"Almost 80% are water losses in the water transmission network on the territory of Pleven (around and after the 12th minute). There is non-implementation of large facilities such as the "Cherni Osam" dam and again long years of standing in one place, without taking measures and the result cannot be any other."
This was stated in an interview with News.bg by the Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Atanas Kostadinov in connection with the water crisis in Pleven.
He pointed out that none of the complex dams intended for irrigation are the cause of the drought in the country. There is not a single place that suffers from water scarcity due to lack of water.
According to him, there are 21 urgent short-term, medium-term and long-term measures.
"It is in the Bulgarian code to do things the hard way. We understand the more difficult way to make changes, knowing a lot about the situation, but we have something in the way of acting as a society that, with accumulation over time, until a radical event occurs, we do not self-organize", Deputy Minister Kostadinov pointed out.
In the first part of the conversation with Deputy Minister Kostadinov, we touch on the other important topic of water that has marked Bulgaria in the last month - the floods in Tsarevo and "Elenite".
"I can say that there are at least seven opinions of the Basin Directorate regarding the inadmissibility of construction of sites in this territory (on the territory of "Elenite - editor's note). How, after this inadmissibility, construction permits were obtained and put into operation through administrative means, is yet to be verified by the competent authorities," he commented on the topic of the issued act of the DNSK to eliminate "illegal construction" for the hotel in "Elenite".
He explained that within the competences of the Ministry of Environment and Water (MESW), the relevant ministry cannot pronounce on acts of the DNSK, but it sounds like a natural development and as the beginning of a process that has long been underestimated, undervalued and has been the subject of various competences, including negligence, greed and corruption. In addition to climate factors, factors such as negligence, competence, corruption and purely human greed are competences of the disaster scenarios, the deputy minister commented.
Atanas Kostadinov added that all the problems in "Elenite" have something basic at their core - radically changed climatic conditions and environment, which are faced with outdated infrastructure not only in terms of depreciation, but also in terms of management.
"After the disaster in "Elenite" and unfortunately the victims, the Minister of Environment ordered comprehensive inspections. We provide all institutions with the map of areas with a significant potential risk of flooding on the entire Black Sea coast," said the Deputy Minister of Environment and Waters.