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Serious problems with drinking water in Grozny

By Umalt Chadayev

CHECHNYA - Chechen epidemiologists are sounding the alarm that the water flowing into the capital is not only unsuitable for use, but also presents real health problems.

According to the republic's disease control center, all water flowing into Grozny does not meet sanitary norms and requirements. Doctors regard the situation as “catastrophic”.

A specialist said that because the city water is not chlorinated, it is absolutely unusable. The land around the majority of water intakes is contaminated with oil, which then seeps into the water supplied to the city.

One of the doctors thinks the city's water usage could possibly lead to various diseases, including oncological ones. “That's why we recommend that people boil the water before using or drinking it, although even this cannot guarantee that diseases will be prevented.”

Therefore some humanitarians agencies, such as the Polish Humanitarian Organisation, still provide the people of Grozny with purified drinking water, transporting it by trucks to several hundred distribution points on a daily basis. And the International Rescue Committee has partnered with the state-run water company, Grozvodokanal, to improve the condition of the water network system in the Chechen capital.

Prague Watchdog editors contributed to this report.

(MG/E,T)