Ecologists report on reduction in number of animals in Volga-Akhtuba floodplain after years of drought

With the start of the spring flood, the Volzhskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) began to discharge water. According to experts, the spring water discharges will not result in flooding of villages and towns and will have a positive impact on the state of the environment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in April 2015, residents of villages and towns located in the vicinity of the floodplain complained about the difficult situation with drinking water. Because of lack of water, the regional government appealed to the Russian federal government and the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) with a request to allocate 200 million roubles for organization of water pumping to the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. The pumping of water was started on May 25, but several villages and towns stayed in the zone of ecological disaster.

According to Galina Shatskaya, the PR specialist of the "Volzhskaya HPP", which is the branch of Public Joint-Stock Company (PJSC) "RusHydro", the supercharger dam of the Volgograd hydroelectric facility was opened on April 17.

The drought of the past years has caused damage to the nature of the floodplain, notes Elena Gugueva, the chief of the Department of the Natural Park "Volga-Akhtuba Floodplain" and the chair of the Volgograd Branch of the Russian Bird Conservation Union.

According to Elena Gugueva, this year, the situation in the floodplain will largely depend on the local people.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.