SCIENTIFIC BASES FOR ESTABLISHING ECOLOGICALLY ACCEPTABLE WATER ABSTRACTION LEVELS FROM SMALL RIVERS

Abstract

The design models for determining the admissible levels of waterabstraction from rivers allow the determination of the minimum water flow rates that must be left in the river in each phase of thehydrological regime in order to maintain the safe and stable status of the aquatic ecosystem. The formulated basic requirements for the choice of research objects, the definition of computational sites and the formation of blocks of output data provide a unified approach to the organization of the program of research and preparation of the baseline information. According to the methodology, the amount of environmental runoff that must be left in the river to maintain the river ecosystem's sustainable functioning is 40% of the runoff rate.The methodology provides for the consideration of significant number of significant hydrological and hydrobiological factors in thecalculations, analysis of numerous variants of natural andanthropogenic impacts on river ecosystems and obtaining areasonable estimation of the ecologically acceptable minimum water costs, which must be reserved in the river for different phases of water conservation. The introduction of research results into the practice of nature conservation and water management will allow to scientifically substantiate the level of water use in which the ability of natural complexes to self-regulation, self-purification and selfhealing will not be undermined.