In November 2018, Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) completed the reconstruction of the circulating water supply system with the expansion of the cooler tank. This project has become one of MMK’s most important initiatives in the field of surface water protection in the Magnitogorsk Reservoir and the Ural River.

As a result of the project, MMK has achieved the maximum level of protection of the Magnitogorsk reservoir from the impact of wastewater. To restore the biological diversity of the Ural River, the project provides for a phased stocking of the reservoir over a four-year period. In November 2018, the first stage of stocking was completed – more than 200,000 young carp were released into the Magnitogorsk Reservoir. In May 2019 and September 2020, the second and third stages were carried out, during each stage 200,000 carp were released to restore the ecological balance of the reservoir. 
On 1 December 2020, to reduce and destroy unwanted algae in the cooling tank, young white grass and silver carp were stocked, which will reduce the overgrowth of algae in the reservoir and reduce water blooming. Reducing unwanted vegetation in the reservoir will improve the water quality of MMK’s reverse water supply system, as well as increase the functional efficiency of the cooling tank. 
These environmental measures are carried out within the framework of MMK’s programme for the conservation and improvement of biological diversity in the Chelyabinsk region. 
In September 2020, MMK CEO Pavel Shilyaev approved a programme to preserve and improve biological diversity in the Chelyabinsk region, one of the components of which is the restoration and development of the biodiversity in the Ural River and the Magnitogorsk Reservoir. In 2021, measures will be taken to stock the waters of the Magnitogorsk Reservoir with young white grass and silver carp. Currently, the Ural branch of the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) is working on “developing recommendations for the maximum volumes of water bioresources (white grass and silver carp) permissible for release into the Magnitogorsk Reservoir on the Ural River”.