Institute of Northern Water Problems of Karelian Research Centre of RAS (Petrozavodsk, Russia):

Litvinenko A. V., Senior Researcher, e-mail: aleks_litvinenko@mail.ru

Filatov N. N., Director, Corresponding Member of Russian Academy of Sciences

Bogdanova M. S., Junior Researcher

Surface water is currently the main source of drinking water supply in Karelia. Geological, morphological and climatic factors are acting together. These factors have generated an extensive lake-river network in the republic, its density paralleled only by the neighbouring Finland.

A component part of the region’s hydrographic network is storage reservoirs, which hold 80.2 km³ of water. Another 65 km³ of water are contained in numerous natural lakes (apart from the largest freshwater lakes of Europe – Onega and Ladoga). However, utilization of little renewable, so-called stationary, resources of lakes and storage reservoirs for industrial purposes, is problematic because of potential negative environmental impact. Water resources of such water bodies are used only in the industries that do not affect their water content (water transport, recreation, fish farming and fisheries).

A streamflow - sources that are continuously renewed (so-calleddynamic) through water cycle – are in great interest for Karelian water consuming industries. In average-water year, the streamflow content in Karelian territory is 57 km³. 87% of it is formed within the republic (local streamflow). In low water years, local streamflow drops to 31.8 km³. Low water happens once in 20 years.

Thus, Karelia is quite well supplied with surface water resources, and their quantitative availability restricts the economic development of the republic (even with the high fluctuations of the streamflow within a year). Current problems in water supply to the public and some economic facilities are due either to organizational and technical problems or to the discrepancy between the quality of natural sources` water and the requirements.

1. Vodnye resursy Respubliki Kareliya i puti ikh ispolzovaniya dlya pitevogo vodosnabzheniya. Opyt karelsko-finlyandskogo sotrudnichestva (Water resources of Republic of Karelia and ways of their use for drinking water supply. Experience of Karelian-Finnish cooperation). Under the editorship of N. Filatov, A. Litvinenko, A. Syarkioya, R. Porttikivi, T. Regerand. Petrozavodsk : Karelian Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, 2006, 263 p.