Doctors warn against swimming in the ponds of Chisinau, even in the lake of “Valea Morilor” Park that was cleaned recently. Contacted by IPN, Tudor Puiu, of the Public Health Center in Chisinau, said that new samples of water will be taken next week, but the last tests showed that swimming in the ponds of Chisinau is not safe.

“The quality of water in the municipal ponds didn’t improve because they haven’t been cleaned for over 20 years. There are lakes where the level of mud is much higher than the level of water,” said Tudor Puiu. According to him, the mud is full of microorganisms and a fermentation process starts when the temperatures are high. The content of oxygen dissolved in water decreases and, as a result, the living things from lakes can die.

As to the lake in “Valea Morilor” Park, Tudor Puiu said that even if the municipality made effort to clean it from mud, the water in the lake does not meet the sanitary norms because the waste left in the park by those who go for a picnic there arrives in the lake. Thus, the situation cannot improve.

Skin diseases, Hepatitis A and dysentery are the most often illnesses contracted after swimming in ponds where water does not meet the sanitary norms.