Features of Water Supply of Settlements in the Zone of Attraction of Megapolises

Urbanization leads to the development of megacities. Three quarters of Russians live in large cities. Negative factors of urban habitation are environmental problems: air pollution, waste production, etc. Ecological problems of large cities stimulate relocation to the suburbs. Proximity to the megacity negatively affects the territories in its area of attraction. The greatest pollution of surface waters is observed in the central and Eastern regions. The maximum levels of pollution are recorded in the rivers Moskva, Oka and Klyazma. The settlements located downstream and within the area of influence of the metropolis are deprived of the use of surface water for drinking due to strong contamination. Megapolis consumes a large amount of resources, thereby creating a deficit of resources consumed by it in the zone of its influence. Mainly, water resources are affected. A settlement located in the thirty kilometer zone around the metropolis can not fully use the scheme of water supply due to groundwater. Intensive water withdrawal for the needs of a megapolis leads to the formation of a regional depression cone with the formation of zones of gravity filtration, which is caused by a high operating load. Subject: the subject of this research is the study of water supply problems in the zone of attraction of megalopolises. Materials and methods: the method of integrated assessment and analysis of the obtained data was used. Results: the article describes the problem of providing quality drinking water to settlements in the zone of attraction of big cities. It discusses the basic schemes of water supply. The main advantages and disadvantages of each of the considered schemes are revealed. A necessity to create a single integrated method for assessing the efficiency of the water supply scheme, aimed at the efficient use of natural resources in the present environmental and economic situation, is revealed. It is shown that the described methods of water supply have different characteristics, depending on the geographical, natural and social conditions in which the settlement is located. Assessment of the applicability of a method should be carried out primarily on the basis of natural indicators, since financial indicators are derived from the natural indicators and are often subjective. As a result of the research, the megacity influence zone was identified, assessment of the current situation in the water supply field was carried out on the example of the city of Moscow and the absence of a universal system for assessing the effectiveness of water supply methods was revealed. Conclusions: an analysis of the main methods of water supply to settlements located in the zone of attraction of large cities was carried out, water supply peculiarities of such settlements are formulated, and it is shown that none of the traditional methods of water supply is universal. To select the optimal method under specific conditions, it is advisable to develop and apply the generalized natural indicators that will determine the most effective method of water supply.