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Kakhovka Dam | |
---|---|
Official name | Kakhovska HPS |
Location | Nova Kakhovka, Ukraine |
Coordinates | 46°46′34″N 33°22′18″E / 46.77611°N 33.37167°E |
Purpose | Power, irrigation, navigation |
Status | Destroyed |
Construction began | September 1950 |
Opening date | 1956 |
Demolition date | June 6, 2023 |
Owner(s) | Energy Company of Ukraine |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Earth-fill embankment with gravity sections |
Impounds | Dnieper River |
Height | 30 m (98 ft) |
Length | 3,273 m (10,738 ft) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Kakhovka Reservoir |
Total capacity | 18,180×10 9 m3 (1.4738765863×1010 acre⋅ft) |
Surface area | 2,155 km2 (832 sq mi) |
Power Station | |
Operator(s) | Ukrhydroenergo |
Commission date | 1955–1956 |
Turbines | 3 × 58.5, 3 × 60.5 MW propeller |
Installed capacity | 357 MW |
Annual generation | 1.4 TWh |
The Kakhovka Dam is a dam on the Dnieper River (also known as Dnipro) in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, completed in 1956 and damaged in 2023, which provided water for the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station (Ukrainian: Кахо́вська ГЕС імені П. С. Непорожнього, romanized: Kakhovs'ka HES imeni P. S. Neporozhn'oho). The primary purposes of the dam were hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, and navigation. It was the sixth and last dam in the Dnieper reservoir cascade.
The deep water channel created by the downstream flow allowed shipping up and down river.[1] The facility also included a winter garden. The P47 road and a railway crossed the Dnieper River on the dam.[2]
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant had 241 staff in October 2015. The director is Yaroslav Kobelya from September 2012. As of 2019, the dam was profitable bringing ₴6.1 million ($236,000) to local government budgets and ₴44.6 million ($1.73 million) to the national income.[1]
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the morning of 6 June 2023, a significant portion of the dam was destroyed while it was under Russian control.[3][4][5][6][5]
Construction of the dam began in September 1950. The last generator was commissioned in October 1956.[7] Significant repairs and expansion were made from 2019.[8][1] It is operated by Ukrhydroenergo,[9][10] which was founded in 1994.
The central section of the dam consists of (from north-west to south-east) a barrage dam, the hydro power station, and a lock for shipping. The dam, including lengthy embankments on each side of the central section, is 3.2 km (2.0 mi) long on the side facing the reservoir.[11] The power station had an installed capacity of 357 MW.
The Kakhovka Reservoir held 18 cubic kilometres of water, equivalent to the Great Salt Lake in the United States.[12] The reservoir supplies water for cooling the 5.7 GW Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and for irrigating areas of southern Ukraine and northern Crimea via the North Crimean Canal, the Kakhovsky canal and the Dnieper–Kryvyi Rih Canal.[9][13]
On 24 February 2022, the power plant was captured by Russian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14][15] During weeks of artillery attacks by Ukraine in August and September, Ukrainian and Russian officials reported that the facility's ability to transport vehicles had been degraded,[16][17] but the dam itself retained structural integrity.[18]
In mid-October 2022, news reports suggested that Russians may have been planning to blow up the dam to slow down the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the region.[19][20][21][22]
On 11 November, a large explosion occurred on the dam, shown on CCTV footage. The road and rail sections were destroyed, but the dam itself remained mostly undamaged.[23][24] Russian officials opened additional sluice gates, allowing water to rush out of the reservoir. At that time the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration in a statement suggested that one of the purposes of draining the reservoir might have been to flood the area south of the dam, in order to keep Ukrainian Forces from crossing the Dnipro River. Officials stated that Ukrhydroenergo, Ukraine's hydro electric company, believed Russian forces "opened the station's locks fearing an advance of Ukrainian soldiers".[25]
In early November 2022, the spillways at the dam had been opened, and the Kakhovka Reservoir dropped to its lowest level in three decades, putting irrigation and drinking water resources at risk, as well as the coolant systems for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Between 1 December 2022 and 6 February 2023, the water level dropped 2 meters (6.6 ft).[26]
From mid-February to late May 2023, either deliberately or as a result of neglect, the damaged dam was not adjusted to match the seasonal increase in water flow. As a result, water washed over the top of the dam and land upstream of the dam was flooded.[27][28] Water levels in the reservoir reached a 30-year high.[29] The raised water level caused some nearby villages to flood.[30]
On 6 June 2023, an explosion caused significant damage to the central section of the 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) wide dam, resulting in uncontrolled water flow downstream.[citation needed] There was an occurrence of an "internal explosion of the structures" within the dam, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.[5][4] Evacuations and rescue operations commenced as a result.[31]
According to the United Nations, the breach in the Kakhova Dam would have catastrophic consequences.[32] The destruction of the dam led to tens of thousands of people being in a flood zone.[33] Over 40 different towns and villages in Ukraine are severely flooded and massive amounts of livestock have perished.[34]
Russia has controlled the dam since the start of the war,[35] but the two sides disagree on the cause of the destruction.[36] Russian-imposed officials in occupied Ukraine claim sabotage by Ukrainian forces.[37] Ukrainian officials attribute the disaster to the 205th Motorized Rifle Brigade of Russia.[38] No other national government or news agency has assigned blame for the dam's destruction, but it was reported by the BBC that both the United States[39] and the United Kingdom are leaning towards an assessment of Russian culpability.[40]
The dam's destruction drew condemnation from EU and Ukrainian leaders, who described it as a potential war crime[40] but reserved judgement on the attack. While Russia denies culpability, experts state that a deliberate explosion from inside the Russian-controlled dam is the most probable cause of its destruction.[3]
On 7 June, Ihor Syrota, head of Ukrhydroenergo, said that it would take "at least 5 years, [and] $1 billion" to rebuild the Kakhovka Dam.[41]
Since mid-February, the water level in the reservoir has steadily increased, according to data from Theia, a French geospatial analytical organization. An Associated Press analysis of satellite imagery showed the water has now risen so high that it's washing over the top of the damaged Russian-occupied dam downstream.
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