River Neris

Vilnius is set to open its first hotel on water next year, business news website Verslo žinios reports.

As the launch of the Astravyets nuclear power plant in Belarus is nearing, the authorities of Vilnius, situated some 50 km from the nuclear facility, plan to install radiation-monitoring equipment near the River Neris on the Lithuanian border.

Lithuania has plenty of fresh water and supply problems in some areas have been caused by low capacity at some water extraction points, the country's Environment Minister Kestutis Mazeika says.

Water levels in rivers across Lithuania have dropped to record-low, specialists from the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service warned on Wednesday.

The Vilnius Regional Environmental Protection Department has turned to court with a claim for compensation of 630,000 euros in damage caused by the December 2016 sewage spill in central Vilnius, which resulted in spillage of 46,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater into the River Neris.

The preliminary damage caused by the December sewage spill in central Vilnius stands at 450,000 euros, says Marius Svaikauskas, the head of the Vilnius Regional Environment Protection Department.

Prosecutors on Wednesday launched a pre-trial investigation into last week's sewer pipe accident in Vilnius, the Prosecutor General's Office said.

Belarusian and Lithuanian experts are starting a two-day meeting in Minsk on Tuesday to discuss issues concerning the Astravyets nuclear power plant, which is under construction close to their common border.