Unprecedented pollution in Bac river

The sanitary-ecological state of the Bac river is catastrophical, say environmentalists who organized a drive called “The Waters Caravan” from 22 to 25 September, Info-Prim Neo reports. The leader of the Chisinau environmentalists, Vladimir Garaba, told a news conference on Thursday that the Bac river is subjected to unprecedented pollution, what really jeopardizes the health of the people living on its banks. “The river banks, but especially its tributaries, are piled up with garbage. The polluters' concentration exceeds 10-20 times the sanitary norms, as all the fish is annihilated,” Garaba said. According to Ecologic Inspector Valentina Tapes there is no management as to the waters. The “catastrophic situation” is generated by the illegal building of ponds on most of the tributaries of the Bac. Consequently, the river dried out in summer, as the Ghidighici lake has not got any water since spring, she said. The environmentalists demand to declare the Bac's basin as an area in ecological crisis and to adopt a Governmental decision on urgent measures to better the environment and water management. The environmentalists ask for setting up a consultative body dealing with water management. The Waters Caravan is part of a project called “Partnership for a clean river” supported by the UN Development Program. The Bac is 155 km long, as 940,000 people live on its banks.