A hydraulic engineer named the cause of the severe consequences of the flood in Simferopol

Uncontrolled development of river floodplains and outdated regulations for the operation of the Simferopol reservoir have caused large-scale flooding of the Crimean capital and its suburbs.

This opinion was expressed on the radio “Sputnik in Crimea” by the director of the research and production company “Water Technologies” Anatoly Kopachevsky, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“At the beginning of the year, about 57 million cubic meters of water came into the Simferopol reservoir,” he noted. – In 1997, over the same period, 58 million came, so we fit well into the indicators of a high-water year. And if we judge by 1997, then we should expect a total influx of 107 million cubic meters, that is, the same volume will come to the Simferopol reservoir. And today we are already full. This relates to the issue of not maintaining the operating regime of the reservoir.
The technician lifts the sluice, based on the regulations for the operation of the reservoir. Another question: does this regulation take into account long-term cycles of dry and abundant years? The planned gradual release was done in advance, but according to regulations.”

According to the expert, the regulations for the operation of the reservoir were written many years ago and did not take into account the corresponding dynamics. The amount of precipitation that falls in Simferopol has changed over 50 years; if previously it was 495 mm per year, now it is 505 mm. Plus, an increase in the area for collecting and discharging precipitation and a reduction in green areas that absorb moisture.

“The city of Simferopol has an area of ​​100 square kilometers. If the monthly precipitation rate was about 60 mm, then this would add another 6 million cubic meters. And all this went to Salgir and further along the riverbed to Komsomolskoye and Ukromnoye,” Kopachevsky emphasized. – When we distribute land and construction begins on this land, we need to take into account the area of ​​​​improved coverage, that this is no longer land that absorbs moisture and stretches the speed of inflow. The city has grown several times. Our green zone is not increasing, but, on the contrary, decreasing, and the area of ​​improved surfaces is growing.”

The same thing happened in the Dobrovskaya Valley, where the flood zone of the Salgir River was built up with private houses. Some buildings are located in the “red zone” of water flows from the mountains, since they were erected without permission, without approval. The Salgir, sandwiched in the riverbed, only increases the speed of the flow, without being able to spill out in width.

“There were gardens that absorbed moisture through the soil and litter. The river had time to free itself,” the expert pointed out. “Instead of a green valley, we got a building where the speed of water flow increases.”

Kopachevsky added that the controlled release of water from the Simferopol reservoir prevented overflow over the dam crest. In this case, instead of 1,8 million cubic meters, a flow of 3 million cubic meters would flow into the Salgir channel and the flood area would increase significantly.

Let us remind you that the flood in Crimea is recognized as a regional emergency. More than 700 houses were damaged in Simferopol and the Simferopol region, Belogorsk and the Belogorsk region. Damage is now being assessed in every household. Payments will be made similarly to the flood of last summer in Kerch and Yalta - 10 thousand for each victim, 50 thousand for partial loss of property and 100 thousand for complete loss.