They want to solve the water problem of Crimea in the traditional way

Despite the fact that the dry summer has been left behind, the problem of water supply in Crimea remains urgent. Due to its shortage, water is still supplied there in a limited mode, for several hours, in the morning and in the evening. Let's face it, not the best conditions for an all-Russian resort, granary and health resort. And it is completely incomprehensible when all this will end.

To call a spade a spade, after Ukraine closed the North Crimean Canal, the Kremlin faced only three realistic options for solving the water supply problem: to throw a pipeline from the neighboring Krasnodar Territory, to build desalination plants on the coast of the peninsula, or to declare Kiev's actions as genocide and military force to take control of the water supply infrastructure, threatening to further advance inland in case of attempts to block. They did not build the water supply system, since there is already a shortage of normal fresh water in the Kuban. We are clearly afraid to go to war with Ukraine, although there is a clear example of Israel, which was able to "squeeze" the Golan Heights from Syria, and now has also achieved recognition of them from the United States. OK, let's forget it. Then what about the desalination plants for which the same Israel became famous, which managed to turn into a "water superpower" in the arid region without any nuclear power plants?



Their construction suggests itself, but it seems that President Putin himself put an end to this topic at a recent press conference:


Quite a controversial statement. Of course, an ocean of electricity is used to desalinate seawater, but this is a solvable problem. On the one hand, it is not clear why the head of state will not propose to introduce subsidizing tariffs "for desalination" from the federal budget personally for the Crimeans, since this region within the Russian Federation has a difficult history? On the other hand, there are options for how you can reduce the cost of desalination.

More than once, the aforementioned Israelis somehow managed to do without atomic energy, which is considered the cheapest, but Russia is ahead of the rest of the planet in the construction of safe nuclear power plants, and we have the cards in our hands. In Soviet times, there was a project to build a nuclear power plant in the Crimea, but after the Chernobyl disaster, it was frozen. Perhaps today it is really not worth building a nuclear power plant in the resort region, but there are other alternatives. For example, the idea has been voiced more than once to adapt compact nuclear reactors of the same type that are operated at nuclear submarines to the needs of desalination plants.

There is also another option. A floating nuclear power plant "Akademik Lomonosov" with a capacity of 70 MW has been created in our country. Now it works in Chukotka, where in the future it is supposed to replace the Bilibino nuclear power plant and the coal-fired power plant. Rosatom plans to build up to 7 such mobile power plants. If the Akademik is to be overtaken to the shores of the Crimea, where the appropriate infrastructure is promptly prepared, then for the next 12 years the floating nuclear power plant will be able to make its significant contribution to the supply of electricity to desalination plants. Accordingly, an order will appear for the construction of new stations. It is clear that all this is very expensive, some complex solutions are possible, but this fundamentally solves the very problem of water supply to the peninsula. By the way, for the residents of Chukotka, where Akademik Lomonosov earned, the cost of a kilowatt did not increase, since it is subsidized by the state. Desalination of sea water for Crimea is no longer a question economic feasibility and cost of a kilowatt, and national security.

However, we are taking a different path. In the next four years, 48 ​​billion rubles will be allocated to solve this problem. Within the framework of this plan, the main emphasis is on the exploration and production of water from underground horizons by drilling new wells, the construction of water intake facilities on the Belbek River near Sevastopol, as well as desalination plants, of course, "point". Meanwhile, the situation is critical. It got to the point that it is necessary to pump water into the empty reservoirs from almost any neighboring "puddle": quarries and ponds. And this is hardly a reasonable decision. For example, in the Belbek River, the water is dirty, and agricultural fertilizers can be washed into it. The water on the peninsula from the measures taken no longer becomes, it is simply transferred from one place to another. The most accurate comparison will be with Trishkin's caftan.

But what will happen if this winter is also with little snow, and the next summer is hot and dry? And if this happens again in another year? For Crimea, 2-3 dry years in a row is practically the norm. And if we take into account the factor of climate change? What then?