The Dniester Reservoir has almost exhausted its water supply due to a prolonged period of low water levels

Due to a prolonged period of low water levels, the Dniester Reservoir has virtually lost its ability to fully regulate the Dniester’s flow. The accumulated water supply, which had made it possible to compensate for the insufficient natural inflow into the river, has effectively been depleted.

The prolonged low-water period has deprived the reservoir of its ability to fully support the Dniester. Water supply, agriculture, and the health of ecosystems all depend on the river’s flow regime.

According to Khorev, under normal conditions, the Dniester Reservoir acts as a regulator. During periods of high water, it stores water, and during periods of low water, it provides additional releases, maintaining the necessary flow rate downstream.

However, such a system can only function if there are accumulated reserves. Due to a prolonged period of low natural runoff, this resource has been virtually depleted.

“Today, we are approaching a situation where the release from the Dniester Reservoir is no longer determined by the need to support the Dniester River downstream, but by the actual capacity of the reservoir itself,” Khoriev explained.

He emphasized that this represents a fundamental change in the situation. The reservoir is only capable of redistributing the available water over time; however, it cannot increase the amount of water on its own.

“A reservoir does not create water—it can only redistribute it over time. And if, over a long period, the inflow is less than the required outflows, the regulatory reserve will run out sooner or later. This is exactly what we are seeing now on the Dniester,” noted the former deputy minister.

According to him, the problem now extends beyond the scope of hydropower operations. Water supply to settlements, the state of ecosystems, agriculture, and water provision for downstream areas all depend on the Dniester’s water regime.

Khoriev noted that the current situation demonstrates the limited capacity of even large reservoirs in the event of prolonged, extremely low natural runoff.

“The situation once again illustrates a simple fact: even a large reservoir has its limits if natural runoff remains extremely low for a long time,” he concluded.

This was reported with reference to former Deputy Minister of Ecology Mykhailo Khorev.

Due to low water levels, Ukraine has restricted water use until the end of September.

Water withdrawals have been reduced in Zakarpattia due to the water shortage.

In Zakarpattia, officials have begun developing a plan to address the water shortage, which is becoming increasingly acute in the region. One of the proposed options is to store water during periods when rivers are full so that it can be used during droughts.