42 billion rubles are required to improve the Tsimlyansk reservoir. This amount was announced to President Putin by the Don Governor Golubev. It can only be allocated by the federal government - if its officials deem the costs reasonable. According to the rescue plan, only half of the requested amount will go to liquidate the low water in Tsimla, the rest will be spent on the construction of the Bagaevsky hydroelectric complex downstream of the Don. What is happening with the largest reservoir of our region, - Maria Pogrebnyak found out.
The man-made sea was required in the middle of the last century for the needs of the Tsimlyansk hydroelectric power station - they were created simultaneously. In addition, the reservoir provided the necessary depth for ships to pass through the Volga-Don Canal and supplied water to fields and people - from Rostov to Tsimlyansk.
The reservoir was built in the 52nd year. An artificial lake with a depth of 30 meters and an area of almost three thousand square kilometers is located near Tsimlyansk. Most of them are located in the Volgograd Region. During construction, more than 160 villages were flooded. The resettlement took four years. In some cases, the farmsteads were completely moved to a new location, in others, people abandoned their homes and started life from scratch in neighboring villages. Cemeteries and fifty temples remained at the bottom. The cross of one of the churches is shown from the water during shallowing, and the remains of the dead and gravestones are found on the banks. Also at the bottom was the ancient Khazar fortress Sarkel of the 9th century. From time to time it is explored by divers. Scientists are still arguing whether it was worth building the Tsimlyansk reservoir. Opponents of man-made reservoirs note that this led to a decrease in the flow of the Don and an increased salinity of the Azov Sea.
Tsimla grows shallow over the last decade. One of the reasons is the dry period. In winter there is not enough snow, and in summer it rains, so there is nowhere to take water in the upper reaches of the Don. As a result, the storage is less than half full, Evgeny Dorozhkin, head of the Don Basin Water Administration, told us.
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Climate is not the only reason for shallowing. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they ceased to strengthen the banks - they are now being washed away - and to clean the bottom of silt. Experts urge to return the practice of dredging, but not to leave the soil under water, as they did before, but to pull it ashore, - explained specialist ichthyologist Natalia Volodkina.
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The old treatment facilities of Volgodonsk, Tsimlyansk and neighboring industrial enterprises cannot cope with their function: waste gets into the water and its quality decreases. The fish dies, but blue-green algae feel good - they are dangerous because they release toxins. So far, the consequences are reversible, although according to some indicators the level of pollution already exceeds the norm, - said Alexander Naumenko, Deputy Director for Science of the Scientific Institute of Lake and River Fisheries.
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Now the total catch in Tsimla is about three thousand tons of fish per year. This is six times less than twenty years ago. The sterlet has disappeared, there are almost no pike and pike perch. According to Lyudmila Bespalova, professor of the Department of Oceanology of the Southern Federal University, the water level can be raised only by saving it - often agricultural enterprises use it irrationally.
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The health improvement program for Tsimla includes the cleaning of the day and the repair of treatment facilities. But one of the main saving measures, according to the document, is the construction of the Bagaevsky hydroelectric complex. Officials believe this will not only raise water levels for ships, but also save water in the artificial sea. However, experts are sure that the hydroelectric complex will not help the reservoir. According to the head of the Azov Research Institute of Fisheries, Nikolai Gospodarev, first of all, it is necessary to change the water reservoir management system.
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The shallow reservoir also affected the tourist flow. If earlier those who wanted to swim in Tsimla came from neighboring regions, now even local residents have stopped swimming there. Shipping companies also suffer losses - because of the falling water level, oil tankers are forced to sail half empty.
It is planned that the construction of the Bagaevsky hydroelectric complex and the purification of the Tsimlyansk reservoir will begin next year - the work will take three years. If this does not happen, then the man-made reservoir, according to scientists' forecasts, will repeat the fate of the infamous Aral Sea on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Two years ago, it completely dried up due to irrational use of water for irrigation.
