“Something terrible is happening.” In Crimea, the river that fed a large reservoir dried up

In the Russian-annexed Belogorsk region of Crimea, the Tanasu River, the right tributary of the Biyuk-Karasu River, which feeds the Belogorsk Reservoir, has dried up. This was reported by the Krym.Realii issue on September 26 with reference to local residents.

According to the newspaper, there was a small amount of water in the river until mid-September. In the third decade of September, the river dried up completely.

In addition, in the village of Kirpichnoe, Belogorsk district, a pond where cattle used to drink has completely dried up. Local residents fished in this pond.

“A very dry and hot September wipes out the remaining bodies of water. This month, not only the Tanasu River has dried up, but also our stakes. Old residents don’t remember this either. Wells are also being emptied. Something terrible is happening, and it scares us. Every day more and more concerned about the water situation, “a resident of Kirpichnoe village told Krym.Realii, on condition of anonymity.

Ukraine supplied through the Northern Crimean Canal up to 85% of Crimea’s freshwater needs. After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in the spring of 2014, Kiev interrupted the water supply to the peninsula… According to media reports, no alternative to the Dnieper water supply has yet been found in Crimea, except large-scale pumping of groundwater.

In August 2020, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denis Shmygal allowed the possibility of fresh water supply from the mainland of Ukraine to annexed Crimea, if a humanitarian disaster occurs on the peninsula.

Due to the lack of water in the occupied peninsula, the districts of Simferopol, Simferopol and Bakhchisarai were transferred to a limited water supply program as of August 24. The water level in the Ayansky, Simferopol and Partizansky reservoirs fell to a critical level.