Russia's ruling party proposed on Tuesday converting former distilleries into drinking water plants.
"We have over 40 such enterprises in various parts of the country, more than half of them in the south - North Ossetia, Karardino-Balkaria," Viktor Zvagelsky, a member of United Russia's Pure Water Commission in the lower house of the Russian parliament, said.
"On the one hand, this will save jobs, and on the other, these areas have water supply problem."
Russia is currently carrying out a reform of its alcohol industry.
"Almost two-thirds of distilleries that used to produce illicit alcohol have been closed," Zvagelsky said.
These enterprises should be made capable of producing drinking water, including mineral water, he said.
The Russian government has declared an anti-alcohol campaign and aims to halve consumption by 2020 and root out illegal production and sales.
On September 1, Moscow city authorities introduced a ban on night sales of alcohol. Muscovites are not allowed to buy strong alcohol from 10:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. Beer, wine and bottled alcoholic "light" cocktails with no more than 15% alcohol content are not affected by the ban.
Official statistics in Russia show more than 23,000 people die of alcohol poisoning annually. In an effort to fight bootlegging, Russia introduced a minimum price for vodka on January 1.
Alcohol consumption in Russia per capita is currently about 18 liters a year, twice the critical norm set by the World Health Organization.
MOSCOW, September 14 (RIA Novosti)
