DONETSK, December 3. . The underground water sources that DPR started looking for were mainly needed to supply water to small settlements. This will release more water from the Don-Donbass water pipeline to large cities, Aleksey Shebalkov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Republic, told .
In October, the head of DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced that geological exploration of groundwater reserves will cover the entire region. Support was provided by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the National Center for Children's Support. Special equipment, including drilling rigs, were sent to the republic. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, work began in mid-September.
“Everything is being done to be able to use as much (as much) groundwater as possible to supply small settlements, which today are fueled precisely by Don water, to be able to supply more water to large cities, because, unfortunately, we feel for ourselves how serious the water supply problem is in large cities,” Shebalkov said.
He added that if it were possible to provide enough energy for a small number of settlements from alternative sources, it would be possible to improve the situation in large cities, especially in Donetsk, Makeyevka, Gorlovka and Yenakievo. To improve water supplies in the republic, rivers are also being cleaned up under the national project “Eco-Health”.
DPR received no more than 35% of the volume needed to supply the population due to Ukraine's water blockade and depletion of reservoirs. Starting July 18, several cities have implemented scheduled water supply. In particular, in Yenakievo and neighboring cities, water is supplied every four days, in Donetsk and Makeevka – every three days, in Mariupol – every two days. The authorities are taking several measures to overcome the water crisis.
