Dam safety |
Industry responds to Nova Kakhovka dam breach
The hydropower and dam community echoed worldwide condemnation of the recent destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in the Ukraine. Report by Suzanne Pritchard
IMPORTANT NATIONAL AND REGIONAL facilities such as dams “must remain instruments of peace and development and should never be used as instruments of war”, the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) implored in October 2022 as it expressed great concern about the safety of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric project in the Ukraine. However, on 6 June 2023, the commission said that “the world’s worst fears were realised” when the 3.2km long, 30m high dam that impounded 20km3
of water
was breached. Located on the Dniper river in the Russian-controlled southern part of Ukraine, Nova Kakhovka dam was originally constructed in 1956 and its operator Ukrhydroenergo, Ukraine’s largest hydropower generator, said the structure was now beyond repair. The breach is believed to have been a deliberate act, with Ukraine claiming that Russia destroyed it and Russia suggesting it is Ukraine who is responsible for the damage.
At the time of the dam failure, Nova Kakhovka’s
Below: Destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam led to a catastrophic decrease in the water level in the Dnipro river. A huge environmental disaster has been forecast Photos taken on 9 June 2023 © PhotOleh /
Shutterstock.com
reservoir was at a record high level and a catastrophic release of water ensued. Reports suggest that the central section of dam was destroyed which progressed to failure of the eastern side of the spillway and then loss of the hydropower plant. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds Russia responsible for the damage and called it a deliberate crime of ecocide by the Russian occupiers, saying it was “an environmental bomb of mass destruction”. “As a result of detonation of the engine room
from the inside, the Kakhovka hydropower plant was completely destroyed. The station cannot be restored,” Ukrhydroenergo said in a statement on 6 June, predicting that the reservoir would be drained
within four days. Ihor Syrota, Ukrhydroenergo’s CEO, described the incident as a ‘barbaric act of destruction’ and said that there will be environmental consequences in addition to the immediate destruction of the station.
ICOLD condemned such action “in the strongest possible terms”, adding that the consequential cost in human, environmental and economic terms cannot be justified in respect of any military objective. UN Secretary-General António Guterres described it as another devastating consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure must stop. While UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said it was possibly the most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. International humanitarian law is very clear, he commented, and structures such as dams must receive special protection as their destruction can cause severe loss for the civilian population. Constant care must be taken to spare civilians and infrastructure throughout all types of military operations, Griffiths added. Expressing its dismay concerning the damage caused to the Nova Kakhovka dam, the International Hydropower Association (IHA) said that although much is still unknown about the circumstances of the incident, it is clear that communities will be dislocated, large amounts of clean energy and water lost, and livelihoods severely affected. Eddie Rich, IHA Chief Executive, said that the worldwide hydropower community will want to join with IHA in offering sympathies to those affected by the tragedy. IHA called for infrastructure workers
26 | August 2023 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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