Ecologists focus on state of Byk River

The project “Clean and Living Mirror of Water” launched by the Chisinau Local Organization of the Ecological Movement of Moldova will center on the Byk River and propose measures to improve its state, Info Prim Neo reports . “The quality of the Byk water is very poor, while the quantity of waste thrown there is alarming. The pollution level is high not only because there is no money to redress the situation. Another two reasons are the incompetence of the local and central authorities and the people's low level of ecological education,” Vladimir Garaba, the head of the Chisinau Local Organization of the Ecological Movement of Moldova, told a news conference. The project “Clean and Living Mirror of Water” includes a number of measures to monitor the quality of the environment and raise public awareness. Among them is an expedition on the Byk and its tributaries and a Water Caravan in the settlements located in the river's basin. The National Ecological Fund contributed 228,000 lei to the project. Another two donors provided 60,000 lei for the expedition and ecological caravan. Vladimir Garaba said 50 samples of water will be tested within the project. There will be set up 20 hydrographic signs and notices along the Byk and published three numbers of the journal “Revista apelor”. The concentrations of toxic chemical substances in the Byk exceed the admissible norms 5 – 10 times. Thirteen mayors' offices received small grants to improve the ecological condition of the river.