site.btaCabinet Asks Sofia Municipal Council to Consider Paid-For Transmission of Water to Help Out Pernik

January 23 (BTA) - In a bid to help water supply to the
southwestern town of Pernik, the Government Thursday decided
that the ministers of economy, of regional development and
public works, and of environment and water are to ask the Sofia
Municipal Council to consider paid-for transmission of water
through the infrastructure of Sofia's water utility, the
government information service said. Economy Minister Emil
Karanikolov said 300 litres of water per second were needed to
save the town's principal water source which is nearing its dead
 storage capacity.   

The proposal to supply water to Pernik from the Belmeken Dam in
Mt Rila using the infrastructure of Sofiyska Voda emerged at
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov's extraordinary meeting with the
three ministers and the mayors of Sofia and Pernik on January
18.  Water supply to nearly 82,000 residents of Pernik Region
has been rationed since November 18, 2019, after the Studena Dam
 was found to have been critically drained by a prolonged
drought, 75 per cent losses from the town's water network, and
the use of potable water by the local district heating company
and a steelworks.

Regional Development Minister Petya Avramova said Prime Minister
 Boyko Borissov was assured by the management of the
Construction Chamber on Thursday that they would mobilize all
resources for the construction of 13.5 km of pipeline linking
the reservoir in the village of Malo Bouchino and Pernik, and a
pump station in the village. Karanikolov said a Spanish company
would supply the pipes.
RY/DD