The level of water in the Nistru remains unstable and oscillates between 8.8 and 9 meters despite the heavy precipitation of the last three weeks, the head of the Quality, Control and Regulation Department of S.A. “Apa-Canal Chisinau” (ACC) Arcadie Rusnac said, answering consumers’ questions, IPN reports.

According to him, the average level of water in the Nistru during a year is below 9 meters. However, for the pumping station on the Nistru, which supplies water to Chisinau municipality, to work normally, the level of water there must be at least 9.1 meters.

Arcadie Rusnac noted that if the recent rain didn’t contribute to a higher level of water in the Nistru, it is highly improbable that the situation will improve in summer, when there is usually hydrological drought and dog days. “It is yet well known that when there is a critical level of 8.3-8.4 meters, the pumps at the pumping station enter a cavitation regime and stop work. The consequences can be catastrophic,” he said.

He also said that designing a project to build a levee near the pumping station in Vadul lui Voda town is a solution for regulating and increasing the level of water in the Nistru in summer.

Arcadie Rusnac stated that according to the Hydrological Forecasts Center, the drought on the Nistru is mainly caused by the Ukrainian authorities’ decision to reduce the volume of water discharged into the river at the Hydroelectric Plant “Dnestrovsk”. “Now the accumulation lake in Dnestrovsk, on which the volume of water in the Nistru depends, discharges 130 m c/s. Consequently, the level of water is critical, but stable,” he said.