On Monday, August 10, a mass fish kill was discovered in the water bodies of Sofiyivska Borshchahivka. The next day, it was revealed that the cause might have been wastewater, which was discharged directly into the capital's storm drains and then entered the water bodies of the neighboring community, leading to the die-off.
EcoPolitic has compiled the information available at this time.
Scale of the environmental threat
On August 10, after the dead fish were discovered, representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate of the capital district collected water samples and called law enforcement.
The scale of the incident is significant – according to the State Environmental Inspectorate, as of August 11, there were already 3 t of dead aquatic species.
Source: Ministry of Economy / Facebook
It is unknown how dangerous the situation is for people. Therefore, the Ministry of Economy urged citizens to be cautious.
“We urge citizens not to swim, not to fish, and to avoid any contact with the water in these bodies until its chemical parameters are fully normalized. We also ask that you do not approach sites of mass aquatic bioresource mortality without urgent need,” the Ministry emphasized.
Preliminary cause – wastewater
So far, the results of laboratory tests are unknown, but the most likely cause of the local environmental disaster was wastewater.
On Tuesday, August 11, during an inspection of the adjacent area, a commission found that sewage was being pumped directly into a storm drain.
“It was established that during the elimination of a sewage collector rupture, wastewater was being pumped into Kyiv's stormwater system, which flows into the water bodies of the Borshchahivka community. The relevant activities were documented by the police. They have now been halted, and the potential source of the leak has been eliminated,” reported Head of Kyiv Regional State Administration Tymur Tkachenko in his Telegram channel.
Earlier, he clarified that repair work was being done at one of the facilities in Kyiv, located nearby. Initially, the mass die-off was observed in one water body, and later – in two more.
Source: Ministry of Economy / Facebook
Drinking water supplies were organized at the affected sites. Authorities do not rule out the risk of contamination spreading downstream. The issue is planned to be discussed at the next meeting of the Emergency Situations and Technogenic Safety Commission of the Bucha District State Administration.
The Kyiv region police reported that a pre-trial investigation is already underway. The case is being investigated under Part 1, Article 242 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – violations of water protection regulations.
Mass fish die-off, unfortunately, is a fairly common occurrence in Ukrainian water bodies. Recently, EcoPolityka reported on some “recent” incidents. The main causes are usually water pollution or a combination of weather conditions and hydrological factors.
