Hydrologic basins in the Volgograd urban area: waste storage, catchment and water contamination

摘要

Volgograd with a population of one million habitants is located on the west high riverside of the Volga River. It stretches over 85 km along the Volga and numerous small tributary streams intersect the populated area. Every tributary composes a separate catchment basin opening to the Volga River. Populated area is divided into the private zone with one-store buildings and the municipal zone with multi-store buildings. Municipal zone has a regular sewage system as the private zone is forced to dispose their solid wastes and sewage waters to the nearest ravines. All official and nonofficial municipal and industrial landfills of the great city are located on the top parts and slopes of ravines. Such a practice has been created due to social, economic and psychological reasons. Landfills disposed on the high elevation, on the week soils with gully erosion create environmental and sanitary problems. Contaminated surface and subsurface waters flow down to streams and, further, to Volga. The program to solve waste storage and contamination problems includes the reclamation of landfills, the water treatment using biological ponds, and the reclamation of the flat-bottom valleys near the Volga riversides.