Evaluating Impacts of the Anthropogenic Processes on the Quality of Irrigation Water in the Agricultural Melioration Landscapes

The article studies the features of anthropogenic impact on the quality of water resources used for melioration purposes in the context of ensuring sustainability of irrigation agriculture in arid regions. The main sources of water pollution, including agricultural effluents, industrial and municipal waste discharges were investigated. The situation was analysed on the example of the Rostov Region, where intensive anthropogenic load had been causing the processes of eutrophication, bacterial pollution and salinization of water bodies. To justify the need of implementing a comprehensive ap-proach to solving the existing problems, the measures on improving the situation were proposed, including modernisation of the wastewater treatment plants, implementation of nature-saving technologies in agriculture and intensification of monitoring and control over the state of water bodies.