Prague, June 9 (CTK) – The Czech Environment Ministry will launch a new programme for municipalities focused on securing drinking water for people and searching for new sources in July, minister Richard Brabec (ANO) said yesterday, adding that 300 million crowns will be set aside for this.
The sum will be provided from national sources, but the ministry wants to spend almost seven billion crowns from European subsidies on further programmes.
In a second subsidy programme, the ministry wants to motivate people to better use rainwater.
People could get a subsidy of up to 50 percent to buy large barrels for rainwater in gardens.
The ministry wants to test the programme mainly in dry regions, such as southern Moravia and in the Labe (Elbe) valley and the Ohre valley in west Bohemia.
“Initially, the money should be provided for retention reservoirs that are used for watering gardens… Now, we are talking about cheaper measures of about 20,000 crowns, including digging,” Brabec said.
He said the use of grey sewage water from households or apartment houses is also a possibility, but it is more expensive.
The ministry announced conditions by the end of this summer, depending on how much money will be available.
Brabec said he would like up to one billion crowns to be spent on the measures to fight drought that cannot be covered by EU subsidies from national sources in the future.
The ministry is preparing other programmes to fight drought that hit the county in the past years and this year. The flow in some streams is at 20 percent of the July values now.
Brabec said the price of both ground and surface water will be gradually raised in the years to come.
($1=23.743 crowns)
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