site.btaState of Disaster Declared in Pernik Municipality

December 21 (BTA) - At a meeting here
on Saturday, the Crisis Headquarters decided to declare a
seven-day state of disaster in Pernik Municipality so as to
implement emergency activities before the dead storage capacity
of the Studena Dam is reached, Pernik Mayor Stanislav Vladimirov
 said. If necessary, the state of disaster period might be
extended, he added.

The city's water supply has been restricted for a month now due
to the quantity of water in the Studena Dam being at a critical
minimum, Vladimirov recalled, adding that harsher restrictions
were introduced on Friday. Still, these measures are
insufficient because there is a real risk of the Studena Dam's
dead storage capacity being reached in the coming months.

In Vladimirov's words, Economy Minister Emil Karanikolov
together with the State-owned Montagi EAD company will ensure
the implementation of the emergency activities outlined in the
last several days. These include drilling in the karst basin
above the Studena Dam and the placement of an installation to
reroute water from Strouma River to the Studena Dam.

Minister Karanikolov, who attended Saturday's meeting of the
Crisis Headquarters, said that experts are conducting the
necessary research and analyses. They are considering the
potential rerouting of water from the Vladaya Channel to the
Studena Dam, he also said.
  
RY/DS