A decrease in discharge volume and a drop in flow velocity lead to rapid warming of the water column. High temperatures directly reduce oxygen solubility, causing bottom-layer hypoxia, which is particularly dangerous at night. Stagnation and rising concentrations of biogenic elements (phosphorus and nitrogen) stimulate algal blooms—the rapid proliferation of cyanobacteria and filamentous algae. Due to the constant influx of organic pollutants, toxic blue-green algae develop. As they die off, toxins are released, and the decomposition process completely consumes the remaining oxygen. The river loses its ability to self-purify, and the risk of spreading pathogenic microorganisms and viruses increases. This is how Ilia Trombițchi, an ecologist and director of Eco-TIRAS, assesses the environmental consequences of the Dniester’s low water levels on his Facebook page.
In addition, the drying up of floodplain meadows, shallow bays, and riparian vegetation deprives certain fish species (carp, bream, pike, roach, etc.) of their breeding grounds. Fluctuations in the river’s water level lead to the drying out of deposited eggs, the isolation of fry on sandbars, and the death of young fish.
Disturbed sections of the river channel become vulnerable to aggressive invasive species (such as round gobies, certain species of mollusks, and crustaceans), which ultimately displace the Dniester’s native fauna.
In the lower reaches of the Dniester, water shortages cause floodplain lakes and floodplains to dry up. This destroys key nesting, resting, and foraging sites for waterfowl.
The reduction in the river’s water level leads to a drop in the groundwater level in the floodplain, causing floodplain forests and meadows to dry up and resulting in the degradation of riparian vegetation.
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