Аннотация:Increased concentrations of pollutants were detected in wastewater discharge zones of the Lake Baikal coastal waters and its tributaries. Green filamentous algae, an indicator of the local eutrophication, were shown to be present in wastewater discharge zones. Analysis of the technical parameters of four wastewater treatment facilities located in the central ecological zone (CEZ) of the Baikal natural territory (BNT) revealed that the plants do not meet the requirements for key indicators and do not have the technical capacity to improve efficiency. For a number of parameters, the maximum allowable concentrations (MACs) were exceeded hundredsof times. The wastewater standards established for the BNT are unprecedentedly strict and have no analogues globally. To comply with them, cleaning efficiency exceeding 98‒99% in some cases must be achieved. Although the best available technologies make it possible to reach efficiency within 85‒97%, the wastewater treatment facilities under study operate with outdated technologies that are not designed for the extraction of biogeniccompounds from wastewater. Since the introduction of regional standards, the plants in question have not notbeen able to implement them nor have been modernized. The stringent requirements of the regulatory framework likely hamper the modernization processes. Here we propose to adjust the wastewater treatment standards to the realistic values achievable with the best available technologies, taking into account the region’s economiccapabilities. The model testing of adjusted standards should be preceded by the pilot modernization of wastewater treatment technologies.
