Chișinău mine could be a new source for drinking water
For two years, the project to transform the Chișinău Mine into an alternative source of drinking water for residents in the Rîșcani and Ciocana sectors has been in its second phase.
The administration is awaiting the necessary approval to use the water from the mine and deliver it to the public network. According to the relevant authorities, the document can only be issued after updated analyses of the water quality are presented. Until then, the water is being pumped and discharged into the Bâc River.
Water from the Chișinău Mine is being discharged into the Bâc River to prevent the complete flooding of the mine. Around five thousand cubic meters of water are evacuated daily, with an annual cost of about two million lei.
The last laboratory analyses of the water were conducted five years ago. The results at the time indicated that the water was of good chemical and bacteriological quality. However, additional treatment is needed before it can be used.
"We also analyzed the groundwater that enters the mine, and at the moment, it is considered technical water. But once you treat three specific components, it can become potable water—exactly the same water that residents in the municipality drink today, which comes from the Dniester River," explains Corneliu Pîntea, the project's author.
According to employees of the enterprise, the water has been continuously pumped for three years, ever since the first phase of the project was completed. The pumping process was already underway before 2002, but the capacity was limited.
"The pumps that were installed are submersible pumps with a capacity of 240 cubic meters per hour. The old ones had 90 cubic meters. Here, the basin has a capacity of 7,000 to 8,000 cubic meters," says Victor Anghel, a sector manager.
The first phase of the project began in 2022 and was completed a year later. According to the project author, the second phase is now underway. The next step is the decisive stage—the actual construction of the aqueduct—after obtaining the approval that will allow the mine water to be used in the network, followed by the construction of the station that will transport it.
"We are in the second phase of the project. This is the stage where we are, specifically, designing this aqueduct station, and we are at the stage of receiving the permissive documents from the Ministry of Environment. The decisive stage—the actual construction of the aqueduct—is next," notes Corneliu Pîntea.
According to the Ministry of Environment, the permissive documents will be issued once the new laboratory results on water quality are presented. The project to de-water the Chișinău mine and use the water to supply the city began in 2022. At the time, the budget was estimated to be over 30 million lei. It's worth noting that the tunnels of the Chișinău Mine run directly beneath some of the most important streets in the Rîșcani and Ciocana sectors, including Florilor, Studenților, and Moscow Boulevard, where more than 160,000 people live.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
