Garbage islands and the threat of flowering: how the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih affected nature

Garbage islands and the threat of flowering: how the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih affected nature facebook.com/dosytKR
Katerina Belousova

Although the water in the Ingulets River is considered relatively safe, the shelling caused significant damage to the river itself

In Kryvyi Rih, the destruction of the dam of the Karachunny Reservoir on the Ingulets river led to an increase in the content of phosphates and nitrites in the water, probably due to the flooding of utility networks and cesspools in yards.

Also, construction debris, which was formed as a result of the explosion, washed away branches and other plant remains, as well as household garbage, which led to the formation of garbage islands, got into the river, the community "Enough to poison Kryvyi Rih" reports on Facebook.

A recent analysis samples from the Ingulets river and their ecological assessment showed that the water belongs to the good and mediocre category. Also, the temporary reddening of the water in the river does not pose a threat.

However, shelling and the destruction of the dam caused damage to the river itself.

Thus, phosphates can lead to excessive reproduction of blue-green algae, i.e. "water bloom". This phenomenon reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water and negatively affects the river inhabitants.

facebook.com/dosytKR

facebook.com/dosytKR

facebook.com/dosytKR

The article explained that the formed garbage islands stop or block the flow of the river, which also negatively affects it.

"Now it is necessary to clean the channel, which has already been done, judging by the messages on social networks," the message said.

The authors also pointed out the responsibility of people to preserve the environment. After all, the water carried a lot of garbage from the coastal areas, which had been accumulating for years, in particular reed thickets.

"It must be periodically partially removed in rivers that are subject to anthropogenic influence. And on Ingulka, in some places, he obstructed the free flow. In general, cleaning of riverbeds is necessary, but unfortunately, it is often neglected in our country," they said.

The material noted that the overflow of the river after the explosion of the dam demonstrated another problem  non-compliance with water protection zones around reservoirs, which for Ingulets is 50 m. It is not possible to build and place other objects in this zone.

"If a certain number of houses were erected near Ingulets long before the adoption of these norms, in other places we still see their neglect. In the protection zones of reservoirs, construction is underway, and sometimes even production facilities are located. These mistakes should definitely be taken into account in the process of post-war recovery and not repeated," the message emphasized.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that in Kryvyi Rih, environmental activists of the DTKR took water samples from the Ingulets River, which turned red a few days ago after the Russians shelled the hydraulic structure. The water is recognized as relatively safe.

As EcoPolitic reported before, on September 14, russian troops bombarded the city of Kryvyi Rih with 8 cruise missiles, which damaged the dam of the Karachuny reservoir. Due to this, the water level in the Ingulets River began to rise, 112 private houses were flooded, and about 5,000 families were left without water supply.

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