August 8, 2014. Around 10% of all the hydraulic facilities in Sverdlovsk Region remain abandoned, Head of the Ministry of Emergencies Ural division, internal service major-general Sergey Miroshnichenko announced during a press conference in Yekaterinburg today.

‘The amount of abandoned waterworks in Sverdlovsk Region has gone down to a minimum level over the last three to four years and now comes to less than 10%,’ Miroshnichenko said.

According to Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Natural Resources & the Environment, there were 540 dams in Sverdlovsk Region as of early 2014. 399 hydraulic structures belong to local municipalities, and 75 of these are rated as having normal security levels. 11 municipally owned waterworks were declared to be in a dangerous state.

The Ministry of Emergencies did not register any serious damage to the waterworks during the flood-prone season. Yet, based on the preliminary results of this season, the ministry filed a number of complaints targeting some of the town mayors who came to power after the recent elections.