| Dam safety
in Ukraine to be allowed to fulfil their duties and encouraged the association’s network to support the redevelopment and reconstruction process as and when the time comes.
Catastrophic Previously spanning an area of more than 2000km2
and the Ukraine’s largest in terms of water volume, the Nova Kakhovka reservoir was described as being “catastrophically shallow” on 26 June after flooding caused by the devstating explosion. The Dnipro River has now returned to its old channel and in some places is just a stream, while shallower parts are being exposed for the first time since dam construction almost 70 years ago.
Following the incident, Ukraine lost about 14.4km3
of water and 35% of the annual flow rate of the Dnipro River, while the water level in the Dnipro riverbed near the station is currently less than 2m. Ukrhydroenergo confirmed that the aftermath of
the explosion resulted in significant operational and environmental consequences. Despite the magnitude of the incident, the explosion did not disrupt the operating modes of several other hydroelectric power plants, and the Kyiv, Kanivskaya, Kremenchuk, and Serednyodniprovskaya hydropower plants were reported as being unaffected and functioning normally. Nova Kakhovka dam is described as being a lifeline
to the region and estimates suggest that essential water supplies to more than 700,000 people have
www.waterpowermagazine.com | August 2023 | 27
been affected. In addition, loss of water from canal networks for irrigation purposes could prove to be critical for food production in the region. Estimates suggest the affected reservoir supplied water to more than 12,000km of canals irrigates over 500,000 hectares of cropland. Recent analysis of satellite imagery by NASA Harvest, NASA’s Global Food Security and Agriculture Consortium, shows four major canal inlets (vital for farm irrigation) have already been or are close to being disconnected. As Ukraine is a major exporter of sunflower, maize, wheat and
Above: The village of Demidov was flooded after the explosion of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in the Kyiv region of Ukraine
Below: Rescue worker helps a local resident out of a flooded area © Drop of Light /
Shutterstock.com
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