Reservoir-Pollution Measures

a system of legislative, organizational, and sanitary-engineering measures aimed at preventing the pollution of drinking-water sources. The first national water-pollution measures were legislated in Great Britain and France; laws were enacted to protect surface waters in Great Britain in the 1870’s and to protect subterranean water sources in France in the 1890’s. A law on water was passed in Germany in 1913. Since the 1930’s in the USA, health requirements have been included in drinking-water standards and manuals on the protection of subterranean water, which are distributed by public health services. A decree on the protection of drinking water was issued in France in 1935. There was no special legislation on reservoir-pollution measures in prerevolutionary Russia.

In the USSR, reservoir-pollution legislation, which included the establishment of public health zones, was enacted in 1928. Closed water sources are primarily used as sources of drinking water, although surface waters and open water sources are used when subterranean water has an insufficient discharge or is of unsatisfactory quality. There are two types of reservoir-pollution protection zones—a zone with strict conditions and a zone with limitations. A zone with strict conditions is established in an area where water is collected and the headwork is located; when open reservoirs are used, the opposite shore and a section at least 200 m below the water intake are included in a zone. When subterranean water is used, about 0.25 hectare with a radius of at least 30 m around the wells is enclosed, surrounded by a strip of tree plantings, and guarded. Construction is forbidden in this zone.

A zone with limitations includes an area where the surface and subterranean runoff may affect the quantity and properties of the water in the water-supply source. The boundaries of this type of zone having reservoirs with flowing surface waters are set in accordance with the nature of the pollution and the rate of self-purification; for example, for most rivers in the European part of the USSR, the boundaries are set 30-60 km upstream and 3-5 km from the shore. Trees are preserved or planted in a strip 150-200 m wide along the shore, and strict public health conditions are maintained. For subterranean water sources, the boundaries of a zone with limitations are set individually.

The Regulations for the Protection of Surface Waters Against Pollution by Sewage (1961) regulate the permissible contents of harmful substances in the water. The maximum permissible concentrations have been established for more than 100 substances entering reservoirs with industrial sewage. With a central water-supply system, the water is treated before it reaches the consumer. The public health epidemiologic service controls the selection of drinking-water sources and the plans for the construction of water-supply systems. It also routinely monitors water quality and the efficiency and proper operation of treatment facilities.