Maia Sandu warned of the risk of a regular water crisis in Moldova

President of Moldova Maia Sandu said that the drop in water levels in the Dniester and Prut threatens the country with a regular repetition of the water crisis.

The Government of Moldova and local administrations must take urgent measures: carry out technical work at water intake stations and prepare alternative sources of water supply.

The Parliament of Moldova approved the decision to introduce a state of emergency in hydrology for a period of 60 days due to the shallowing of the Dniester.

CHISINAU, September 29 – RIA Novosti. The drop in water levels in the Dniester and the Prut River threatens Moldova with a regular repetition of the water crisis, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday.

“The drought has led to a sharp drop in water levels in both the Dniester and the Prut. Unfortunately, there is a risk that the problem we are facing this fall will be repeated year after year due to increasingly severe climate changes,” Sandu wrote on her Facebook page.

According to her, the government of Moldova and local administrations urgently need to take joint measures: carry out technical work at water intake stations and prepare alternative sources of water supply.

According to Sandu, on the Prut River, water discharge has been reduced to 14 cubic meters per second, leaving only 72 centimeters before the critical point of stopping the water intake of the hydraulic system. This basin supplies the settlements of six Moldovan regions - Ungheni, Cahul, Cantemir, Glodeni, Falesti and Leova. In the long term, the president called for upgrading networks, reducing losses and carrying out large-scale reforestation of river basins.

Last Saturday, the Parliament of Moldova approved the government’s decision to introduce a state of emergency in hydrology in the country for a period of 60 days due to the shallowing of the Dniester. As stated by the Moldovan Minister of Environment Georgiy Haider, the useful volume of the Novodnistrovskoe reservoir in Ukraine is virtually exhausted, negotiations on increasing water discharge have not yielded results, and the inflow is formed exclusively due to transit runoff from the Carpathians.

Previously, the republic's authorities had already introduced restrictions on the use of drinking water: they prohibited washing streets, sidewalks and filling swimming pools, and also obliged industrial enterprises in the non-food sector to reduce water consumption by at least 20%.