Rivers remain critically low: water abstraction restrictions have been extended for over 200 businesses

Rivers remain critically low: water abstraction restrictions have been extended for over 200 businesses Держводагентство
Maria Semenova

Water abstraction will resume once hydrological conditions have returned to normal, but not before the end of October

Despite the autumn rains, low water levels persist on some of Ukraine’s rivers. The authorities are therefore extending restrictions on water abstraction until 31 October for more than 200 users, mainly in the west of the country. These include agricultural, food, industrial and energy enterprises, as well as some municipal water supply companies.

This was reported by the State Agency for Water Resources of Ukraine, which emphasised that the restrictions do not apply to water abstraction for drinking purposes.

The decision provides for a reduction in water abstraction limits, as well as restrictions on the rights of secondary water users.

If hydrological conditions return to normal, water users’ rights are set to be fully restored after 31 October.

The drought continues

Some rivers in Ukraine continue to fall below historic lows. According to data from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre, this situation is being observed on rivers in the Dniester basin (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions), the Pripyat sub-basins (Volyn, Rivne and Zhytomyr regions), the San (Lviv Oblast), the Western Bug (Lviv and Volyn Oblasts) and the Tisa (Zakarpattia Oblast).

Source: UkrGMC

As a reminder, due to the critical shallowing of Lakes Kytay and Katlabug in the Odesa region, they are being forcibly replenished with water.

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