Water body system to be restored in Tsarskoye Selo

The Federal Agency for Water Resources (Rosvodresurs) reviewed an action plan to restore the water body system of the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve at a meeting chaired by Dmitry Kirillov, head of Rosvodresurs.

As part of the plan for the restoration of ponds and canals, alternative sources of water supply were considered, as well as measures to get rid of silt and algae from water bodies. The action plan reflects the main points of the upcoming work.

The roadmap was prepared with the participation of the Nevsko-Ladozhsky basin water management board of Rosvodresursov, the Tsarskoe Selo Federal State Budgetary Institution and other executive authorities of St. Petersburg on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Thus, the parties agreed to conduct a comprehensive survey of the hydraulic system and analyze possible options for its rewatering (among the alternatives - groundwater, a circulating system, aeration, etc.). It is also important to prepare substantiating materials for the clearance of water bodies, which must be carried out by 2025.

“A comprehensive environmental survey of water bodies of the museum-reserve is planned during the current year. It is necessary to determine the watering needs of the system. In addition, it is necessary to establish how much bottom sediments have accumulated in rivers, channels and streams,” noted Dmitry Kirillov.

In order to optimize the management of water resources and preserve their ecological state in the future, a monitoring system will be developed for the museum-reserve. Observation points will be equipped in 2022.

To date, the hydraulic system of Tsarskoye Selo is almost completely destroyed.

Ponds and canals, which have always been a decoration of parks, have lost their flowing, are covered with silt, the water level has dropped significantly. Unique cascades and waterfalls have been lost, almost all water surfaces are overgrown with plants.

Tsarskoe Selo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The landscapes of the parks were formed back in the 18th century during the reign of Empress Catherine II. Ponds and canals were an integral part of the museum-reserve. They were feeding on Vittolovsky, Taitsky and Orlovsky water conduits.