All the lakes and dams in the country started to be inspected after Prime Minister Dorin Recean gave relevant instructions as a result of the extreme weather of the last week. For his part, Minister of Environment Sergiu Lazarencu summoned inferiors, members of the local and district public authorities, of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and also specialists in hydrotechnical constructions to agree the process of inventorying lakes and dams and to check hose these are used according to national norms and regulations, IPN reports.

The inspection began at the pond in Mingir commune of Hîncești district. A series of irregularities were detected there: violation of the dam utilization period, non-compliant maintenance of the hydrotechnical construction, silting of the pond, non-compliance with the regulations on the exploitation of waterbodies, blocking of large water drains and discharge of water without permission, the Ministry of Environment found.

The last inventory report for 2019, which was presented by Moldova’s Waters Agency, indicates the presence of 6,763 lakes in the country, of which only 951 have exploitation regulations.

In this connection, the Ministry of Environment obliges all lake owners to regularly carry out the technical examination of dams, depending on the size and volume of the waterbody. Minister Sergiu Lazarencu ordered to terminate the lease contracts and, as the case may be, to expropriate the lessees and owners who do not comply with the exploitation requirements. “It is a necessary measure for the state to be able to ensure the maintenance of lakes and dams, thus increasing the safety of citizens in case of possible calamities and preventing major risks,” said the minister.