The lack of water is mainly due to climate change and inadequate management of the water sector. The infrastructure is owned by several ministries, and the Ministry of Environment and Water controls groundwater - we have the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Economy, an irrigation system, said in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio, the Minister of Ecology Manol Genov.
"And our irrigation system was built 40 years ago. Back then, the dams were made to be used in a complex way. We monitor 52 complex dams - for drinking, irrigation and energy. And aquaculture farming conflicts with irrigation. And these dams were built for irrigation", he added.
According to him, this year there were over 400 million cubic meters of water saved for energy, 14 million cubic meters for drinking and domestic needs:
"I think that with the meetings we have every month between several ministers, we have made a good start to the future Board, this shows how to manage water in Bulgaria".
Minister Genov described the rumors about the "water mafia" as nonsense: "Ask the hydroelectric power plants how dissatisfied they are with the minister."
And he announced that limits have been imposed on the quantities of water requested by farmers for irrigation and energy.
Manol Genov explained that we do not have international agreements on water. The European directive is clear on water management:
"We have an agreement with Greece for a service - water from the Arda River, for regular water supply. The agreement categorically does not infringe on the interests and water availability in Bulgaria."
And he added that the Bulgarian strategic interest is protected and "there is no threat of a crisis situation". And the quantities agreed with Greece do not threaten our needs:
"And it is not free of charge, it is paid for as a service and the Bulgarian energy sector directly benefits. If we want Bulgaria to be a factor in the Balkans, we must behave as such. We must have a strategy."
He also commented on the six points in the Black Sea where the Ministry of Environment and Water monitors the quality of seawater. And the data from July 27 this year show that "we have no deviations in the quality of seawater, people can rest assured that the Black Sea is improving its condition, in terms of the purity of the seawater".