As of August 18, a total of 260 868 people, 16 cities and 283 villages have been affected by disrupted water supply, Minister of Regional Development Ivan Ivanov announced at an extraordinary meeting of a parliamentary committee that is discussing a draft resolution to address the problem in this country. According to him, the main problems related to the water shortage crisis stem from underground water sources - mainly in small settlements.

Other reasons for the water shortage are compromised internal water supply networks and unregulated water use. “The problems also arise from climate change and the reduced amount of precipitation, as well as from the increased consumption of drinking water for domestic needs,” Ivan Ivanov said, quoted by BTA.

This year, thanks to precipitation, there are fewer cities with limited supply in comparison to previous years but this does not mean that conditions would continue to be good, the minister said. According to him, the necessary quantities of water are available in places where there are dams.

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Editor: Diana Tsankova

Publication: Al. Markov

Photo: BGNES