The Black Sea was covered in green turbidity: what is happening in the resorts

“All of Russia is now in Anapa,” the holidaymakers describe the pandemonium on the Anapa beaches. “Lying on the sand on your bedding is 2,000 rubles, on a state-owned lounger – 3,000,” vacationers from Sochi voice the entrance prices to the beach. “If only to break through to the sea!” – vacationers dream, stuck in a traffic jam in front of the Crimean bridge. And everyone unanimously declares that the water in the sea is very dirty, especially now – in the midst of the holiday season.

We learned from those who are there right now how the dirty, but super-popular Black Sea bathing in domestic resorts goes.

We asked vacationers on different beaches of the Russian Black Sea coast the same question: is it true that the sea in your area is dirty? And if so, do you swim and why?

– True, – a Muscovite responds, vacationing with a friend in Greater Sochi, – especially on the central beaches. There, in addition to duckweed, or whatever the green murk from the sea itself is called, there is also human garbage floating – wrappers, bags and the remains of food sold on the beach.

A lounger at the same time – 2900 rubles per day. My mother was in our boarding house in the first half of June, she says that then the sea was clean, but still cold for swimming. And we swim, of course, anyway – we came to swim. We leave for remote wild beaches, the locals here suggest where the oases are.

The water is cleaner there, but yesterday, when we were sunbathing, an exhibitionist suddenly came out from behind a rock. Of course, we don’t go there anymore, even for the sake of clean water. Let’s go to the pool tomorrow.

Approximately the same reviews from Gelendzhik, but there, in addition, they are outraged by the behavior of the staff of one of the most expensive hotels in the Krasnodar Territory.

– We paid for this hotel, as for Dubai, – the resort visitor from Saratov is indignant, – and the sea was covered with brown mud, as the song says. I have seen this in the Caribbean too. But a detachment of locals quickly ran up there with something like a water rake, and they cleaned everything up. And in Gelendzhik, even on the beach of an expensive hotel, they didn’t think to clean it, they just put up a “No swimming” sign – that’s all.

– And you don’t swim?

Well, I’m not a merman. I’ll go to the sauna, if so. And I will file a complaint.

From Anapa, they also report blooming sea water, but there, however, they still try to remove algae, but not too actively.

“One person is standing, sluggishly carrying some kind of stick in the water,” says a mother from Izhevsk, who is vacationing in Anapa with two small children. – I do not let small ones into the water, of course. And she herself tried to go in, so she slipped right away, the whole bottom was covered with this slimy muck.

Vacationers who tried to make a showdown at the level of the administration of their health resorts received an answer that “this” – green, slimy and foul-smelling, floating in the sea – is generally forbidden to clean on their own. Ecologists should come, take tests, and only then decide what to do with it. And for those whose vacation has been covered with “brown mud”, the choice is small – or dive into it, spitting on discomfort and health. Or not to dive, spitting at a seaside resort on sea bathing. Those who are trying to invent evasive maneuvers have also not been very successful.

– Our youngest vacationer of four years yesterday spoke at dinner to the whole restaurant: “Mom, why does the sea smell like poop ?!” – a mother from the Moscow region, who is vacationing in Anapa in the company of other families with children, is horrified. – But we have algae near the shore and indeed such that you can’t get through, the children even disdain to climb through them, although they are the most careless bathers. We were advised to drive off towards Vityazevo, it seems to be cleaner there.

“There are sandy beaches in Anapa, and there are pebble ones,” a Muscovite who has a dacha near Anapa reveals a life hack. – 40 kilometers of sandy, and pebble ten times less. Lying on them is less comfortable, but there is never algae there. Go to the pebbly ones, there are few people there, and the sea is clean.

There is also know-how from loyal fans of Gelendzhik:

– In the Gelendzhik bay, the bottom has always been unpleasant – with dips, slimy boulders, silt and algae, – the Gelendzhik regular shares. – But, if you settle in a health resort – in one of the surrounding sanatoriums – you will not believe your eyes! Their beaches are always arranged on a stretch with a perfect bottom and clear water. And all the joys – a sandy beach, clean toilets and showers, changing rooms, sunbeds, cafes. Another option is to a wild beach. Of course, they won’t pour beer for you there, but you will swim without disgust.

From the Crimea, they report that they do not have as many people as in the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory (although they do not exclude that the main shaft was simply stuck in a traffic jam in front of the bridge).

– At one time we had a green spot floating here, like some kind of chemicals to detect emissions after the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, – says an elderly family from St. Petersburg, vacationing in the Simeiz area. – They seemed to be looking for some kind of bacteria, but they did not report to us whether they found it. Swimming was forbidden for three days, but now everything seems to be fine. Luckily, we are on 24 day tour packages.

– And I asked the owner of my house, where does their sewerage go? – shares a Muscovite vacationing “savage” (in the private sector) in the area of ​​the Abkhaz Pitsunda. – And he told me: how where? Of course, in the sea!

– From what the sea can become so dirty that it can be seen with the naked eye? – I’m interested in the ecologist of the marine environment (sea ​​water specialist – Auth.), without specifying which reservoir I mean.

– The main reason is industrial pollution. If there are many industrial enterprises in the region of the reservoir that dump their waste and industrial effluents into the water, the ecological balance of the sea gradually changes, taking into account the regular intake of chemical substances, heavy metals and other emissions alien to a healthy marine ecosystem from outside.

In second place is agricultural pollution, it is brought into the sea by rivers flowing through agricultural land. Flowing into the sea, they bring with them the remains of fertilizers and pesticides.

The third most common reason is inadequate wastewater treatment. This is mainly about small settlements on the coast, where there are no effective modern sewage treatment systems, which allows waste and household sewage to enter the sea water.

Fishing and marine entertainment is also an important reason. Intensive fishing, fish farming, the use of a large number of fishing nets and feed additives, as well as an overabundance of motorized boats lead to pollution. At the same time, inland seas (located within one continent and having limited communication with the ocean due to the small number and depth of straits – Auth.) are most at risk, and the Black Sea also belongs to these.