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Due to an economic recession and the introduction of water metering in the second half of the 2000s the total water abstraction in Belarus has decreased significantly in recent years (UNECE, 2016b). The annual average total freshwater abstraction is around 1 650 million m³ , of which more than half is abstracted from groundwater resources and used mainly for drinking purposes. Long-term intensive groundwater abstraction has already caused large-scale water level reductions, and reduced flows of small rivers around the city of Minsk. As a policy response to the environmental consequences of intensive groundwater abstraction, the Government of the Republic of Belarus developed a strategy on environmental protection. They plan to reduce groundwater abstraction to 700-750 hm³ per year by 2025. The current level of annual groundwater abstraction is currently around 800 million m³ in the country