Pavlikeni Municipality expects grant funding from the Agriculture State Fund to replace the water pipes of six of the villages most affected by the water shortage. Currently, seven out of 20 settlements in the municipality are experiencing serious water shortages, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.
Pavlikeni Municipality is the most affected by the water crisis in the Veliko Tarnovo region. Together with the Yovkovtsi Water and Sewerage Company, repairs are being made to alleviate the water shortages in the settlements, said Mayor Emanuil Manlov:
"Replacement of pumps, cleaning of existing shaft wells. Replacement of water supply network in six settlements – Dolna Lipnitsa with Gorna Lipnitsa, Duskot and Butovo and the other pair of villages are Lesicheri and Patresh".
The water supply systems of the six villages are financed by the "Agriculture" fund.
In Lesicheri, the old pumping station will be restored and the route of the pressure water supply system will be replaced. In the town of Byala Cherkva, a well in the water supply area is being cleaned, new pumps have been purchased.
The project for replacing the water supply network of Byala Cherkva has been submitted to the Regional Ministry, which will be financed by the state under the investment program for municipalities.
Correspondence is being conducted with the Ministry of Ecology and "Irrigation Systems" to grant permission to the "Yovkovtsi" Water Supply and Sewerage Company. for additional quantities of water from the "Alexander Stamboliyski" dam, which will be released along the old irrigation canals in order to raise the levels of the drainage fields, from which the Pavlikeni villages of Batak and Karaisen, affected by the drought, are supplied with water, said Mayor Emanuil Manolov:
"Our request is to release water also along the main Nikyupski canal, in order to support the irrigation of the drainage fields of Lesicheri and partially of Stambolovo".
The unspent advances from the state under the contracts concluded last year are delaying construction, said Mayor Emanuil Manolov and gave an example of the water supply project for the village of Nedan:
"The builder is worried about piling up all the heavy equipment and pipes without having clarity on when we will receive the advance. Our requests for an advance were in August last year. We don't have an advance yet".