Volga water is not sufficient

If we could put a toy boat at the source of the Volga in the forests of Central Russia and wait until it floats down to the Caspian Sea, it would take not 30 - 50 days, as it would have at the turn of the century, but 400 - 500 days. This is the extent to which the current of the great river - now in fact a chain of water reservoirs- has showed down.

The storage lakes have appeared because of the series of power plants construction, which generate 40 thousand million kwt of electricity annually. However, the building of those hydroelectric power stations created several problems.

First, approximately 38,000 square kilometers of land was submerged, cutting down the farming areas.

Second, the broadening of the water area increased evaporation and this had a huge effect on the shallow of the Caspian Sea. The resulting water losses have amounted to eleven cubic kilometers to compare; 14 cubic kilometers are consumed annually for all the domestic and municipal needs in Russia.

Third,the number of fish has declined - the dams of the hydroelectric power station cut off the traditional routes to the spawning grounds, and the ones who really feel the effect were the sturgeon.

These are the negative features caused by the alteration of the Volga regimen.

But in the difficult years after World War II, the industry in the Volga areas badly needed electricity. There were no nuclear power stations then, and we did not know how to transmit electricity over long distances.

Besides, without the Volga reservoirs, the needed water could not be supplied (not only for industry and irrigation; but drinking water for the region's people).

The Russian economy's water requirements are growing rapidly, as they are everywhere. Twenty-five years ago 100 cubic kilometers a yearwere needed; today the figure 320 in 20 years, even this figure will double. But the annual discharge of the Volga is 250 cubic kilometers.

Even though several decades ago the Volga was a large reserve, today it needs water itself. Where can it come from?

Russian fresh water resources (4,700 cubic kilometers) are many times more than future requirements demand. But they are not distributed evenly.

Right now, the principal way of dealing with the problem is to economize on Volga water. Closed water cycles help to minimize industrial water consumption. Clean water has to be saved.

4. Ответьте на вопросы.

What problems have the Volga River?

What are the negative features caused by the alteration of the Volga regimen?