Emergency measures to fill Lake Srebarna with water from the Danube River by pumping were announced today at a joint press conference by the mayor of Silistra Municipality Alexander Sabanov and the director of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water – Ruse Daud Ibryam. The press conference was attended by the regional governor Iliyan Velikov and the director of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water – Silistra Commissioner Evlogi Stamov.
The director of the environmental inspection informed those present about the critical situation in the reserve, which has occurred due to the prolonged low water level, high temperatures, low levels of the Danube River and the lack of precipitation. The water levels in the lake have dropped by almost a meter from the optimal values.
The forced transfer of water resources from the Danube River to the lake will be carried out with the resources of the General Directorate "Fire Safety and Population Protection". The General Directorate of Fire Safety and Population Protection will provide two hydropump units with a capacity of 400 cubic meters per hour. The maximum capacity of the facilities reaches 50 cubic meters per minute.
The coordination of the activities will be carried out by the director of the Regional Directorate of Fire Safety and Population Protection - Silistra. Preparatory activities are underway to establish a temporary site and form pockets in the Danube River.
For this purpose, the possibility of the mayor of the Municipality of Silistra declaring a partial state of emergency in the municipality as a preventive measure against potential loss of biodiversity is being considered. Optimistic expectations are that the hydrological regime of the aquatic ecosystem will improve.
The reasons for this trend are complex - artificial control of the water level, the presence of hydraulic structures that control the outflow, retention of larger volumes in the constructed dams and reduction of the outflow to the lower reaches of the rivers for the purpose of electricity production. A significant factor for the low water level is also climate change, associated with an increase in temperatures during the winter period and a decrease in snowfall.
The hydrological regime is also adversely affected by prolonged droughts, high temperatures, which lead to direct evaporation of water and increased transpiration from vegetation.
Daoud Ibryam announced that long-term activities are being studied. RIEW - Ruse is ready to take actions to ensure the favorable status of the ecosystem, such as surveying the geological and hydrogeological characteristics of the territory and studies for the construction of a permanent pumping system. It is planned to develop a multi-year program for dredging the lake and removing part of the sediment from the lake basin, as well as periodically deepening the arm of the Danube River between Devnya Island and the lake.
The last filling of the lake from the river was carried out in the spring of 2023. Over the past 3-4 years, a permanent decrease in the water level of the Danube River has been reported, and currently the water level near the village of Srebarna reaches an elevation of 7 - 7.30 meters, with a tendency to decrease.