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1. INTRODUCTION
The major part of the Dnipro Basin lies within the Ukraine, accounting for about 44% of the total area of all of the Dnipro River catchment area. The Dnipro River is the third largest European watercourse after the Danube River and the Volga River, draining a basin area of 504,000 km2; it is the fourth longest river in Europe (2,201 km, with 1,112 km of its length lying within the borders of Ukraine). Its section along the Belorussian/Ukrainian border is 125 km in length. The main stem of the Dnipro River (from the Pripyat River inflow to Kakhovka) has been artificially formed into a series of large reservoirs (the Kyivsky, Kanivsky, Kremenchutsky, Dniprodzerzhinsky, Dniprovsky (Zaporizky) and Kakhovsky reservoirs).
Surface water resources are distributed unevenly over the territory of the Dnipro Basin, with the upper part of the basin enjoying the highest level of water availability (219,000 m3/year per 1 km2 in the average year). In the Pripyat and Desna River Basins, water resource availability per unit area ranges from 110,000 to 115,000 m3 per year, whereas it progressively decreases in the Lower Dnipro Basin to 36,000 m3 per year.
The Dnipro River is generally divided into three sections: the Upper Dnipro (from the river source to Kyiv); the Middle Dnipro (from Kyiv to Zaporizhzhia); and the Lower Dnipro (from Zaporizhzhia to the estuary).
The Upper Dnipro catchment has a well developed and dense hydrographical network, ranging from 0.37 to 0.47 km/km2. Due to the dense hydrographical network and the high level of water availability, about 80% of the Dnipro River flow is collected in the Upper Dnipro catchment, with three largest Dnipro tributaries (Berezina, Sozh, and Pripyat) contributing up to 49% of the total annual flow. The Desna River itself provides up to 20% of the total annual flow of the Dnipro River.
Smaller rivers emptying into the above mentioned tributaries of the Dnipro River are mainly located within the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. In the Middle and Lower Dnipro Basin, the hydrographical network (including the right-bank tributaries of the Pripyat River) drains extensive areas located within Ukraine. In the upper part of the Middle Dnipro Basin (the Desna, Ros, Sula, Psel, and Orel catchments), the hydrographical network density is up to 0.5 km/km2.
The river network density generally decreases as one moves downstream, from 0.3–0.5 km/km2 in the area of the Transdnipro Hills to 0.1–0.3 km/km2 in the Lower Dnipro Catchment consisting of extensive lowland areas.
The Dnipro River is a typical lowland river, collecting its flow in the form of snowmelt and rainstorm water. Spring flow accounts for 60–70% of the total annual flow, reaching up to 80–90% in wet years. A series of large reservoirs were constructed along the Dnipro River channel in order to retain the spring flow and increase the water availability at times of low flow.
Within the Ukraine, the main stem of the Dnipro River has been transformed into a chain of major reservoirs, constructed between 1931 to 1976. The Kanivsky reservoir, being the most recent one in the reservoir chain, was filled in 1976. The Dnipro reservoirs provide essential water supplies for the population and national economy, and are used for hydropower generation, water transport, recreation, fisheries, and irrigated agriculture.
The industrial sector appears to be the most intensive water consumer, accounting for 40% of the total water consumption in the Basin during the average year, though in some years the proportion accounted for by the industrial sector can be as high as 59%. The other largest water-consuming sectors are agriculture (up to 30%) and domestic/potable supply (11% of the total water demand within Ukraine).
The Dnipro Basin sustains the major part of the national economy, accounting for over 70% of the country’s production output. Currently, the Dnipro Basin provides about 25 km3 of water per year to sustain the country’s economy. The industrial activity concentrated in the Dnipro Basin is dominated by the fuel and energy sector, and the metallurgic and heavy machine-building industries. Historically unbalanced development of heavy industry has led to a situation where the largest industrial complexes and urban centres are concentrated along the main stem of the Dnipro River. The major part of the country’s industrial capacity is concentrated in the Dnipro Basin, being mainly represented by heavily polluting industries (metallurgy, chemistry, coal and ore mining), as well as water-intensive sectors (thermal and nuclear energy). The Dnipro Basin contains about 6,000 industrial enterprises which include ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, coke foundries, heavy machinery manufacturing, power generation and chemical industries. Over 40 power generating plants are located in the Dnipro Basin, including six hydropower stations with a total generating capacity of 3 million KW, and six nuclear power stations (four of them being located in Ukraine itself).
The density of nuclear power plants in Ukraine is seven (7) times higher than in the USA, and 10 times higher than in France. This is an extraordinary practice on a worldwide basis, that is, to concentrate such a large nuclear power generation capacity in one region. The Dnipro is a vital, and often the sole source of water for larger conurbations located in the south and south-east of the country, with some of them located beyond the boundaries of the Dnipro Catchment. In general, the Dnipro River sustains about two thirds of Ukraine’s territory, and provides water to about 30 million people, 50 cities and industrial centres, about 10,000 industries, 2,200 agricultural properties, over 1,000 municipal utilities, 50 large irrigation systems and several hundred livestock-rearing complexes.
Currently, the level of water consumption has by far exceeded the assimilating capacity of the water resources within Ukraine. The total water abstraction can be as high as at 99% of the total freshwater resource available in the country in a dry year, with about 42% being accounted for by non-returnable (consumptive) water uses.
In the light of the above, water resource conservation represents a priority issue for Ukraine, where water resources are scarce: local water availability per capita in the country is only about 1,000 m3. (By contrast, the average water availability in Europe is 4,600 m3 per capita).
The water resource deficit is so great that the self-purifying capacity of the water bodies has nearly reached a critical point, greatly affecting the diversity of aquatic organisms. This situation can only be improved through a continuous and consolidated effort by scientists and experts in order to identify and introduce scientifically sound methods and practices for the sustainable management and protection of national water resources. This includes the review and evaluation of impacts of polluting industries that discharge their effluents into water bodies, and identification of potential process improvements for these industries.
Introduction of environmental auditing practices on a large scale is required in order to achieve competitive benefits for Ukrainian industries and ensure their compliance with existing environmental legislation.
The objective of this United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) project is to review the existing situation in Ukraine with regard to the identification and analysis of pollution sources located in the Dnipro Basin. These industrial and municipal sources of pollution are considered as potential and known “Hot Spots” in terms of their impact on the environment. The Hot Spots are evaluated not only in terms of volume of untreated wastewater and insufficiently treated effluent discharges (which is a common evaluation method widely applied in the CIS countries), but also in terms of contaminant loadings and the potential impact on drinking water supplies, recreational activities, other activities of social significance, and aquatic ecosystems and habitats located near a Hot Spot discharge.
This approach enables the prioritisation of Hot Spots by the level of their impact on the aquatic ecosystems, social conditions in the region, and human health which is seen as a top priority.
Project Objective
The Project for Identification and Analysis of Sources of Pollution (Hot Spots) in the Dnipro Basin within Ukraine is a part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Project “Preparation of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Dnipro River Basin and Development of SAP Implementation Mechanisms”. The objective of the Strategic Action Programme is to facilitate the reduction of pollution in the transboundary Dnipro River Basin, and ultimately to contribute to the protection of regional and international waters, namely the Black Sea. The objective of this UNIDO project is to review the existing situation in Ukraine with regard to the identification and analysis of pollution sources (Hot Spots) located in the Dnipro Basin.
The scope of work is to develop a methodological approach, identify and prioritise Hot Spots, and propose mitigation measures for priority Hot Spots, to be implemented as part of the Strategic Action Programme for the Dnipro Basin.
