Bed of Byk River will be deepened

The basements of dozens of private homes and apartment buildings as well as of public institutions in Chisinau have been again flooded following the recent rain. The sewerage network planned for a small volume of water cannot cope with the situation, while the level of water in the Byk, which has not been cleaned for over 10 years, rises whenever it rains heavily. The Chisinau City Hall plans to deepen the riverbed by 3 – 4 meters. The project is to be approved first by the local councilors. The streets Albisoara, Inculet, Mesterul Manole, Aleea Garii are the most exposed to flooding. The municipal authorities recommend the drivers to avoid these zones when it rains heavily, Info-Prim Neo reports. Many of the buildings affected by the rain have not been included in the list of buildings that will undergo extensive repair, the head of the General Division of Education, Youth and Sport Tatiana Nagnibeda-Tverdohleb said at Monday’s meeting of the City Hall. “We must reassess the damage caused and modify the plan of action for 2009,” she said. “The level of mud in the Byk rose up to the roadway. The area is flooded every time it rains heavily,” said Efim Cheptanari, head of the Road and Bridges Exploitation Division ”Exdrupo”. “It is necessary to deepen the bed of the Byk by 3-4 meters so that the streets are not flooded whenever it rains,” he stressed. The head of Centru district Vladimir Sarban proposed drafting a decision to finance the works to clean the Byk and submit it to the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) for examination as soon as possible. ”Every year after heavy rain, we report the same situation and ascertain the same problems. It was the same after the rain of July 31, 2008. The money spent to remove the consequences is wasted as the core of the problem is not solved,” Sarban said. “The sewerage systems in quarters are in a similar situation,” the deputy head of Ciocana district Nicolae Grajdian. ”I have worked at the district head’s office since 2001. The sewerage network in quarters has never been cleaned,” he said. The acting mayor of Chisinau Nistor Grozavu instructed the officials in charge to finish assessing the damage in a week so as to provide assistance to the persons affected by the rain. The costs of deepening the bed of the Byk will be evaluated as part of the feasibility study that is now carried out. The financing project will be sent to the CMC for approval.