2024-04-26 07:54:16
- Within a week, the construction of a new water main will begin, assured the Plovdiv Waterworks
- However, the entire network of the village needs to be changed, specialists say
- If they don’t take us seriously again, we will move the protest to Sofia, the locals threaten
Brestovitsa, also called the Wine Capital of Bulgaria, is 18 km from Plovdiv. But its 3,200 residents periodically protest because of the cloudy water that has been flowing from their taps for 4 years. Every new government promises to solve the problem, but people don’t believe until they see.
“We go as far as 5 km from the village to the area of Leshchensko to fill our tubes so that we have something to drink”, complain locals. They also travel to Bratsigovo, Velingrad and Hisarya to refuel.
Water carriers have been standing in the center of the village for years because
the water flowing from the taps is unfit due to excessive manganese values
It comes from the Vacha River and pollutes the water sources that supply the village. “How do you live like this?” asks Lubomir Tomov, chairman of the “Life for Brestovitsa” association.
“Despite the low-quality water, people still pay their bills,” says the mayor, Maria Manolova, who is also among the victims. The price was reduced by 20% about 2 years ago after protests.
According to her, for almost a month the local residents have not been able to use the water for any domestic needs and are losing all patience. They are only strengthened by the hope that the state will release the necessary money and their hardships will end. The Waterworks-Plovdiv announced that the construction of the water supply pipe should begin as soon as possible – as early as next week.
“There are purely organizational activities that need to be carried out, and we are starting,” the spokesperson of the water company Yordan Chemishev assured “24 Chasa”.
Last week, the Bulgarian Waterworks Holding provided BGN 2,225,000 excluding VAT, with which to reconstruct 4,917 meters of water supply pipe.
The deadline for the implementation of the construction and installation works on the water supply pipe is 180 days.
The treatment plant should be ready within two months
“Brestovitsa-2”. The construction of the facility began after a letter from the municipality of “Rodopi” to the BAS. The academy issued a statement recommending the creation of such a station.
“It is currently under construction. The treatment plant is a kind of back-up option for the time in which funding is awaited for the implementation of the other parts of the water supply pipelines”, Chemishev explained. “Brestovitsa-2” will purify the water even after the completion of the project.
The mayor of the municipality “Rodopi” Pavel Mihailov, which also includes Brestovitsa, assures that the problem will be solved. However, according to him, BGN 14.3 million is needed to build a new water supply network in the upper part of the village and then reasphalt the streets.
The money is expected from the regional ministry, but it is not clear when
will come. Separately, another 7 million BGN is needed for the low and middle parts of the village. Thus, the figure swells to nearly 21 million BGN – an amount that is impressive and beyond the strength of the “Rodopi” municipality.
The entire network of the village, which is about 27 km, needs to be replaced.
The drama began in February 2020, when a high manganese content was found in the drinking water and its use was banned. The following year, a state of emergency was declared in Brestovitsa, and the municipality began to look for a solution. At that time, residents periodically rose up in protests. There was also discontent on Wednesday, April 24.
“We started looking for new water sources for Brestovitsa. We found them in the land of the village of Joakim Gruevo and started procedures”, said Mayor Pavel Mihailov. They are made there
three 60-meter boreholes
Two of them – with a flow rate of 16 liters per second, are sufficient for the village, and the third is a spare.
According to Mihailov, it can also be used to supply the neighboring village of Kadievo, since at the moment the water there comes from wells close to Brestovishke, and it is possible that they will also be contaminated in the future. The chief expert on water supply in the municipality of “Rodopi”, Eng. Rositsa Vlahova, believes that there is no risk of contamination of the new tube wells.
Specialists are adamant that the Brestovitsa solution is a completely new water transmission network. “We will supply clean water, but in the event of an accident (these are 50-60-70-year-old pipes), manganese will come off the walls and the liquid will still reach the consumers unfit,” warned Yordan Chemishev.
The residents of Brestovitsa have lost all patience. “Everyone is forced to get supplies as they find – from the store, from springs or gushing fountains in the mountains”, adds Lyubomir Tomov. According to him, changes in the law are needed in order to be able to act quickly in such emergency situations. “The procedures for projects and plans were delayed for three years. Everything was brought in in July of this year, but there is still no money for Brestovitsa”, he resents. He threatened that if the people of Brestovitsa are not heard within 30 days, the protest will be in Sofia.