Uzbekistan finds six enterprises discharging untreated wastewater into open areas in Tashkent region
Six enterprises in the Yukorichirchiq district discharged production wastewater without adequate treatment. Lab tests showed suspended solids several times over the limit, and none of the firms held a positive environmental assessment.
Six enterprises in the Yukorichirchiq district of Uzbekistan's Tashkent region were found discharging production wastewater into open areas without adequate treatment, the regional Department of Ecology and Climate Change reported.
Sand-and-gravel firms
Ecopolice officers of the regional main department inspected several enterprises in the district. At five companies — B.S.I., M.K., P.U., Sh.R.B. and S.S.P. — wastewater generated while processing sand-and-gravel mixtures was discharged without sufficient treatment. A similar violation was identified at I.Q.S., a specialized repair-and-construction organization, where wastewater was also released into open areas without adequate treatment.
Lab analysis
Laboratory tests of the wastewater samples showed suspended solids exceeding the established limits several times over. The department noted that none of the six enterprises held a positive conclusion from the environmental assessment for the activities in question.
Damages to be charged
Compensation payments will be calculated for each enterprise over the violations. The collected materials will be forwarded to law-enforcement agencies for a legal assessment.
The wider picture
Wastewater treatment remains a pressing problem in and around Tashkent. By some estimates, roughly 600 enterprises around the capital discharge insufficiently treated wastewater, while existing biological treatment plants rely on dated technology. The Ecopolice have recently inspected hundreds of enterprises across Tashkent city and region.
