Assessing Recent Approaches to Quality Control and Conservation of Surface Waters

Abstract

The quality of Russia’s surface waters is analyzed. The main problems of quality control are highlighted: drinking water at odds with specified standards, defects of the economic mechanism of quality control of natural waters, the obsolete and contradictory legislative and regulatory framework for water-body management, the low efficiency of supervision, and the weakness of the monitoring and statistical system. The drawbacks of the scientific and methodological framework for water quality control are noted. The necessity to shift to a risk-oriented approach to nature-conservation regulation is substantiated. The currently employed zero-risk concept fails to meet target indicators of water quality.