Kakhovka Reservoir

The Kakhovka Reservoir (Ukrainian: Каховське водосховище, Kakhovs′ke vodoskhovyshche) is a water reservoir on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. It was created in 1956, when the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was built. It is one of several reservoirs in the Dnieper reservoir cascade.

Kakhovka Reservoir
Map of the Kakhovka Reservoir
Kakhovka Reservoir is located in Kherson Oblast
Kakhovka Reservoir
Kakhovka Reservoir
LocationKherson, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts
Coordinates47°28′N 34°10′E
TypeHydroelectric reservoir
Primary inflowsDnieper River
Primary outflowsDnieper River
Basin countriesUkraine
Max. length240 km (150 mi)
Max. width23 km (14 mi)
Surface area2,155 km2 (832 sq mi)
Average depth8.4 m (28 ft)
Max. depth26 m (85 ft)
Water volume18.2 km3 (14,800,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface elevation44 m (144 ft)

Geography

The reservoir covers a total area of 2,155 square kilometres in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts of Ukraine.[1] It is 240 km long and up to 23 km wide. The depth varies from 3 to 26 metres and averages 8.4 meters. The total water volume is 18.2 km³.

It is used mainly to supply hydroelectric stations, the Krasnoznamianka Irrigation System, the Kakhovka Irrigation System, industrial plants such as the 5.7 GW Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, freshwater fish farms, the North Crimean Canal and the Dnieper–Kryvyi Rih Canal.[2] Its creation formed a deep-water route for ships to sail up the Dnieper.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Since early November 2022, the spillways at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant have been opened, and the reservoir has dropped to its lowest level in 3 decades, putting irrigation and drinking water resources at risk, as well as the coolant systems for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Between December 1st, 2022 and February 6th, 2023 the water level has dropped 2 meters. [3]

See also

References
  1. "КАХОВСЬКЕ ВОДОСХОВИЩЕ" [KAHOVSKY WATER RESERVOIR]. leksika.com.ua. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  2. "Каховське водосховище | Енциклопедія Сучасної України" [Kakhov reservoir | Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine]. esu.com.ua. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  3. "Russia is draining a massive Ukrainian reservoir, endangering a nuclear plant". NPR. 6 February 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kakhovka Reservoir.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.