WATER BODIES OF CENTRAL YAKUTIA: TYPES AND THEIR ECOLOGICAL STATUS
The article presents the results of the water bodies research such as rivers, springs and lakes of Central Yakutia during a ﬁeld trip of the Branch of the Russian Geographical Society in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) “The ﬂoating university on the Lena River - 2018”. Complex scientiﬁc research of the environment and ecological condition of the Lena River basin was the main goal of the ﬁeld trip. Others objectives were to conduct a research of natural and anthropogenic landscapes en-route of The Floating University and to develop recommendations on the rational use of natural and resource capacity of the studied territory. Despite abundance of sources of fresh drinking water in Central Yakutia, due to current changes in the environment and an anthropogenic pressure, the quality of drinking water is a serious challenge in each settlement. The local population takes drinking water from the Lena River and its inﬂows, in the period of the high water - from small rivers or ﬂowing lakes, underground sources are rarely used. Within the studied areas, dumping of sewage is carried out, including superﬁcial water bodies, with biological sewage treatment being done only in the towns of Lensk and Pokrovsk. During the navigation period, frequent cases of dumping bilge water from vessels are noted. Geological works, mining, industrial development of ﬁelds lead to changes in the regime of water bodies, and pollution by various harmful substances. Due to these reasons, the water quality fails to conform to the water management standards; nevertheless, it is used for water supply of the population, agricultural purposes and ﬁshing. That is why the research of an ecological status of water bodies in Central Yakutia conducted by the Floating University is very relevant.