-Don have been complaining about the poor appearance and quality of tap water, the smell of mud, green, brown and gray shades of water. Studies have shown that the amount of organic substances in the Don water is increased. Water samples from different reservoirs confirmed a deviation of 30% from hygienic standards: 29.6% of the sampled waters - according to microbiological indicators, 0.78% - according to parasitological indicators.

The same is true in other cities of the region: in Taganrog, Azov, Novocherkassk, Azov and Aksai districts. In the reservoirs of these cities, due to the poor condition of the water, it is even forbidden to swim. Water from the river is used in agriculture for irrigation, so the channel became shallow from 2007 to 2017, which led to constant pollution of the Don.

In some areas of Voronezh, an increased - 2 times - hardness of water was revealed. In addition to the formation of scale, such water negatively affects human health. Another curious aspect is that since household appliances are prone to limescale, this also leads to higher energy bills.

If we take the eastern regions of the country, but, for example, in Yakutsk, the water does not even meet the basic quality requirements - it is colored, cloudy and smelly. The indicators are overestimated for all three parameters, which indicates the poor quality of water from the centralized drinking water supply system in terms of sanitary-chemical and microbiological indicators.

In the Republic of Sakha, the content of iron is also exceeded, which gives the water an unpleasant metallic taste, colors fruits, vegetables and other products, and changes their properties. An excess of iron in the body can lead to hemochromatosis, problems with the stomach, liver, pancreas and cardiovascular system. Such water does not wash soap off the skin well, and this leads to clogged pores and accumulation of sebum.

The main problem of Primorsky Krai is the increased color of the water. In different areas of Vladivostok, the color ranges from 220 to 320, while the norm is 200. Such water not only looks bad, but is also too soft, which leads to secondary iron pollution and high color, as in St. Petersburg.

In addition, soft water can cause a lack of beneficial elements in the body, so it must be enriched with micronutrients such as calcium and magnesium to restore its optimal mineral balance.

In Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, reduced water hardness has led to the fact that in some areas of the city the depreciation of water supply networks has reached 90%.

In conclusion, the expert advises each reader of this article to find out the shortcomings of water in his city in order to choose an effective filter to eliminate them, at least in his own apartment.