The Kakhovka hydro power plant is discharging water uncontrollably, which is why the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir is rapidly decreasing, the press service of the Zaporizhzhya regional military administration has said.
"A significant decrease in the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir negatively affects the technical processes at ZNPP. The level of 13.2 m is the minimum for water intake into the cooling tank. If the water supply is stopped, there will be problems with reactor cooling, which will lead to a catastrophe," said Hennadiy Timchenko, first deputy head of the regional military administration.
It is noted that currently a number of settlements, including Enerhodar, Melitopol and Berdyansk, are facing water supply problems. But the issue of water supply will be especially acute in the summer, when the natural water level drops significantly.
According to Ukrhydroenerho experts, the Russian occupiers deliberately discharge large volumes of water through the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant by opening its gates. They are doing this because they are afraid of the Ukrainian military fording the Dnipro River.
The Ukrainian government hopes that international pressure on the occupier will help solve the problem in order to prevent humanitarian, environmental, and nuclear disasters.
In particular, the situation with the water supply to the reactor cooling ponds at ZNPP, given the lack of access to this facility by the Ukrainian side, requires separate regulation with the participation of the IAEA.