Even heavy precipitation not to help solve water shortage in occupied Crimea – expert

Even heavy precipitation not to help solve water shortage in occupied Crimea / Photo from UNIAN

Deputy Director of the Ukrainian Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation Mykhailo Yatsiuk says water reservoirs in occupied Crimea will not be filled next year even if there is heavy precipitation in winter and spring.

"The precipitation that falls is in fact not runoff-forming, it mainly moistens the area and replenishes the moisture reserves in the soil, but it does not form run-off. And this is clearly noticeable in the problems the Crimean authorities are facing now," he told RFE/RL's Krym.Realii media project.

Yatsiuk also stressed the water shortage in Crimea in 2020 would affect the water supply there in the coming years.

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• As of August 24, restrictions on the water supply are in effect in the city of Simferopol and 39 other settlements of the Simferopol and Bakhchisarai districts due to drought and shallowing of reservoirs. Fresh water is supplied to residents by the hour, namely in the morning and in the evening. On September 23, restrictive measures for the water supply were introduced in the towns of Alushta, Partenit, and Maly Mayak. Also, water is delivered in water tanks to 29 villages in northern Crimea over dried wells.
• The occupying authorities of Crimea announced they were preparing for a "worst-case scenario" with the water supply onto the peninsula.
• Prior to the occupation of Crimea by Russia, Ukraine used to cover up to 85% of the peninsula's needs for freshwater through the North Crimean Canal.
• After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, Ukraine severed water supplies to the occupied peninsula.
• The Ukrainian authorities claim the resumption of water supplies to Crimea would be possible only in the context of the end of the Russian occupation.