Watching the ecology

In 2003 the government adopted the resolution "On the. Measures to Prevent the Pollution of the Basin of the Volga and the Ural Rivers with untreated sewages.

So, what progress has been made? In the Volga's upper reaches, at Rzhev, the content of organic matter in the water is within safety limits. Thereare biological treatment plants for sewage in the large cities of Tver, Samara, Volgograd, etc.

Specialists were particularly concerned about the pollution of the Volga at Nizniy Novgorod - an industrial center of over 1300000 people. The content of organic matter in the water there was two to three times over the safety level, although it has since been lowered to within the standard. This is a result of the construction of several hundred treatment plants.

On the whole, the content of petroproducts, of nitrogen and copper compounds has been reduced.

This is how are going things with the old factories built in the "pre - ecological" era. And what about the new factories?

Protection of water resources always demands a choice, which is more advantageous: to purify the polluted water and to use fresh water for production, or to create closed - cycle water supplies (when the same water can be used several times).

Recycling technology demands more capital investment, but in the final count it is more effective.

The best example is the Bolshoi Liman in the lower reaches of the Volga, where fish, ducks, herons, white swans abound. Bolshov Liman is an artificial reservoir (evaporator), the last link in the series of the purification plants of Volzhsky,a chemical and petrochemical centre, which does not discharge any waste into the river at all.

And finally, the natural world of the Volga is a part of the national wealth of Russia, and its beauty is important for present and future generations. The delta of the river was made a state wild life sanctuary for the three to five million birds, which fly over the area every year.

In 2003 the spring - source of the Volga in the Valdai Uplands was also made a wild life sanctual.

Обсудите с группой проблемы реки Волги.

3.Перескажите текст, опираясь на активную лексику занятия.

Unit 2