BAPOP needs a relaxed regime when utilizing underground water sources for watering greenhouses – 2024-07-30 05:46:51

The greenhouse affiliation insists throughout the public dialogue of the modifications within the Water Act to shorten the interval for issuing a allow from the basin directorates and to scale back the value of drilling irrigation water

Revealed for public dialogue modifications to The water legislation provoked the response of the Bulgarian Affiliation of Greenhouse Producers (BAPOP).

For years, the sector has suffered excessive restrictions on using underground water sources for irrigation water. The issues not solely of the greenhouse growers, but additionally of the Polish producers of greens, fruits, grapes and different different crops for the irrigation of which underground water is used. Fixing these issues has not discovered options within the draft amendments to the Water Legislation. The general public dialogue on it continues till August 19.

In reference to this, BAPOP contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and Meals, and extra particularly, the director of the “Hydromelioration” Directorate, Nikolay Karafiziev.

Yesterday, July 29, a letter was despatched to the director by BAPOP, wherein consideration is drawn to what the greenhouse producers wish to see modified within the Water Act and partly within the Environmental Safety Act so as to have the ability to perform their actions. Six calls for of the sector are introduced.

A duplicate of this letter was despatched to the Minister of Agriculture and Meals, Georgi Takhov, and to the Director of the Bulgarian Agrarian Chamber, Svetlana Boyanova. Up to now, the dialogue between the 2 ministries is being performed to ease the situations and procedures for issuing a allow for water abstraction when utilizing floor water.

BAPOP needs not solely “Irrigation Programs” to be included within the dialogue between the ministries, but additionally the 4 basin directorates, as a result of they’re primarily concerned within the authorization for the creation and use of drilling wells for irrigation.

Agro Plovdiv additionally has a replica of the letter we’re publishing.

This is what BAPOP gives:

Pricey Mr. Karafeziev,

In reference to the request to amend the Water Act (WA), relating to the easing of the regime for entry to water for irrigation of agricultural producers, we wish to draw your consideration to the truth that in agriculture in Bulgaria, along with water abstraction from floor water, a big a part of farmers and particularly in greenhouse manufacturing’, and in addition in Polish vegetable manufacturing, fruit and grape manufacturing, water consumption from underground sources (bore wells) is used, that are underneath the regulation and management of the 4 Basin directorates. Your letter refers solely to “Irrigation Programs” EAD, however to not the Basin Directorates, on which the acquiring of a allow for water abstraction from underground sources relies upon.

On this regard, we ask you to incorporate representatives of the Basin Directorate in future discussions relating to modifications to the Environmental Safety Act, in addition to modifications to the Environmental Safety Act (EPA), relating to the easing of the regime for entry to water for irrigation for agricultural producers .

Our proposals to alter and ease the authorized necessities are as follows:

1. Shortening the time for acquiring a allow for water abstraction from underground sources by the Basin Directorate – at the moment the process lasts a few 12 months and a half.

2. In response to Artwork. 93, para. 1 of the ZOOS, “the necessity to perform an EIA is assessed for funding proposals in response to Annex No. 2”. Merchandise 1, c) “ameliorative actions in agriculture, together with irrigation and drying of lands” must be deleted from this appendix. So as to legitimize a groundwater abstraction facility – a tube nicely (TK), which shall be used for irrigation, an EIA evaluation is required. The process for acquiring a allow is extended by one other half 12 months and results in an extra monetary burden for the farmer. On the identical time, this farmer has the need, for instance, to construct trendy precision irrigation techniques that save water assets.

3. So as to get hold of a allow for water use from underground water sources for the good thing about producers of greenhouse manufacturing, the requirement to submit an opinion from “Irrigation Programs” EAD pursuant to Artwork. 60, para. 6, merchandise 5 of the Water Act, certifying the technical impossibility of offering the mandatory portions from the prevailing irrigation system or impossibility of entry to the irrigation system.

After we speak about greenhouse manufacturing, we’re speaking a few sector the place precision agriculture is already practiced, exact irrigation strategies are used (drip irrigation techniques, sprinkler, micro-rain and misting techniques). Because of this a minimal quantity of water is used on the proper time and in the suitable place within the root liveable soil zone with out pointless losses of water assets.

The usage of water from floor irrigation sources of “Irrigation Programs” EAD is inapplicable in greenhouse manufacturing for the next causes:

• incapacity to make sure a continuing circulation of water;
• the poor situation of the canal community, a part of which is municipally owned and poorly maintained – this results in giant losses of water assets;
• it isn’t clear what microbiological high quality is the water from these floor sources, passing by means of a lot of channels – it’s attainable to switch the causative brokers of a lot of fungal and bacterial ailments to the greenhouse crops;
• using such water requires extra assets for the development of remedy vegetation and positive filters to make sure the mandatory high quality of water for irrigation, the place even pH, electrical conductivity and different parameters of the water answer are monitored.

4. To drop the requirement for a full chemical and radiological evaluation of the water throughout the registration and legalization of the wells – this burdens the farmers with about BGN 2,000.

5. To drop the requirement that water consumption be finished from the primary aquifer, since in lots of circumstances it’s dry or there may be not sufficient water for irrigation.

6. To cut back the monetary burden (worth) for irrigation, which is 0.0229 when water is taken from underground water BGN/m³and from floor water it’s BGN 0.0023/m³ with the state of affairs that when water is taken from underground water, the price of water pumping is way greater.