KAKHOVSKA HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT DAM EXPLOSION: IMPACT ON WATER RESOURCES AND ACTIVATION OF HAZARDOUS EXOGENOUS GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Abstract

Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine has had a catastrophic impact on the natural environment, with hydrology and water resources being among the most vulnerable. The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam on 6 June 2023 and the rapid discharge of more than 18 cubic kilometres of water caused an environmental disaster with flooding of large areas, huge human, environmental, economic losses, environmental pollution, significant changes in the hydrology, hydrogeological conditions, activation of hazardous exogenous geological processes along the lower Dnipro River, as well as the Black Sea. Using the methods of satellite image interpretation and hydrogeological modelling, hydrogeological conditions and the development of hazardous exogenous geological processes were assessed. Two areas were distinguished based on the type of changes in hydrogeological conditions relative to the location of the Kakhovka HPP. Upstream of the destroyed dam, in particular, a gradual increase in the depth of the groundwater level up to 10.3-16.1 m is expected. In areas downstream of the dam, on the contrary, the water table will rise to a depth of 0.5-2.5 m in a strip up to 10 km wide on the right bank and 15-20 km on the left bank, with a gradual subsequent increase in the water table depth over time to 2.5-7 m. Draining the largest by water volume in Ukraine Kakhovka Reservoir, and changing the erosion base will predictably lead to increased mass wasting. Changes in the hydrodynamic conditions of groundwater (rise / fall of the level, change in the direction of movement) will intensify karstification, suffosion, subsidence of loess, increase in flooded areas, trigger the intensification of landslide processes, which are widespread along the Dnipro Valley.