From today until Wednesday, July 30, on the stretch between the village of Grushka and the village of Nezavertaylovka along the Nistru river, a near doubling of the water level is anticipated, from 80 centimeters to a meter and a half. Specialists from Tiraspol assert that this increase remains within the riverbed limits, but warn that any improvement in the situation would be temporary, reports the IPN correspondent in the Transnistrian region.
According to the data from the so-called Transnistrian hydrometeorological service, the rise in water level is linked to the increase in discharges from the Ukrainian Novodnestrovsk hydroelectric power station up to 780 m³/s, as well as the planned increase in discharges from the Dubasari hydroelectric power station, located on the left bank, up to 400 m³/s.
The authorities specify that the water level directly depends on the amount of water drained from the reservoirs and that, in the event of abrupt changes, the forecast will be quickly adjusted within a one to three day period.
Ecologist Ilia Trombitki believes that the increased volume of discharges from the Ukrainian reservoir can temporarily improve the condition of ecosystems in the middle and lower course of the river.
“In recent days, the water flow from the reservoir has increased, and on Sunday, July 27, it exceeded 300 m³/s. This will have a beneficial effect on the state of the ecosystems in the middle and lower course of the Nistru. However, we should not expect this situation to be maintained in the long term”.
Due to the heatwave and frequent interruptions in water supply, the Moldova Waters Agency has made a request to their Ukrainian partners, who manage the Novodnestrovsk hydroelectric power station, asking them to ensure a minimum flow of 130 m³/s. Furthermore, in mid-July, a technical malfunction was recorded at the Dubasari hydroelectric power station, which affected the downstream water volume, but as of July 21, the station’s operation has stabilized.
