"Water! You don't have a taste, a color, or a smell, you can't be described. People enjoy you without knowing what you are. It's impossible to say you are essential for life, for you are - life!"
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
In 2003, the Crimean Republic Association "Ekologiya I Mir" began work on a project entitled "Water for Sustainable Development and Health in Crimea" (with the support of NOVIB in the Netherlands). The project is planned for three years.
- to achieve sustainable usage and protection in Crimea;
- to inform the public about problems in the water sector in Crimea and different ways to solve them;
- to achieve healthy water supply for the inhabitants of the cities of Simferopol, Feodosia, Kertch, and the Northern areas of Crimean.
At the time of publication, an analytical report on the Crimean water situation is nearly complete. Several leading Crimean specialists have participated in its creation. The aim of the report is to clearly identify the situation that exists with regard to water resources in Crimea.
The project has four main territorial / regional focuses: Simferopol, Feodosia, Kertch, and Northern Crimea. In these territories field studies (monitoring) of the water systems, their environments and protection are ongoing.
On September 23-25, 2003 Dutch, Ukrainian and Russian specialists gathered together for a workshop-seminar entitled: "Water resources management at the municipal and rural levels in the system of integrated management of water resources". The main questions that were discussed at the seminar were changes in current systems of water resources management; changes in current technologies of drinking water refinement; financial options currently available for improvements in the water sector and others.
The next logical step is the elaboration of a water management system and the realization of the corresponding programmatic goals.
In the target regions, children living in areas with the highest level of contaminated water usage will be identified. These children will be given medical treatments to counter the damaging effects of water consumption.
In order to carry our systematic inspections of water resources areas and their conditions, Ekologiya I Mir will select several "water volunteers".
Through CRAEM's Center of Environmental Health, we are providing an informational center where people can get information about water problems in their communities. Consultations for citizens have taken place. In the near future, the center will begin doing analyses of drinking water for concerned citizens.