"The City of Seven Springs": new eco-project on landscaping spring zones was launched in Ufa

UFA, 10 July 2019. /Bashinform News Agency/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

They launched a new ecological project for the improvement of spring zones in the capital of Bashkiria. The working title of the public initiative is "Springs of Ufa". The goal of the project is to create popular green recreation areas at the springs and to form a tourist brand in Ufa, as the “City of Seven Springs”.

The idea to revive the surviving springs of Ufa and make them points of attraction for the citizens did not arise by chance, says the secretary of the Public Chamber of the city, Eric Akhtyamov. It is this organization with the support of the autonomous non-profit organization “Materi Respubliki Bashkortostan”, the regional organization “Green Bashkiria”, the Ministry of Ecology and Nature Management RB, together with the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society and the Architectural and Construction Institute of the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, which initiated the project.

According to Eric Akhtyamov, 20 years ago more than 50 springs were studied and had passports compiled in the city.

“To date, many of them have been lost, some have been under residential development. During our joint raids with environmental activists and media representatives, only about 15 currently existing springs were discovered. Most of them have long been abandoned and the peculiarities of the natural landscape complicate access to them, ”said the public man.

The organizers told about the details of the project at a press conference at the Bashinform News Agency. The technical part of the project, namely the landscaping of springs and the creation of recreation areas, the organizers plan to implement at the expense of the republican grant and interested citizens. For a start, it was decided to limit it to seven springs, given that for many nations the number seven has a sacred meaning.

It is planned that within the framework of the project implementation water samples will be taken from each source. Citizens will be acquainted with the results of the research with the help of plates that will be installed in the spring in a prominent place. Most likely, these sources will not be able to meet the modern requirements for drinking water, public figures believe. However, the project does not set such a goal.

The authors of the project also note that in the future, the springs can be given names chosen by townspeople.