The Moskva River is an important source for Moscow’s water supply. However, a number of studies indicate that the river is significantly polluted with contaminants such as ammonium, phosphate, nitrate, and PAHs.  Insufficiently treated municipal wastewater from the Moscow area is deemed to be the source of these contaminants.  Hydrodynamic and water quality modeling such as a Total Maximum Daily Load study of the river would provide regulators with tools to quantify the issues and develop solutions.

Rising in the Smolensk-Moscow Upland, the river flows 312 mi (502 km) in a southeasterly direction and drains an area of 6,800 sq mi (17,600 sq km) (Brittanica). It is an important source of Moscow’s water supply.  Water contamination is a concern in Moscow, the country’s capital and largest city. A recent Circle of Blue article states that “Fifty-six percent of water supply sources in Moscow, home to 12 million, do not meet safety standards. Studies have shown both surface and groundwater pollution in the city… Currently, most of Moscow’s drinking water comes from upstream locations which are somewhat cleaner. Researchers warn that the contamination still poses health risks, however. The Moskva flows into the Volga River, which supplies water for agriculture. In many cases, the city’s polluted water is used to produce its food”.

A paper by Gremm (2002) states that “longitudinal concentration profiles and multivariate data evaluation indicate insufficiently treated municipal wastewater from the Moscow area as the major pollution source”.

The stadium seen in the background map of this model is the famous Luzhniki Stadium, main stadium of the 1980 Olympic games and location for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

This curvilinear model grid contains 1,677 cells, and an average orthogonal deviation of 2.1. This grid was built using EFDC+ Explorer and Grid+.