Logos Press previously reported that on July 17, at an emergency meeting of the Interstate Commission on the Dniester, the Moldovan and Ukrainian sides agreed to maintain the current minimum rate (100 cubic meters per second) of water discharge from the reservoir downstream on the Dniester.
However, the Ukrainian side noted that the current inflow from the Carpathians into the Dniester is low, and approximately 30 cubic meters per second of water is entering the Novodnestrovsk Reservoir. If there is not enough rainfall by July 31 to stabilize the reservoir’s water level and ensure normal operation of the hydroelectric power plant, the discharge of water into the Dniester may be reduced to 70 cubic meters per second.
“This will lead to a drop in the water level of the Dniester, and the main pumps at the water intake station that supplies Chisinau could fail,” Hajder warned. He also stated that he had inspected the condition of the backup water supply system, designed for use in the event of a critical drop in the river’s water level. According to him, the floating pumps, pipelines, and storage reservoir operated by “Apă-Canal Chișinău” are in a severely worn-out condition, and the equipment’s operational reliability remains in question.
