Velykyi Luh and Kamianska Sich parks draining, nitrite levels in Inhulets River rise

As the water in the flooded areas of Kherson Oblast recedes, the Velykyi Luh National Park in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Kamianska Sich National Park in Kherson Oblast are draining, and the water indicators in the Inhulets River have also deteriorated.

Source: Ukraine’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources on Telegram

Details: The water level in the Dnipro River at the Kherson point dropped by 3 metres to 2.6 metres as of the morning of 13 June. The water level has been dropping by 1-5 cm every hour.

Based on satellite imagery, the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute estimates that 309 square kilometres of Kherson Oblast were flooded as of 11 June.

Connection with the measurement sensors has been lost in the area of Nikopol, so there is no reliable data on further water level drop. Experts are looking for possible ways to determine the water level and volume of the Kakhovka Reservoir.

The water has been gradually receding in the area of the Nyzhnodniprovskyi Nature Park.

The water in the Velykyi Luh and Kamianska Sich national parks continues to drain by more than 8 metres.

Among the aftermath of such draining is the threat of the complete extinction of the Great and Little Kuchuhury Archipelago wetlands. The archipelago will suffer the loss of 54 species of fish and 156 species of birds living on the islands, and the floodplains of the archipelago will be negatively affected. Up to 30,000 waterfowl are observed on the territory during the autumn migration.

Specialists from the State Environmental Inspectorate, the State Water Agency and mobile laboratories carry out ongoing monitoring of water and air quality wherever possible.

Results of the selected samples:

• The Inhulets River showed an excess of iron by a factor of 1.17, an increase in nitrite, and a slight decrease in dissolved oxygen. No deviations or exceedances were observed for other indicators;
• No significant deviations or exceedances of the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants were recorded at the sampling points in the Dnipro River.

Environmental inspectors continue to document and assess the environmental damage caused by Russia's blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP.

Background: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, reported that the average level of flooding in Kherson Oblast has dropped to 2.7 metres as of the morning of 13 June.

On 11 June, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported that the area flooded after the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP had almost halved, from 139 to 77.78 square kilometres.

The sections of the Dnipro River that water the North Crimean Canal have developed low water marks.

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