Mud in lake in Valea Morilor Park is toxic

The mud from the bottom of the lake located in Valea Morilor Park contains toxic elements, reason for which the removal and cleaning works cannot go on, the head of the Capital Constructions Division Vasile Panfil announced at the Chisinau City Hall’s meeting on May 26, Info-Prim Neo reports. Panfil said that about 100,000 cubic meters of mud have been removed so far. It was piled up near Vatra town. Since it was established that the mud contains toxic elements that are a threat to the environment, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources does not allow continuing the works. Another 550,000 cubic meters of mud remained on the bottom of the lake. “This mud cannot be stored anywhere. If the chemical components reach the underground waters, we will cause a vast ecological catastrophe,” Vasile Panfil explained. According to the cited source, a solution is to place a rubber membrane of about 10 centimeters on the ground where the mud is transported in order to hinder the toxic substances from entering the land. Another method is to transport the mud to a zone with a clay stratum of about 20 meters. “Even if a solution is found, the works cannot be continued immediately because there is no approved project for this,” Vasile Panfil said. He added that the work planning project is being worked out by the “Acva Proiect” Institute. Until present, the Chisinau authorities transferred 2.5 million lei of the 3.3 million le needed to the institute. But the document has not been finalized yet. Experts promise the project will be ready in July. Vasile Panfil said that the cleaning works on the lake have been incorrectly carried out from the very start. “There were committed a number of violations. The lake was not subjected to a technical and ecological analysis. There was no well-structured project. Therefore, the works have been stopped and there is no solution allowing to initiate a new stage,” Vasile Panfil stated.