Press releases

Slalom canal near Minsk to stay full of water all warm season

MINSK, 22 May (BelTA) - The slalom canal near Minsk will have water throughout the entire warm season, Kirill Antonov, Deputy Director of the Minskvodokanal water supply company, told the media, BelTA has learned.

The slalom canal is one of the facilities of the Vileyka-Minsk water system. “The water arteries of Minsk and all the city's reservoirs are regulated, and the water that flows through the city is transported from the Vileyka Reservoir to the Zaslavl Reservoir. Located on the Zaslavl Reservoir is the Gonoles waterworks. Reconstruction work is currently underway there. Water from the Zaslavl Reservoir flows through two spillways: the main one, where the hydroelectric power station is located, and the second one - the slalom canal, which was designed as a sports facility,” he explained.

The deputy director added that water was directed into the canal as water discharge through the main spillway was stopped due to reconstruction work on it. “We expect that this work will last for at least the entire warm season of this year. Accordingly, all the water that is discharged from the Zaslavl Reservoir will flow through the second spillway - the slalom canal,” Kirill Antonov noted.

According to him, the volume of discharged water will be regulated depending on the needs for water supply to Minsk. “Thus, the volume of water flowing through the canal will vary from smaller to larger depending on the production needs of the city's enterprises,” the deputy director added.

Although the canal was originally designed as a sports facility, it is currently on the balance sheet of Minskvodokanal and is an operational facility, therefore it is not intended for active water sports. The enterprise annually activates the canal to test its functionality, but under normal operating conditions, the entire volume of water is discharged through the main outlet at the dam. This unique state of affairs will remain in place throughout the warm season of this year.

The Minsk slalom canal was built in 1981. The hydraulic engineering facility near Zhdanovichi was created as an exact replica of the famous Olympic course in Munich and served as a key training base for the USSR national canoe slalom team. For many years, it was not in operation (existing as a dry riverbed).

Photos by Yaroslav Zaretsky