Russia’s water industry on the brink of major investment
Russia’s water supply and sewage systems are in urgent need of modernisation. A fifth of drinking water is lost annually through leaks. Only half of the sewage is treated to the required standards. Experts estimate the investment required in the water industry at the equivalent of some 70 billion euros. Local and regional authorities are successfully attracting private capital, with a third of all investments coming from non-government sources.
Russia’s water supply and sewage systems are still a long way from meeting western standards. Only two thirds of the population have mains water. Villages in particular still obtain their drinking water predominantly from local wells. The situation with sewage disposal is even more dramatic. According to the government construction agency Rosstroi, only 5% of Russian villages have mains drainage systems. Even in a fifth of urban communities, there is no sewage treatment.
Experts estimate that 13.8 billion cubic metres of waste water is generated annually (excluding that from the electricity supply industry), 89% of which is treated, though not even half of it to the standards required by law.
The reason for the poor quality of Russia’s water supply system is the delapidated infrastructure. A fifth of water is lost through leaks in the pipes (estimated at 3.6 billion cubic metres a year). Two thirds of water and sewage pipes are worn thin. Experts estimate that a third of the pipeline system is in urgent need of replacement.
Russia has a total of 528,000 kilometres of water supply pipes and 176,00 kilometres of sewage pipes. Only 8,700 kilometres of water supply pipes and 3,900 kilometres of sewage pipes are, however, repaired each year. It is no surprise, therefore, that the total investment required by Russia’s water industry is put at 2,500 billion roubles (approximately 70 billion euros).
Public programmes at federal, regional and local level mean that….., more: KWD-globalpipe, 2008-05-27, No.182.