Big money in troubled waters
March 14 is International Rivers Day. Russia has one of the most extensive river networks in the world, with over 2,5 million rivers. Their combined length is over 12 million kilometers—enough to circle the globe 300 times.
In terms of freshwater reserves, our country is second only to Brazil. But how carefully does the Russian government manage its river wealth? Read our maps to find out.
1. In 2018, Russia launched the national project "Ecology," one of its key objectives being the restoration of major rivers, specifically the Volga, Don, Amur, Irtysh, and Ural rivers, as well as the removal of silted-up areas and debris along riverbanks and improving the quality of drinking water. The federal project "Clean Water" was also launched as part of the national project "Housing and Urban Environment."
2. More than a quarter of the funds allocated for the federal Clean Water project—approximately 38 billion rubles out of 137,6 billion—were wasted, according to a recent audit by the Accounts Chamber. The project's main goal—to reduce the volume of polluted wastewater by a third by 2024—was not achieved. At the project's completion (by the end of 2024), 119 water supply facilities in 56 regions remained unfinished. And even by the end of 2025, 85 facilities in 46 regions were still unfinished.
3. Every ninth Russian still does not have access to clean drinking water.
Due to its pollution, 11 thousand people died in 2024.
In some regions, by the time the Clean Water federal project was completed, the proportion of residents with quality water had even decreased: for example, in Ingushetia, by 7,1 percentage points, and in the Murmansk region, by 14,1.
4. One of the largest environmental programs was the federal project "Volga Recovery." Approximately 127 billion rubles of federal funds were allocated for it (with regional investments, the budget approached 200 billion rubles). The funds were directed to 16 regions of the Volga basin, from the Tver region to Astrakhan. The funds were to be used for the construction of new treatment facilities, sewer modernization, and the reduction of polluted wastewater discharge into the river.
5. By 2024, the regions reported almost complete implementation of the project budget—99,85% of funds had been spent. However, of the 121 facilities inspected by the parliamentary commission, only six met planned targets. As with the federal Clean Water project, the planned threefold reduction in discharge was not achieved. Criminal cases for embezzlement of funds allocated for the project were opened in the Yaroslavl, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd, and other regions.
6. Regional river cleaning and rehabilitation programs are in place, but they are far from always effective. For example, in the Voronezh Region, 13,4 billion rubles have been allocated for treatment facilities on the Don River. According to the plan, these programs should reduce the amount of untreated wastewater by 16 cubic meters per year by the end of 2030.
However, experts warn that without biological wastewater treatment at existing facilities, the project will be ineffective.
7. One of the reasons for the drying up and pollution of major Russian rivers is the inadequate cleanup of smaller rivers. For example, the shallowing of the Oka lowers the water level of the Volga, and the pollution of the Temernik River affects the pollution of the Don. To save small rivers, it is necessary to build surface runoff treatment facilities in cities and regional centers, stop cutting down trees in river floodplains, prohibit the drainage of floodplain marshes, and build dams and levees in gullies and riverbeds. All of this is being done, but in a haphazard and irregular manner. There is no unified program for the rehabilitation of small rivers in Russia.
