Reduction in the Numbers of Blood-Sucking Blackflies in Volgograd during the 2018 World Cup as Special Task of Complex Water Resource Management of the Cascade Reservoir System

Abstract

A mass emergence of blood-sucking blackflies in the Volgograd and Astrakhan oblasts is annually observed in May to July. The blackflies are distinct in their annoying behavior. Their bite are very painful, causing discomfort to humans and animals. The matches of the 2018 World Cup in Volgograd were scheduled for the second half of June. The threat of mass flight activity of blackflies in that period could negatively affect environmental sanitation and hygiene, which would inevitably be followed by breaches of the guarantees given by the government to the International Federation of Football Associations. The development of a schedule of water releases from the Volgograd water-storage reservoir was proposed as a measures to reduce the risk of blackfly occurrence in the period of championship matches. It was based on the available information on the dependence of the blackfly number and the occurrence calendar on the parameters of spring high water in the Lower Volga River (water release volumes, their maximum levels, and the characteristics of their declines). Implementation of the project of scheduled water releases was a complicated and integrated task, since it required alignment with the operating of the upstream water-storage reservoirs with satisfaction of the demands of the users of the integrated water resource management on the Lower Volga River itself and the water storage reservoirs of the Volga–Kama River Cascade. In addition, the available water resources and the insufficient accuracy of water-inflow forecasting should be taken into consideration.