Drought in Crimea: the occupation has successfully stopped the discharge of water from the reservoir

In the temporarily occupied Simferopol, water bodies are rapidly shrinking amid a prolonged drought. The Salgir River has dried up, and water is disappearing in parks.

This is reported by Krym Realii.

According to a local ethnographer on condition of anonymity, the Salgir riverbed has completely dried up in the area from the Simferopol reservoir to the former Simferopol Center cinema. Further on, water barely appears, and then only thanks to runoff from the city.

Photo: Krym. Realii

"The pond in the Gagarin Park of the Crimean capital is shallow due to the lowering of the groundwater level, the drainage channel is empty due to the drop in the water level, and the water is beginning to bloom, which is dangerous for the local fauna. The situation with water shortage in Crimea continues to deteriorate rapidly," the local historian explained.

In response to the drought, the occupation authorities of Crimea switched the Simferopol Reservoir to the mode of accumulation of strategic reserves - the water discharge into the river was stopped. At the same time, the water shortage is growing throughout the peninsula, and there are no signs of improvement.

Earlier, Intent said that the current volume of water in the Crimean reservoirs is 126 million cubic meters. This is about 50% of their maximum capacity. Last year this figure was about 75%. This rate of water depletion indicates the beginning of a low-water period<i>.</i>

Last year, the reserves of the Crimean reservoirs decreased by 6.5% per month. Thus, the total water reserves in the Crimean reservoirs on the rivers at the beginning of May amounted to just over 190 million cubic meters, which is about 6.5% lower than the level at the beginning of April.

After the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam was blown up by the Rashids, water stopped flowing into the North Crimean Canal. The Kakhovka Reservoir in Kherson Oblast had been supplying Crimea with Dnipro water for more than half a century. Water was taken from it into the North Crimean Canal using engineering structures built there shortly after the Kakhovka HPP.

Ірина Глухова