2.4 Housing.

 Housing space in Moscow is fully electrified and provided with control heating, running cold water and sewerage system for 99,7%, gas for 59,4%, electric cookers for 40,6%, hot running water for 98,6%, and bath-rooms for 99,7%.

Moscow government subsidises 82% of housing maintenance costs, 72,5% of expenses for central heating and hot water supply, 53,5% expenses for cold running water and sewerage system, public transportation services, and some social problems which need to be solved.

At present, the most urgent problem of Moscow housing space is its rapid obsolescence. A large number of houses, which were built of prefabricated panels, frame-panel or industrialised housing constructions in different periods of time are now almost unsuitable for living.

Moscow is the most northern and continentally located megalopolis in the world therefore, the municipal central heating system, which is 2030 km long is particularly significant. It is made up of sophisticated machinery, including hundreds of big and small energy plants (units, pumping stations, heat distribution) facilities and heat supply networks. It is necessary to pump 300,000 tons of water heated to 135^oC in winter and to 70^oC in summer through the central heating system over an hour. 15% of heat generated are lost, and this figure tends to increase. This problem turns to be especially urgent because fuel costs are growing. Heat losses are caused by the over use of both pipes and insulation that is getting older more rapidly than metal. Pipes and insulation are not properly substituted according to the established standards.

2.5. Water supply

 There are 35 towns and settlements with their own plants, recreation of areas and farming lands, which are located in the zone of drinking water collection sources.

The existing water supply system is highly effective and sophisticated. In 1997, the average daily supply of water in the city was 6343,5 thousand mі per day. It did not exceed the full commercial operation of waterworks even in terms of the maximum water supply indicators. In 1997, water was 5157,4 thousand mі per day, only a small volume of 16,1 thousand mі per day having been supplied by artesian wells. The average annual increment of water consumption was 3,5% in the 1960s to 1980s; 1,7% in the 1980s to 1990s; and 1,5% in 1990-1995.

 The average daily water supply in 1996-1997 (thousands of mі per day)

Against a background total decrease of water consumption, increased supply of drinking water for the needs of population and industry was observed in 1997. The losses of water supply having been considerably reduced.

The city water system is made up of over 9,000 km of water pipes, which are from 50 mm to 2,000 mm in diameter. In 1997 the breakdown rate was 0,51 per 1 km that exceeded the average accident rate in Western Europe where it is 0,2 per 1 km. Accidents in Moscow water system are caused by the worn-out water pipes, excessively high level of pressure, and low quality of closure fittings.

 Consumption of natural water resources.

 The natural sources of water supply in Moscow are the Moscow River and its tributary as well as subsurface waters, both those which are generated by the surface run off in the river basin and deep horizon waters which are not caused by the run off. The subsurface water reserves are insufficient to consistently provide the needs in industrial and drinking water supply therefore the surface water resources are primarily used for these purposes.

Moscow water supply system is consist of Moskvoretzo-Vazuzskaia and Volghskaia water systems including Mozshaiskoie, Ruzskoe, Ozermnskoie, Istrinskoie, Vazuzzskoie, Yauzskoie, Verkhneruzskoie reservoirs, Moscow River, Ruza River, Ozerna River, and Istra River as water supply paths; Ivankovskoie, Klyazminskoie, Pestovskoie, Ikshinskoie, Uchinskoie reservoirs and Moscow channel. It is peculiar feature of Moscow, as a Russian Federation administrative unit, that the sources of its water supply system are located not only in Moscow region but also in Smolensk and Tver regions. These regions are separated units of the Russian Federation and are state property only within the limits of their aquatic areas.

Industrial and drinking water is centrally supplied from the surface sources of the Moskvorezko-Vazuzskaia and Volgzhskaia water supply systems. Their total guaranteed capacity is 51 mі per second and 82 mі per second correspondingly. However, the efficiency of these systems has been exhausted and does not meet the requirements of the present day actual water consumption in the Moscow region.

 Allocation of water consumption (including drinking water) by different consumers in 1992-1997

The monitoring of drinking water quality

 The quality of drinking water supplied to the consumers is monitored in three stages:

1. The Mosvodokanal (the municipal institution responsible for the water supply system in Moscow), which controls

- the quality of water samples taken one kilometre above the water intake and at the very intake;

- the water quality and the residual amounts of reactants remaining after the water purification process at waterworks;

- the quality of drinking water before supplying it to the water system and the quality of water in the water system.

2. The Municipal Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspection is responsible for providing public sanitation monitoring of the sanitary protection zones of water sources; the water quality of drinking water before supplying it to the water system and in the process of utilisation.
3. The "Rosa" ("Dew") analytical centre carries out an independent control of water quality in accordance with a wide range of physical, chemical, and micro-biological indicators.

The heavy metals content of the drinking water supplied by Moscow water-works is 10 to 1000 times below permissible limits. The pesticide content is also below permissible limits. Many pesticides are found in quantities below discovering limits.

 The basic indicators of the drinking water quality in 1997

The city sewage system has been designed for the disposal of the municipal wastewater. It consists of three interrelated subsystems: Northern, Central and Southern, where effluents are gathered and then transmitted to two aeration stations (Lyuberetskaia and Kurianovskaia), which are situated in Southern-East part of Moscow. These stations have carrying capacity of 3,125 million-m³ daily and 3,0 million-m³ daily, correspondingly.

Daily amount of waste water disposed by the sewage treating facilities is 6200,0 thousand m³. Sewage system is a combination of ground and underground facilities designed to dispose sewage water stored in residential areas within the precincts of Moscow and the sited in the so-called city green belt. Their total area is 1200 m². The total length of the sewage system is 6,3 thousand kilometres, 20% of them being main drains and transportation pipes. There are 123 sewage water pump-stations and emergency regulating tanks. Their total capacity is about 100,0 thousand m³. The length of pressure pipelines is 592,0 km. Sewage water is subject to the full biological treatment at the aeration stations. In addition, 784,000 m³ of biologically treated sewage water per day has been polished at the Kurianovskaia aeration station, 78,000 cub. m of sterilised waste water being supplied to industrial water supply system, in order to provide some Moscow plants with manufacturing water.

Influence of the sewage system on the environment.

Sewage system was designed and developed as overall yet separate. It was aimed to dispose industrial effluents and sewage water, and then to treat them at the aeration stations. The Mosvodokanal municipal enterprise is responsible for carrying out these functions. Atmospheric water and clean water are directed to the open water bodies, such as the Moscow River, the Yauza river, and their tributaries, through a network of drains.

SURFACE WATER DRAINAGE SYSTEM

Taking into account that the Moscow river and its tributaries are primarily supplied with water from rainfalls and melted snow which make up 12% and 61% of the general run off correspondingly, the problem of the surface water collection, transportation and treatment is considered to be very important. The state of the city water bodies is greatly dependent on its solution.

Today the surface water drainage system includes:

• 5110 km of the drain pipes, over 1300 outlets into the Moskva river and the Yauza river (without regard to the district, outbuilding and departmental drain-pipe systems). Outlets are aimed to drainage atmospheric precipitation, drainage, washing and relatively clear industrial water (the length of the city sewage system is 6300 km);
• 266 km of smaller rivers and streams flowing either on open channels or in main drains;
• water bypass canal system and waterworks at the Yauza river;
• ponds and water bodies, including well-drain ponds and controller ponds having sophisticated waterworks equipment and dams;
• 84 treatment facilities sited at tailed drainage stretches including 33 settling ponds, 33 settling basin compartments, 10 sand traps, and 6 gate dams barrages in the Moskva and Yauza river beds.

Approximately a half of sewage water drained from the city area is processed at these facilities. They differ by their operating principles, carrying capacity and treatment efficiency but they all are technologically imperfect that leads to the inadequate treatment of sewage water. They provide only for the processing of oil products and suspended substances. However, it is still beneficial for the city because another half of the surface run off flows into rivers without any treatment whatsoever.

Nevertheless, this division is just a matter of convention. There is practically no registration of the drained flow except the data obtained from the water-pipe system authorised users. For example, the Mosvodostok municipal agency estimated the annual amount of 97660 thousand cub. m of the surface water runoff to be drained in 1998. However, approximations made by the Moskompriroda agency show that the overall surface runoff including that of urban areas is 2-3 times as much as the estimated figures. Drainage water and ground water infiltration into the water pipes cannot be estimated due to the lack of measuring instruments. Thus, it would not be an exaggeration to deal with a figure of 500 million-m³ annually which, in fact, might be understated.

 The influence of drainage system on the environment

 On the whole, the city water bodies are polluted with the surface runoff that contains oil products 1,8 times as much as the industrial water and suspended substances 24 times as large as the industrial wastewater. 80 out of 142 petrol stations inspected by the Moskompriroda agency are not provided with proper water drainage systems, using the relief to drainage the sewage water. As a result, they pollute the environment by suspended substances and oil products15 and 5 times correspondingly as much as the petrol stations equipped with the drainpipe systems. Thus, 11, 5 tons of oil products is discharged into the city water bodies.

 DOMESTIC WASTE

Unlike industrial waste, the amount of solid waste has remained practically stable for 8-10 years, being about 2,5 million tons annually. This is primarily caused by a considerably increased consumption of imported food products and manufactured goods packaged according to modern standards. Only about 10% of domestic solid waste are industrially utilized in two large incinerators or in a waste reprocessing plant. Their equipment is obsolescent and does not meet any environmental standards at all.90 % of the solid domestic waste or buried in the “improved” landfill sites located in Moscow Region that leads to deteriorating environmental conditions there.

At present, there are over 100 unauthorized garbage dumps within the precincts of the city. Their total area is 940 hectares, or 1% of the total city area. In most cases such landfill sites are located in the former sand quarries or ravines and in all those areas which are unsuitable for any other purposes. However, a number of former garbage dumps are now located within the built-up areas.

The quantitative sick-rate of all the groups of population in Moscow is 15-20% above average in Russia. Partly, it is explained by the effective health care system as compared with that in Russia; partly, it is due to the unfavourable environmental conditions in Moscow. About 60% of teenagers and 21% of adults suffer from the respiratory disease rank first in a range of diseases widespread in Moscow. The sick rate in the diseases of the blood circulation system adults is 70% above average in Russia (220,0 against 125,4 per 100,000).

The sick-rate of infection disease remains to be quite high in Moscow, although it has stared to fall since 1994. There are 2,32 million cases of respiratory tract infections and parasitic diseases in Moscow.

At present, a transfer to the insurance health care system has been practically completed. It is accompanied by the widespread introduction of paid medical services. According to the Federal Law "On Medical Insurance of the citizens, the foundations assigned for the compulsory medical insurance where established in Moscow. All enterprises and institutions irrespective of the type of the property must make payments in addition to the budget allocations.

Today, medical institutions suffer from the shortage of funding and lack of the modern equipment. Under these circumstances, a transfer to the insurance health care system does not result in the rapid and fundamental improvement of the municipal services for the population but contributes to the growing social security of the citizens in so far as their health care is concerned.

During the 1990s the number of medical institutions has remained unchanged the number of doctors and paraprofessional personnel has been decreasing, therefore some polyclinics are staffed only by 60%-70%.

The Moscow Government focused the available city budget resources on implementing the target health care programs, which will enable to improve the situation in the most unfavourable or socially significant health services, like: