Political scientist Talipov called the consequences for the Crimea of ​​the drying up of the North Crimean Canal

Hot weather can speed up the shoaling process

The North Crimean Canal is no longer filled with water from the Kakhovka reservoir, and the reservoir itself no longer exists. Andrey Siguta, the head of the Melitopol district of the Zaporozhye region, spoke about this in a conversation with RIA Novosti. “MK” understood what this threatens the inhabitants of the peninsula.

As Siguta said, everything returned, as “in the old days”, before the formation of the Kakhovka reservoir. The Dnieper and Konka rivers go along their own channels and do not overflow at the site of the former Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. “No, it doesn’t anymore. It is already a meter below the fence line,” he said. However, according to him, a small part of the water still remains in the part of the reservoir in the Kherson region, where the mouth of the North Crimean Canal is located.

The head of the republic, Sergei Aksyonov, warned of the risk of the North Crimean Canal becoming shallow as early as June 6. Then he estimated the water reserves in the canal at more than 40 billion cubic meters. At the same time, Aksenov ruled out the possibility of flooding of the Crimea and the shortage of drinking water.

Two days later, he stated: the water level in the North Crimean Canal has not changed. “Crimea is not threatened by anything in terms of water supply. Rice farming is under attack – 3,200 hectares are planted with rice. In this case, we compensate for all the costs incurred by the manufacturer, the head of the agricultural enterprise, ”said Aksyonov.

The inhabitants of the peninsula seem to have accepted the news with a shallow canal indifferently. On social media, no one pays any attention to the situation. Perhaps, for nine years, people have already become accustomed to the fact that the North Crimean Canal, as it were, does not exist. Now everyone is more concerned about how to protect the Crimean bridge.

About the situation on the peninsula, “MK” talked with political scientist Alexander Talipov.

– Crimea is provided with its own water reserves. Thanks to the weather that developed throughout May and June, all the reservoirs that are on the peninsula are filled. According to the data, which were presented in early July, drinking water supplies will last for two years. Moreover, these reserves continue to replenish with rains.

The North Crimean Canal is needed to support agriculture, especially such complex breeds as rice. But, again, thanks to the weather, rice producers may well get a full harvest this year.

– Is the water level in the North Crimean Canal really falling?

“I didn’t see him shrink. Recently I was in the Nizhnegorsk region, where one of the branches of the North Crimean Canal passes, the water level remained the same. But this is a complex hydraulic structure, which has many branches. Perhaps somewhere the situation is different. Separate channels of the canal may well become shallow.

And in general, you need to understand that the North Crimean Canal will become shallow if there is no water inflow. Sooner or later problems will start. In addition, hot weather in the Crimea can speed up shallowing – now it is about 30-35 degrees there. But I repeat that this is not critical for the inhabitants of the peninsula. There will be no problems with drinking water.

As for agriculture, crops that do not require a lot of water, such as corn, are mainly grown in Crimea. Agricultural producers switched to drought-resistant species back in the years of “dehydration” of the Crimea.

Read the material “Hydrophysicist Stanichny explained how to restore the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station”