Conceptual Basis of the Surface Water Body Rehabilitation

Analysis of water bodies, production techniques and environment quality interinfluence enables to conclude that at present water resources are the critical critera of sustainable development in ecological/economic and social/aesthetical sense. The use of the «rehabilitation» term instead of «restoration» provides more flexibility in taking measures that are aimed at getting water bodies back to the sphere of economic activities or at their improvement as the term «to restore» means to «return to the original conditions» while this is often impossible for the most water bodies of the developed territory of Russia. Moreover, this term cannot be applied for artificial water bodies, for instance, water reservoirs. However, it is possible to rehabilitate to the condition of «re-suitable, easy for exploitation» not to the original condition. The paper discloses the methodological foundations of the surface water bodies’ ecological rehabilitation as systematic provisions that define the order of the ecological rehabilitation projects’ development and implementation. The further stage of studies involves development of manuals on selection of the priority actions aimed at the ecological rehabilitation of lakes, reservoirs, rivers and bogs. The proposed methodology does not cover any projects concerning marine water areas’ rehabilitation.