The shallowing of the Danube has begun to pose a threat of salinization to the lower reaches of the river

The shallowing of the Danube has affected not only the European countries bordering the river—for example, Romania decided to shut down a nuclear power plant—but also the Odesa region; a record drop in water levels was recorded, for instance, in Reni. 

As Oleksandr Voloshkevych, director of the Danube Biosphere Reserve, told Intent, due to a sharp decrease in the Danube’s flow, salty seawater has begun to intrude upstream, threatening the river’s ecosystem and the agricultural sector.

The fact is that since the beginning of the second ten-day period of July, a powerful wedge of seawater has once again entered the Danube—as in previous years—rising above the city of Vylkove to Yermakiv Island (23 km along the Danube) and entering the Solomonovo Estuary. As in previous years, the wedge entered the deep, navigable Bystre Estuary. At the same time, in early July, the wedge was also observed entering the Ochakiv Estuary, where it flowed in via the Potapove Estuary. Currently, the seawater has already risen 27 kilometers upstream along the Danube.

As Oleksandr Voloshkevych explained, the saltwater could thus reach the drinking water intake and damage the fields irrigated by the Danube. The influx of seawater also significantly harms commercial fishing on the river. The fact is that the seawater wedge contains large concentrations of jellyfish, which have completely halted fishing operations because drift nets could not be towed down the river.

Seawater is destroying freshwater benthos, particularly a common bivalve such as the corbicula, whose shells, after the bivalves die, clog fishing nets en masse. Meanwhile, the Izmail District Military Administration reported that Lake Katlabukh has begun to be forcibly replenished due to a critical drop in water levels. Work began on August 10 at the pumping station of the Izmail Water Management Department. These measures were necessary due to the complex hydrological situation in the region and the continued drop in the Danube’s water level.

Кирило Бойко