I.Metshin: "Water and air quality are basic indicators of the city's ecology"

(Kazan, KZN.RU, September 15, by Albert Murtazin). Basic ecological indicators – the quality of drinking water and air – have been improving in Kazan from year to year. At today's Business Monday meeting, Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin instructed those concerned to assess the water quality in the city and chart a "road map" for its improvement.

"Today, the population of Kazan is provided with safe drinking water," reported Almas Imamov, the Tatarstan deputy head of the Federal Service for Oversight of Consumer Rights Protection and Welfare.

According to him, drinking water quality is checked at 25 sampling sites throughout the city. In addition, the control is carried out during scheduled inspections and whenever complaints about poor drinking water quality are received. From 3 to 4.5 thousand drinking water samples are studied for microbiological indicators annually and from 1.5 to 2 thousand water samples for chemical composition.

A.Imamov added that another crucial environmental factor that has a daily impact on humans is air quality. According to him, the Rospotrebnadzor monitoring service checks air quality at 14 locations where vehicular traffic is the heaviest and where large industrial enterprises are situated for 19 hazardous class 2 and 4 ingredients (benzene, phenol, acrolein and benzopyrene). "I would like to note that the level of air pollution has been steadily declining in Kazan since 2011. This is due to a decrease in traffic congestion and to installation of industrial gas cleaning equipment," said Almas Imamov.

"I am glad that the quality of drinking water and air has been improving from year to year. These are basic indicators of the ecological situation in the city. This is due to a number of reasons, ranging from the "Green Record" project and the large-scale water supply overhaul to the apartment building renovation," concluded Ilsur Metshin.

Particular attention is paid to ensuring sanitary and epidemiological welfare during sporting events, said A. Imamov. "In this connection, I would like to note the preparations for the 16th World Aquatics Championships in 2015. Our office has organized screening and laboratory tests of the river Kazanka water samples," said Almas Imamov.

Ilsur Metshin also stressed the need to make the most of the World Aquatics Championships. "The event affords a good reason to look again at the water condition in the rivers Kazanka and Volga and Lake Kaban. We may not be able to clean them up right away, but we must diagnose the water body conditions and chart a "road map" for their improvement," said the mayor.