Flooding caused by the breach of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine will have devastating effects for ecosystems and farms as well civilian populations downstream, according to the country’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.
Ukraine and Russia have each accused the other of breaching the dam, which spans the Dnieper river north-west of the city Kherson. The dam has been controlled by Russian forces for more than a year.
When an explosion breached the dam on 6 June, there were over 18 cubic kilometres of water in the reservoir. There are now 11 cubic kilometres, said Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi, Ukraine’s deputy minister of environmental protection, speaking through a translator during a briefing on 8 June. “We are currently at the peak of flooding,” he said.
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The ensuing flood has inundated villages downstream as well as parts of Kherson, and thousands of people have been evacuated. The reservoir is a major source of water for drinking and irrigation. It also supplied water to cool the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant upstream.
Along with damages to infrastructure, the flooding has harmed thousands of the region’s farms and many biodiverse ecosystems, said Krasnolutskyi. “We estimate that nearly 160,000 animals and 20,000 birds are under threat because of the catastrophe,” he said. These include species that are rare and endemic to Ukraine.
Nine sites from Ukraine’s “Emerald Network” of conserved areas have been flooded, including the UNESCO Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, as well as five internationally important wetlands, according to the ministry. Around 55,000 hectares of forest have been inundated.
On farms, the flood wave — more intense than regular seasonal flooding — carried away topsoil from tens of thousands of hectares of arable land, which will make growing crops challenging, said Krasnolutskyi. The loss of water for irrigation could also affect crop production in the globally important sunflower and grain farms south of the river. “Even after the water is gone, it will be really difficult,” he said.
The water has also spread pollutants. Krasnolutskyi estimated 150 tonnes of machine oil from the dam’s hydroelectric plants have spilled into the river. The floodwaters have carried garbage and other pollutants into the Dnieper watershed. He says landmines placed on the banks of the river have also been carried downstream. “They ended up in quite unexpected places,” he said.
Testing for pollutants won’t take place until the water recedes, but satellite images appear to show floodwater thick with pollution flowing into the port of Kherson. at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a UK nonprofit, says this could include oil, ash and chemicals from industrial sites in the city, including a brickworks and a fuel storage area.
“It’s a huge question mark what the impacts will be at this point,” says Weir.
A more complete assessment of the flood’s environmental impact is also complicated by the fact that Russian forces control the south side of the river, where the majority of the flooding has occurred.
Krasnolutskyi said that the Ukraine government plans to pursue charges of ecocide against Russia for the damage caused by flooding, as well as other environmental impacts of the war.
Ecocide is a crime in Ukraine and in Russia, though it is not yet an international crime. However, international humanitarian law does say “you’re not supposed to purposely destroy dams and dikes”, says Weir.
