Specialists from the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Polissia District have taken water samples from the Ustia River in the city of Rivne and will conduct a laboratory analysis.
The experts reported this on Telegram.
The environmental inspectors took the samples after reports on social media about possible contamination of the river in the Zolotiyiv neighborhood of the regional center. State environmental inspectors of the Polissia District went to the address and inspected the site of the alleged pollution.
Specialists from the Instrumentation and Laboratory Control Department took water samples in the Ustia River upstream and downstream of the discharge channel and will conduct further analysis.
They will determine the composition and properties of the water. The environmental inspectors promised to report the results of the laboratory analysis later.
According to the Suspilne.Rivne portal, residents had earlier started complaining about the stench coming from the river. The journalists also interviewed Tetyana Klima, deputy head of the Polissia District State Environmental Inspectorate. She said that the experts found a slight excess of organic pollution, but the results of the full analysis will be available within 5 days.
The official of the environmental inspection promised that the protocols for measuring the content of the substance that contaminated the water would be handed over to law enforcement agencies to identify those responsible and respond accordingly.
In the digest of the largest environmental violations for January 11-17, EcoPolitic wrote about two lawsuits filed by the territorial bodies of the State Environmental Inspectorate against Izyaslavvodokanal and Stryi Vodokanal. These utilities were polluting the Stryi and Horyn rivers with wastewater discharges.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine has approved the State Water Monitoring Program for 2025, which covers 7 river basins – the Dnipro, Dniester, Danube, Southern Bug, Don, Vistula, and Black Sea.