1-st International Conference "Water Resources Security"

Currently, the world's population uses approximately 54% of all available surface water runoff (usable, renewable fresh water).

According to the UN, in more than 18 countries there is a shortage of water (a level of 1,000 cubic meters or less per 1 person/year), in which it is almost impossible to meet the needs of national economies and the communal needs of citizens.

The Middle East, Northern China, Mexico, the countries of North Africa, Southeast Asia and a number of post-Soviet states are at a critically low level of water availability.

The Russian Federation has a unique water resource potential. The total freshwater resources of Russia are estimated at 10803 cubic km/year. Renewable water resources (the volume of annual river flow in Russia) they make up 4861 cubic meters . km, or 10% of the world's river flow (second place after Brazil). In terms of local water resources, the Southern and Far Eastern Federal Districts of Russia, for example, differ by almost 30 times, and in terms of water availability of the population by about 100 times.

Rivers are the basis of the Russian water fund. Over 120 thousand large rivers (over 10 km long) with a total length of over 2.3 million km flow through its territory. The number of small rivers is much larger (over 2.5 million). They form about half of the total volume of river flow, and up to 44% of the urban and almost 90% of the rural population of the country live in their basins.

Groundwater, which is mainly used for drinking purposes, has potential operational resources exceeding 300 cubic km/year. More than a third of the potential resources are concentrated in the European part of the country. The groundwater deposits explored to date have total operational reserves of about 30 cubic km/year.

A serious problem is the deterioration of the water quality of surface water bodies, which in most cases does not meet regulatory requirements and is assessed as unsatisfactory for almost all types of water use.

Uncontrolled withdrawal of water, destruction and use of water protection strips and zones for economic purposes, drainage of upland swamps led to the mass death of small rivers, thousands of which ceased to exist. Their total flow has decreased by more than 50%, resulting in the destruction of aquatic ecosystems, and makes these rivers unusable.

Although groundwater is a renewable resource, its reserves are limited, and the quality is deteriorating every year. The reasons for the deterioration of groundwater quality are related both to the general increase in anthropogenic load on adjacent territories and to the obsolescence of the fund of water intake wells. Also, a significant threat is legalized uncontrolled drilling, including for strategically important aquifers in case of civil defense and emergencies.

A significant problem is the absence at the legislative level of the concept of boundaries of groundwater deposits and their connection with surface water bodies. This leads to the issuance of licenses for the right to use the subsoil for the purpose of prospecting, exploration and extraction of groundwater, regardless of belonging to a real groundwater deposit and an artesian basin.

To date, according to experts, from 35% to 60% of drinking water in Russia and about 40% of surface and 17% of underground drinking water sources do not meet the standards. More than 6 thousand sites of groundwater pollution have been identified in the country.

In the Altai Territory, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tomsk regions, a decrease in water resources is predicted due to high load. Currently, very serious problems are taking place in these regions, and in the future they may become particularly acute, especially in low-water periods. This is primarily due to the high variability of water resources over time and territory, as well as the tendency to increase the intensity of use of the runoff of transboundary rivers in China and Kazakhstan. To solve these problems, it is necessary to consider the possibilities of regulating the flow in the territory of the Russian Federation and the conclusion of international agreements on the joint use of water resources of the Irtysh.

The issue of water resources safety is of particular relevance, since with large natural resources of surface and groundwater in Russia, the majority of which are located in the eastern and northern regions, economically developed European regions with a high level of integrated use of water resources have practically exhausted the possibility of their development without rationalizing water use, saving water and restoring the quality of the aquatic environment.