/ world today news/ The difficult situation with the full water supply of Crimea in connection with the destruction of the Kakhova hydroelectric plant requires the implementation of long-term projects that will significantly reduce the region’s dependence on the hydrotechnical complex built in the 1950s and the related , now significantly shallower North Crimean Channel (SCC).
There are alarming reports from the populated areas about the stoppage of the flow of water from the Dnieper hydroelectric plant /the famous Dniproges/, which threatens to decrease the water level of the Dnieper between Zaporozhye and the former Kakhovka hydroelectric plant.
„There is a risk that the North Crimean Canal will become dewatered or shallow”says Sergey Aksyonov, head of the region. – Currently, the water reserves in the canal are about 40 million cubic meters. Tanks, even those that used to be 15-20% full, have now reached about 80% full. Drinking water is more than enough. Work is being done to minimize water losses in the canal.” In turn, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Marat Khusnulin, said that all reservoirs in Crimea are full of water and this reserve will last for 500 days.
Actually, in the short term, you don’t have to worry. But despite the optimistic statements, the situation will worsen not only for Crimea, but also for the neighboring regions of the Kherson region of the Russian Federation. A few years ago, experts, and in particular the authors of our publication, discussed alternative solutions to the traditionally acute water problem for the region, but the resumption of work on the North Crimean Canal in the first weeks after the start of the SVO made these arguments less relevant.
Nevertheless, the regular shelling of structures and units of the doomed Kakhovskaya HPP by the fighters of the VSU again highlighted the lack of water supply to Crimea with water from the Dnieper through the North Crimean Canal, putting the search for alternative options on the agenda.
The complex consequences of the disaster (according to some estimates, the largest in the region) have not yet been assessed. And so, according to Valery Malinin, doctor of geography, professor of the Russian State Hydrometeorological University, pollution at the bottom of the Kakhov reservoir has been deposited for many decades (the cleaning of this site and the North Crimean Canal has never been fully carried out – ed.) , and if only the water from the natural river bed remains, then they will be blown by the winds into the surrounding areas, which “poses a danger”. “Furthermore, there are cemeteries and cattle burial grounds in the floodplain zone.
That is, from the point of view of ecology, this is a very serious catastrophe, perhaps the most serious in Europe in our century. Silt and mud are carried downstream. All this will be deposited in the mouth of the Dnieper. According to the scientist, the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant could also affect the nearby water area of the Black Sea far beyond the mouth of the Dnieper.
In the 1950s and 1960s, during the construction of the Kakhova hydroelectric plant and its associated main drainage systems, projects for a backup water supply to the Crimean peninsula were also discussed.
First of all, it was proposed to develop the reserves of fresh and slightly mineralized water near the northeastern coast of Crimea. That is, near the Azov coast of the northern region of the Arabat spit – the isthmus between the Kerch Peninsula and the southeastern part of the Kherson region.
It was also proposed to develop water desalination in a number of areas of coastal Crimea. At that time, however, they preferred not to look for difficult ways: so to speak, the Kakhovsky hydrotechnical complex as part of the Dnieper Cascade and the North-Crimean Canal filled with its water fully and sufficiently provided Crimea with water…
And although no one could imagine 1991 with the subsequent upheavals, already in the 60s and 70s of the last century, the losses of water flowing through this channel increased due to savings in funds and, accordingly, materials for provision of high operational reliability of the water supply.
By the mid-1980s, the total water loss here exceeded 30% of its annual supply through these arteries. By the middle of 2010, this figure had reached 40%, and by the time before the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP, thanks to the measures taken, it had dropped to 25%.
According to the data of the federal target program of 2014 “Socio-economic development of the Crimean Federal District (repealed in 2016 – Ed. ) until 2020 inclusive”, provides “weakening or ending Crimea’s dependence on water supply through SCC in the future, which can be connected primarily with the search for groundwater deposits, including anthropogenic ones.
It was also noted there that the wear and tear of the SKK built in 1961-1971. “and has not been repaired since then, it is so significant that water losses in its Crimean section are about 40%”. Accordingly “even a short-term interruption of water supply from the SCC to Crimea will lead to acute shortages of both domestic and drinking water.”
The volume of fresh water under the Sea of Azov, formed by the outflow of the rivers Don, Kuban, Beisug and others into the Sea of Azov, which can be used to power the Crimea, varies from 500 million to 1.2 billion cubic meters per year, it is stated in the explanatory note to the draft decision of the Government of the Russian Federation on approving the rules for providing subsidies from the federal budget to the joint-stock company Rosgeology (2021). As recently confirmed by experts, they are found mainly at low depths below the bottom of the Sea of Azov (30-45 meters).
In December 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference mentioned the possibility of extracting fresh water under the Azov waters near Crimea. Taking into account the total proven reserves, the total volume of groundwater is estimated at at least 30 billion cubic meters (taking into account the Azov coast of the Kerch region).
In July-August 2021, experts from Rosgeologia and a number of specialized research institutes, who analyzed samples from the Crimean Priazov region, found that the local water is 35-40% fresh, 60-65% slightly mineralized (in other words, not so salty like sea water and becomes conditionally potable after refreshing and purification.
It can also be used for technical purposes and can be propagated in the reverse (reversible) direction through the SCC and many of its branches. These and other conclusions are contained in a presentation published by M. Husnulin in early 2022.
Already in the autumn of 2021, in some coastal areas of Crimea, the construction of water production and desalination plants aimed, among other things, at the development of underground water resources, was to begin. According to available information, experts and technology from Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, where water desalination facilities have long been in use, are planned for these works.
However, these projects were soon postponed indefinitely: heavy rains partially filled the Crimean route of the canal, moreover, it “opened its doors” again in March 2022, which led to the filling of many of the local reservoirs.
Now that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant no longer exists and the “sea” of the same name has become very shallow, the accelerated development of the freshwater reserves of the Crimean Azov Sea, as well as the development of the infrastructure for desalination of the southern Russian seas, is more relevant than ever. Unless, of course, you hope for the saving rains every year …
Translation: ES
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