Fourth Study Conference on BALTEX Scala Cinema Gudhjem

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Climate and Water Resources of Belarus
Michail Kalinin
Central Research Institute of Complex Use of Water Resources (CRICUWR),
Slavinsky str., 1/2, Minsk, 220086, Belarus; phone (375 17) 264-65-22
fax: (375 17) 264-27-34, E-mail: kamu@tut.by
The most important problems for Belarus are the
unevenness of distribution and the quality of water
resources. The following issues have additional
extraordinary significance for the problem of joint use of
water of international water bodies: (i) Irregular
availability of water resources for the population and in
regions, (ii) different levels of intensity of the agricultural
and industrial production and requirements for water, (iii)
specific approaches to the right of property in the national
water legislation of the states bordering Belarus.
Water resources are characterized by a high sensitivity to
climate change, therefore, to develop adaptation measures
under changing climate, a unified information exchange
system is needed to assess the water regime of both the
whole region and specific states.
The Republic of Belarus has a large number of aquatic
ecosystems including rivers (20.800), lakes (10.800),
water storage reservoirs (153) and ponds (1.500). The
total river length is 90.600 kilometers. They are located
within the major catchment areas of the Black and Baltic
Seas. The main rivers are Berezina, Neman, Sozh,
Pripyat, West Dvina and Dnieper. The annual
precipitation amounts to 146 km 3 , being divided into
evaporation (almost 110 km 3 ) and local river runoff (only
36.0 km 3 or 25%). The transit inflow from neighboring
countries is 22.2 km 3 of water. The total resources of the
local river runoff are 56.2 km 3 /year. The largest lakes are
the Naroch (80 km 2 ), Osveiskoe (52.8 km 2 ), Chervonoe
(43.6 km 2 ). The total storage capacity of water reservoirs
is 3.1 km 3 with an active storage capacity of nearly 1.2
km 3 .
The most important rivers in terms of power generation
are the West Dvina and Neman. 21 small hydroelectric
power plants (HEPP) with a total installed capacity of
about 10 MW, including 14 HEPP with the total capacity
of 7.8 MW, operate in Belarus. It is planned to
commission another 29 HEPP with a total installed
capacity of nearly 7 MW by 2010.
A number of man-made water systems are available in
Belarus. The Berezinskaya system, 169 km long,
connects the West Dvina with the Dnieper and is located
in the northern part of the country. Two water-dividing
canals are located in the south (in Polessie), namely the
Dnieper-Bug and Oginsky canals. The former is a part of
the Dnieper-Bug waterway and is nearly 735 km long.
Surface water is used by the inland water transport
providing mineral/construction/forest freight and
passenger services along the rivers of Pripyat, Dnieper,
Berezina, Sozh and Dnieper-Bug canal.
Currently, 125 hydrological stations operate on rivers and
canals, and another 14 stations are installed on lakes and
water storage reservoirs. Observations of hydrochemical
condition of water bodies are conducted at 106 sites at
165 stations in basins of all large rivers. The
hydrobiological control is conducted for 68 water bodies
at 128 stations. Regular observations of the natural
ground water level started in 1949. Observations of the
natural and disturbed ground water regimes are
conducted on 1.656 wells developed down to all waterbearing
horizons.
Analysis of Climatic Change Effect on River Runoff
and Water Level in Lakes. In Belarus, climate factors
change with latitude, and, hence, so does the average
annual runoff in the area, which is observed to decrease
from north to south.
The most important phase of the Belarusian rivers’ water
regime is the spring flood. The height of the spring flood
above the normal (low-water) level reaches 8.6-12.8 m at
large rivers. The flood height is approximately 2 times
lower on medium and small rivers. The flood prevails for
a period of 30-120 days. The shortest flood occurs in the
rivers of the Neman watershed area (30-50 days) and the
longest in the Pripyat watershed area (90-120 days).
Spring flood recession duration ranges from 30 to 60
days. Floods causing sizeable damage in the Belarusian
river basins occurred 10-12 times over the last 50-70
years. The most significant of them were the floods in the
years 1956, 1958, 1974, 1979, 1993 and 1999.
The spring flood on the rivers is followed by the summerfall
low-water periods when water levels reach minimum
values. Its duration in the West Dvina watershed area is
120 - 140 days, 135 - 165 days in the Pripyat area, and
190 - 205 days in the remaining rivers. In dry years
(1939, 1951, 1952), drying of rivers and canals was
observed in watershed areas exceeding 1.000 km 2 .
Currently, not only natural fluctuations of meteorological
variables, but also anthropogenic factors define the
hydrological regime of water bodies in Belarus. It should
be noted that the influence of the latter is increasing each
year despite some economic recession. If anthropogenic
factors are not properly accounted for, they may lead to
significant errors in determining projected characteristics.
Projection of changes relevant for water resources
requires that actions to mitigate or adapt to unfavorable
effects of climate change be taken well in advance. In
terms of water management, the most significant factor is
to account for possible transformation of the dry-year
hydrograph specifically if the overall volume of the
predicted reduction in the annual runoff would fall within
the summer/fall runoff low period. In this case, the water
sector would encounter the following negative effects:
(i) decrease in actual design supply of economy units
using surface water; (ii) drop in minimum water levels in
rivers, thereby effecting the operation of water intakes
not provided with a dam, domestic water transport and
recreation; (iii) ground water recession, specifically in
river zones; (iv) lower river water quality related to a
lower degree of dilution of effluents and other pollution
sources; (v) transformation of the rivers’ hydrobiological
regime caused by the change in the river level and speed
regimes; (vi) increase in air temperature leading to
deterioration of the oxygen regime and reduction in selfcleaning
intensity.