Aksenov: the North Crimean Canal will become shallow due to the breakthrough of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station

The water level in the North Crimean Canal is not falling yet, but it will become shallower over time, declared head of the Crimea Sergey Aksyonov.

“The (water) level is not falling yet, but it is expected that the canal will become shallow over time. We are taking a number of measures to reduce water waste,” he said.

Water from the canal is now being pumped as much as possible into storage facilities, which still have reserves, the head of the region added.

At the same time, Aksyonov stressed that Crimea would not have problems with water supply. Only rice farming on an area of ​​​​more than 3,000 hectares is affected, but the authorities will compensate the producer for the damage suffered, he added. According to Aksyonov, after the “security issue” is settled, pumps will be installed on the Dnieper to restore water supply to the canal and ensure land reclamation in the republic.

On the risk of shallowing of the North Crimean Canal Aksenov warned on the morning of June 6, shortly after the breakthrough of the rafts of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. He estimated the water reserves in the canal at more than 40 billion cubic meters. m. At the same time, Aksenov ruled out the possibility of flooding of the Crimea and the shortage of drinking water. According to him, those reservoirs that used to be 15-20% full are now 80% full.

Until 2014, Crimea received up to 85% of fresh water from Ukraine through the North Crimean Canal. After the annexation of the peninsula to Russia, Kyiv blocked the canal and water supply began to be carried out exclusively by internal reserves, which turned out to be insufficient. During a special operation in Ukraine, the advancement of the Russian Armed Forces made it possible to unblock the channel. At the beginning of March 2022, the channel began to fill with water. The damage from the water blockade was estimated at 150 billion rubles.

According to the authorities of the Kherson region of the region, 35 settlements were in the flood zone due to the breakthrough of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. As a result of the incident, 5 people were killed, another 41 were injured, said Vladimir Leontyev, head of the Novokakhovsk urban district.