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No rain, no water for hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians
Sofia (AFP) Aug 31, 2008 Summer drought, lagging dam construction and persistent leaks and failures in old pipes have again made water rationing a part of life for hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians this summer. On Monday, a state of emergency was declared in the central municipality of Panagyurishte, after already three weeks of shortages. Major breaks in the main pipe channelling water uphill from the Maritza river, over 40 kilometres (25 miles) away, had sent thick rusty water, if any, running from the taps. And local catchments -- the only other source of water in the region -- had already dried out from the summer heat, forcing people, under the scorching sun, into daily queues in front of the few water tanks brought to town. They were by no means the only ones hit by water shortages this summer. According to data from the regional development ministry released Tuesday, 197,580 people in 281 towns and villages have so far been subjected to some kind of water rationing. "Cuts are almost sure to also hit people in several other regions in central and western Bulgaria, whose drinking water supplies are not guaranteed by nearby dams but come exclusively from high-mountain and spring catchments," Environment and Waters ministry expert Tsvetanka Dimitrova told AFP. Black Sea resorts to the east are also bracing for shortages due to booming tourism and frantic construction in places with low water capacity that lack sewage and wastewater purification facilities, she added. Between 10 and 25 percent of Bulgaria's population of 7.6 million have been subjected to water rationing every summer for the past decade, according to regional development ministry data. "Bulgaria is among the five poorest EU states in terms of water resources with an average annual inflow of about 15.7 billion cubic metres -- or about 2,300 to 2,500 cubic metres per person a year -- compared to 10,000 cubic metres per person in neighbouring Romania," Dimitrova said. "Moreover, the majority of this water flows downriver into neighbouring countries and the only way to ensure constant stocks of clean water is through a system of dams," she added. Twelve dams in Bulgaria are used exclusively for this purpose and hold 1.5 billion cubic metres of water. But lack of funding has postponed the construction of six new ones to guarantee supplies to other regions, including Panagyurishte, that still rely mainly on catchments. Obsolete water and sewage networks made of asbestos cement are another problem as they cause enormous leaks and contamination of otherwise very good-quality water. An average 60 percent of water pumped in the pipes never reaches consumers, while in some regions losses amount to up to 90 percent, experts said. Even though the losses are included in the price, water is still relatively cheap in Bulgaria: between 40 and 90 cents (60 cents and 1.30 dollars) per cubic metre. "In Bulgaria there is a common view that water is a gift from God, it does not cost anything and is not worth saving. This is absolutely not true," Regional Development Minister Asen Gagauzov said recently. Average daily water use per capita in Bulgaria is relatively high at about 100 litres, national statistics show. But only about 10 percent of all clean water is used for drinking and cooking, while the rest is used for irrigation purposes or by industry, according to ministry data. "It is a crime to use drinking water for irrigation when people do not have enough to drink," Dimitrova complained. To save resources, Environment and Waters Minister Dzhevdet Chakarov banned on Wednesday the use of water from dams for any other purpose than household needs. Water utility companies have also published on their websites long lists of advice to consumers to try to encourage them to save water: by turning off the tap when brushing their teeth and taking a shower rather than a bath. "We used to be rather wasteful but things are changing," said Dimitrova. "It is not nice to turn the tap and see nothing coming out." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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