PROMISING DIRECTIONS OF RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEMS OF PROTECTION AND UTILISATION OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENT WATERS IN BELARUS

Abstract

In Belarus, water supply to cities, urban and rural settlements and industrial enterprises is based on the use of fresh groundwater. Safeguarding the preservation of groundwater quality at existing water intakes is an important task. A brief characterisation of groundwater exploitation conditions and groundwater quality in the zones of operating water intakes as well as in natural and slightly disturbed conditions is presented. Among them are: high iron content in groundwater used as a source of drinking water supply; the use of non-centralised water supply sources by the population in rural areas, the quality of which does not meet sanitary requirements for a number of sanitary-chemical and microbiological indicators; increasing wear and tear of treatment facilities; high levels of water quality in groundwater; high levels of water quality in water supply systems.