How to solve the problem of water supply to the Russian Crimea once and for all

18

Let's digress a little from Kazakhstan, where the tragic events taking place there have drawn all the attention. Meanwhile, in the very first days of New 2022, good news... It is reported that heavy precipitation in the form of rain and snow has passed on the peninsula, which has already led to guaranteed filling of reservoirs. This means that for the spring-summer season, the resort region will come up fully armed.

The first winter downpour fell on the peninsula on January 1 of the New Year. Before that, in December 2021, the Crimea was hit by heavy precipitation, at a time giving out 60-70% of the monthly norm, and then everything was sprinkled on top with a 25-centimeter layer of snow. The Zagorskoye reservoir, feeding Big Yalta, Chernorechenskoye, on which Sevastopol depends, as well as Simferopol, Ayanskoye and Partizanskoye, supplying water to the metropolitan agglomeration of the region, were rapidly filled. There is no limit to the joy of Crimeans and local authorities. Unlike the anomalous 2020, the peninsula will be prepared for the holiday season.



However, can we say that the problem of water supply to Crimea has now been resolved? It is reported that already now it is necessary to dump excess water, which seems to be an incredible waste of a scarce resource. And this leads to certain thoughts.

All-Crimean water supply system?


Unfortunately, the discharge of excess water from reservoirs is a necessary measure. We had to act in a similar way last summer, when the peninsula, which was languishing before from drought, was immediately flooded with powerful precipitation brought by a cyclone. They are preparing to drain the water now. Can this be avoided?

Yes, you can, if you prepare the appropriate infrastructure. A good example is the All-Israel, or Trans-Israel, water supply system. It is a gigantic system of pipelines, canals, reservoirs and pumping stations that connects all the water bodies of the country. The total length of the main pipelines is 130 kilometers. The zealous Jews do not allow a single drop of water to go to waste in their arid desert. As part of the common water supply system, Israel has the ability to transfer additional volumes of water to where they are most needed.

A very rational solution that could be useful in Crimea. If all the reservoirs of the peninsula are connected into a single All-Crimean water supply system, it will be possible to transfer "surplus" water to its other areas, for example, from south to north, and vice versa. This will make it possible to preserve a greater amount of scarce water resources without dumping it ineptly into the sea, and to obtain an additional margin of safety for the water supply system of the problem region.

It is worth thinking.

FNPP?


The construction of a single all-Crimean water pipeline is a very rational solution for saving available water resources and transporting them. But what if new water stops flowing into this system? What if the drought reoccurs in a year? What if this drought stretches over several years?

The regional authorities see the solution in seawater desalination. Sergey Aksenov stated this directly:

The way out from the point of view of guaranteed water supply to the Republic of Crimea, a 100% guarantee is only desalination.

The places where the desalination plants will be built have already been selected, budgetary funds have been allocated. However, it should be remembered that desalination is a rather energy-intensive process, and kilowatts are expensive these days. Most likely, the federal center will subsidize the cost of desalinated water for Crimeans in order to avoid a “water maidan”, as in Kazakhstan, due to a sharp rise in the cost of liquefied gas. But in any case, large amounts of desalination will cost a pretty penny for the budget. Is it possible to somehow optimize costs?

The cost of desalination of seawater could be reduced through the use of atomic energy. However, the Crimean nuclear power plant is unfinished, and today it is recognized as inexpedient to complete its construction. The project is old, long and expensive. But there are probably more affordable options.

For example, mini-nuclear power plants are considered a very promising direction in the world energy, about which we have recently described in detail told... Our Rosatom is one of the recognized leaders in this area. Mini-NPPs use compact pressurized nuclear reactors RITM-200, they can be both ground-based and floating. For the needs of the Crimean water supply, both options could be suitable, but a floating nuclear power plant, perhaps, would be preferable.

A floating nuclear power plant can be built through the Turkish straits with unloaded reactors, connected to a specially built onshore infrastructure and for the next 7 years to provide desalination plants, and not only them, with cheap nuclear power. Then rotate to another floating nuclear power plant. If it turns out to be too difficult, then you can think about building a ground-based mini-nuclear power plant on the peninsula.

The combination of the All-Crimean water supply system and powerful desalination plants will allow once and for all to solve the problem of water supply to the Russian Crimea.
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18 comments
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  1. 123
    +3
    7 January 2022 16: 47
    It is a water supply system for transporting water, by itself it does not produce it and does not accumulate it.
    To fill it you need water. If there is no extra, there is no need for a water supply.
    It turns out money down the drain, or rather into the ground.
    It is probably more rational to spend money on increasing the volume of existing reservoirs or building new ones.
    And the Crimean NPP has long been dismantled.

  2. The comment was deleted.
  3. +3
    7 January 2022 18: 17
    In Israel, first of all, they modernized the pipeline system in cities, towns, apartments - that is, there is no old stuff like in Crimea. Crimea and its inhabitants lose up to 40% of water due to simple pipe leaks, which are at least 50 years old. Therefore, without solving this problem, everything else is nonsense. If there is even a bunch of reservoirs but water through pipes reaches consumers with losses - then the point is in reservoirs? during the Ukrainian occupation of Crimea, nothing has changed there since the times of the USSR
    1. 0
      10 January 2022 14: 34
      And the pipes should be replaced with modern, plastic ones, which are better than steel ones in all respects. Cheaper, lighter, do not rust, smooth inside, which means that the pressure does not drop significantly, and the warranty for such pipes is 50 years.
  4. +1
    7 January 2022 18: 24
    You need to build. In places where agricultural crops are grown, closed (excluding evaporation) reservoirs can be built, connected by water conduits ...
    The idea is good. good
  5. -1
    7 January 2022 18: 58
    Quote: 123
    It is a water supply system for transporting water, by itself it does not produce it and does not accumulate it.
    To fill it you need water. If there is no extra, there is no need for a water supply.
    It turns out money down the drain, or rather into the ground.
    It is probably more rational to spend money on increasing the volume of existing reservoirs or building new ones.

    Somehow you selectively read and comment on the article hi
    In this case, the water supply system is a system of (new) reservoirs, reservoirs, canals and pipelines, which should be additionally built, and not some kind of empty pipe. A lot of water spilled from the sky, all that was "superfluous" had to be drained into the sea. But it was possible not to merge, but to save and transfer it to where it is needed more. It seemed to me that I clearly know how to express my thoughts ...
    And the second part of the article is devoted to filling them with desalinated water.
    1. 0
      7 January 2022 19: 59
      the fact that it is necessary to pour water from a filled reservoir into an unfilled one is understandable. The question is different - how can this water be delivered to consumers?)))
  6. 0
    7 January 2022 19: 39
    The idea is reasonable.
    but Aksenov's answer either hints at "money optimization", or is specially cited.
    With new reservoirs, you will not optimize a lot, but with desalination ... it is a completely different story.
  7. -5
    7 January 2022 20: 11
    And all this instead of the 100 km covered. (3 hours on an armored personnel carrier) before the source of the channel? Americans are unlikely to understand Russians at some point. They would have solved the problem in a week. The Russians are not going to solve it at all (naturally). They come up with a floating power plant, etc. etc.
    God! Why is a great country given so few brains?
    1. +1
      7 January 2022 20: 59
      the water from the Dnieper is not a panacea for a long time - only Ukrainians rush with it. The Dnieper is shrinking and dying on its own, a heap of waste goes into it from Ukrainian cities. This water is no longer adapted for Crimea - and before that it was mainly only for agricultural needs.
    2. -1
      8 January 2022 08: 04
      I'm tired of writing about these 100 km.
  8. -6
    7 January 2022 21: 03
    With the corrupt leadership of Crimea, it will be impossible to saturate the peninsula with fresh water, either with a floating nuclear power plant or without it.
  9. +2
    7 January 2022 21: 04
    On the one side of Yalta, an expensive desalination plant will be built, and on the other side of Yalta, the Derekoyka River just goes into the sea, which can provide Yalta with clean mountain water for six months.
    By the way, the rivers flowing from the Crimean nature reserve carry out 400 million cubic meters of fresh mountain water. How much of this water is collected in reservoirs?
  10. 0
    7 January 2022 22: 21
    (With the corrupt leadership of Crimea, it will be impossible to saturate the peninsula with fresh water, at least with a floating nuclear power plant, at least without it) - restless.
    1. +1
      8 January 2022 00: 34
      And we have everything with uncorrupted bots !!! it will turn out
  11. +3
    8 January 2022 00: 32
    The horses cut off the water for the Crimea, and our world-eaters, neither electricity, nor extinguished, did not cut off anything for them. Although they could, head over heels.
  12. 0
    8 January 2022 10: 17
    Instead of doing such nonsense that is written here, it is necessary to take the entire Black Sea coast to Transnistria from Ukraine when it is divided with its neighbors, who all have claims to its pieces. In order for them to be more decisive, it is necessary to warn that later it will be too late.
    1. -1
      9 January 2022 12: 19
      Oh, well, okay good
  13. +1
    9 January 2022 12: 34
    The author still does not understand that the primary problem is the lack of storage space. Their volume should provide water reserves for any "dry" year.