A new dry period is predicted in Crimea by 2028

On June 11, the State Committee of the Republic of Crimea for Water Management and Land Reclamation (Goskomvodkhoz) reported to TASS that the reserves in the reservoirs will allow the region’s population to be provided with drinking water for more than one year.

In July 2024, the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Crimean Administration for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring» reported that the water level in natural runoff reservoirs in the Republic of Crimea decreased compared to June by 15.92 million cubic meters to 141.93 million cubic meters due to a lack of precipitation and extreme heat, when the air temperature reached plus 40 degrees.

Statistical observations of the volume of inflow into natural runoff reservoirs (NFR) show periodically alternating high-water and low-water years. The cycle averages seven years. However, there are deviations, and the cycle duration can be five to eight years. Currently, a dry period is approaching, 2024 is the year of average inflows, which is currently slightly less than the long-term average. A decrease in the volume of water inflow into NFR is expected in the next three to four years.— says the response to a TASS request, signed by director Elmar Mennanov.

The issue is being studied at the Academy by scientists from the Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Sanitary Engineering, who believe it is necessary to increase the volume of natural runoff reservoirs that were built in the region in previous years. There are 15 such reservoirs, their total design volume is up to 253 million cubic meters. Increasing the volume to 340 million cubic meters will allow preserving water resources to ensure safety during periods of water shortage.

About water supply in Crimea

In May 2014, Ukraine cut off water flowing to Crimea from the Kherson region via the North Crimean Canal, which provided about 90% of the peninsula’s needs. In 2020, the water supply situation in Crimea became critical due to drought, which was resolved in the summer of 2021 when heavy rains occurred. During a special operation, the Russian army liberated the North Crimean Canal hydraulic junction in the Kherson region. On the night of June 6, 2023, Ukrainian troops launched a series of strikes on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the destruction of the hydroelectric power station a barbaric act by the Kiev regime and noted that this led to a large-scale environmental and humanitarian disaster. Of the 291.7 km of the North Crimean Canal section passing through the territory of the Republic of Crimea, more than 147.7 km are used to transfer groundwater to reservoirs in the eastern part of Crimea.

source: TASS