The hydropower plans have an impact on the physical-chemical parameters and functioning of the ecosystem of the Nistru River. More exactly, the Nistru water metamorphoses from the second type into the third type, especially from calcium hydro-carbonated water into sodium hydro-carbonated water, said professor-researcher Elena Zubcov, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, who in an international conference presented the results of the implementation of the BSB 165 project “Creating a system of innovative transboundary monitoring of the transformations of the Black Sea river ecosystems under the impact of hydropower development and climate change”
In a news conference at IPN, Elena Zubcov said the ecosystem self-cleaning processes yield to the pollution processes. The gaseous regime, especially of the dissolved oxygen, biochemical and chemical consumption suffer because of the hydrological changes in the river whose level rose to that typical of stagnant water. The continuous diminution of the volume of water in the Nistru affects the discharge of groundwater into the river. The chemical composition of the Nistru water confirms this. These are processes that can cause Moldova’s territory in the hydrographic basin of the river to turn into a desert.
Elena Zubcov noted the diminution of the suspensions of natural origin for tens of times drastically diminished the self-cleaning process by absorption and sedimentation. It is seen that the sandy banks turn into banks with gray or black mud that is typical or moorlands. The wooded areas should be extended and the banks of rivers should be sowed with grass. The bottoms of small rivers should be cleaned and the problem of volume of water in the Nistru should be solved. Regulations should be worked out and their implementation should be monitored both for the energy sector, the industry and agriculture and for the functioning of the river’s ecosystem in general. The importance of the Nistrean Commission for the sustainable use of the water resources of the common hydrographic basin should be consolidated and increased.
The BSB 165 HydroEcoNex project is implemented by the Institute of Zoology in partnership with the “Eco-Tiras” International Association of River Keepers (Moldova), the Lower Danube University of Galați (Romania), the Ukrainian Scientific Center of Ecology of the Sea (Ukraine) and the Hydrometeorological Center of the Black and Azov Seas (Ukraine). The goal of the project is to work out indicators for monitoring the transboundary ecosystems of the Nistru and Prut under the impact of hydro-energy constructions and climate change for the sustainable management and keeping of flowing water downstream from hydropower plants.
The results of the project were presented in an international conference entitled “European Integration and Management of the Nistru Basin”, which was held online on October 8-9. The event was staged with the assistance of the GEF/UNDP/OSCE/UNECE project “Enabling transboundary cooperation and integrated water resources management in the Dniester River Basin”.
