Problems and prospects of the development of circular economy based on reuse of water in the regions of the Southern federal district of the Russian Federation

The sustainable development of the agro-industrial regions of South Russia implies the rationality of water use based on the recycling and reuse of waste water. The implementation of circular economy models requires the presence of certain technical, technological and socio-economic conditions. The purpose of this article is to study the prospects of the development of circular economy in the regions of the Southern Federal District and to identify problems that hinder these opportunities. As a result of the study, the main directions for the development of the circular economy in the regions of the Southern Federal District were determined: irrigation, industrial production and civil use. It was revealed that the possibilities of implementing water-circular models are constrained by the low level of development of the material and technical basis of the water management complex, the deterioration of treatment facilities, as well as the lack of economic incentives for reusing water for business and the population. As a result, the funds allocated within the framework of the “Clean Water” project remain unused, the authors have formed socio-economic, technical, technological, organizational and managerial blocks for solving the problems of developing the water-circular economy in the southern regions. According to the results of the study, it is concluded that in the present conditions, the emphasis on solving these problems is increasingly shifting from the federal to the regional levels.