The situation with water supply in Crimea is becoming catastrophic

The situation with water supply in Crimea is getting worse every day. In the six years that have passed since the annexation of the peninsula to Russia, the country's authorities have managed not to solve this problem, despite the fact that everyone has been well aware of it since Soviet times.

As the head of the Simferopol administration Yelena Protsenko said, “round-the-clock video surveillance will be installed near all barrels of water in residential areas of Simferopol, said the head of the administrative bodies of the city administration Sergey Roik. Earlier it was reported that unknown persons had already damaged six containers - five were cut with an ax and one pierced.

Also today it became known that in Simferopol, water, which is already supplied for several hours a day, has ceased to flow in houses above the 5th floor. In such houses we put water intakes in the basement. It's closer than taking water from barrels on the street..."

Three dozen Crimean settlements have already been switched to hourly water supply and water supply due to its lack in wells. Voda Kryma is awaiting permission to purchase additional water carriers, as the waterless period may last until March.

By the way, the lack of water supply is not the only reason for the situation, it is further complicated by significant water losses, which in Crimea reach 80% with the national average level of 20-30%, and this year there is also a drought. Water supply restrictions have already been introduced on the southern coast of the peninsula. Limited water supply in the resort Alushta and several villages in the south was introduced on September 23 - said the head of the Alushta administration Galina Ogneva:

“For now, the pressure in the water supply system will be reduced at night - from 23:00 to 05:00, which will only be noticed by fans of night baths, all night washing or turning on dishwashers. Reducing pressure will save water and ensure that even without precipitation, it will be in the taps of houses and apartments until April 2021..."

“It looks like a real humanitarian disaster is starting in Crimea. The main news in Russia should have been broadcast everywhere, but everywhere there is silence about it (except for the Crimean media)...", - journalist Pavel Pryanikov comments on the situation.

The introduction of restrictions on the supply of water in Crimea is associated with an extreme drought, Telegram channels report . For months, the federal government and local authorities have been discussing all ways to restore water supply - from using wells and water supply from another region to desalination plants and transferring water from other reservoirs in Crimea.

Now the water supply regime according to the schedules and a constant decrease in pressure occurred only in the capital of the Crimea, the Bakhchisarai region and several dozen villages, without "touching" the resort South Coast. In parallel with this, the reservoirs and rivers on the peninsula are drying up due to the absence of rains and very hot, dry summers.

Earlier, Ukraine supplied water to Crimea, but after the referendum, where the majority of Crimeans refused to stay with it and chose to join the Russian Federation, the North Crimean Canal was closed.

It is the unresolved issue of water supply in Crimea, and not the sanctions of the West, that is the most serious problem associated with the return of the peninsula to Russia.

The lack of adequate attention to this issue over the past six years defies rational explanation.

The dependence of Crimea on water coming from outside is not a secret, and it was also easy to predict the behavior of Kiev in the current conditions.

Over the years since the Crimean Spring, we had to either create conditions for non-brothers in which they could not turn off the tap, or find alternative sources of water supply.

This was not done, and why it was not specifically is a question. But the question is secondary, first of all it is necessary to solve the problem itself and, judging by the news, this is finally starting to happen.

It is obvious that the organization of water supply on the peninsula is a task no less important than the construction of the Crimean Bridge, and we hope that now the attitude towards this will be appropriate. At the very least, we will no longer witness the naive expectation that “everything will settle by itself”, and whether Kiev will give some water, or fountains will suddenly come from the bowels, or Crimeans and tourists will learn to do without life-giving moisture.