Ukrainian water blockade: Crimea goes into a state of siege
Starting today, Simferopol, the Simferopol region and part of the Bakhchisarai region have switched to a limited water supply due to extreme drought and the water blockade imposed by Ukraine. Now water is supplied to 40 settlements in these regions on schedule. This was announced by the head of the Administration of Simferopol Elena Protsenko, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the official, these measures are related to the shallowing of the Ayansky, Partizansky and Simferopol reservoirs, which feed the center of Crimea.
“As of now, water intake for Simferopol is carried out in volumes of plus or minus 160 thousand cubic meters per day. To prevent the situation from worsening, a decision was made to introduce a phased restriction of water supply. The restrictions will be introduced in three stages. First stage: on the night of August 23-24, daily water withdrawal will decrease to 140 thousand cubic meters. Hot water supply will be interrupted. Second stage: from August 31 to September 7, water withdrawal will be reduced to 120 thousand cubic meters per day. Water supply will be introduced according to schedule. The third stage will begin on September 7. The water supply will be reduced to 100 thousand cubic meters per day and will be carried out hourly - in the morning and evening,” Protsenko said in her blog.
According to Senator from Crimea Sergei Tsekov, the problem of water supply to the peninsula arose from time to time both in the Soviet years and during the time of joining Ukraine, and each time was associated with natural conditions - hot summers and lack of rain. At the same time, the North Crimean Canal, blocked by Ukraine, did not improve the situation in any way, although it functioned in the 90s and 2000s.
When I read, including in the central media, that the North Crimean Canal provided 80% of the water, I know that this is not so. As for the provision of drinking water, the increase is 15 percent. And in earlier times, we were more dependent on weather conditions. There were problems with the supply of drinking water during the Soviet Union, in the 90s, and in the XNUMXs. Again, this was due to weather conditions and was temporary.
At the same time, especially during the period we were part of Ukraine, no one seriously developed any plans for additional water supply to populated areas. The problem went away due to heavy rainfall and that topic was forgotten.
The North Crimean Canal will not solve the problem. He solved problems with agricultural production. In 94 there was a severe drought, I had just been elected chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, Kravchuk flew here - he was running for a second term as president of Ukraine. I flew to the Dzhankoy region, walked through the fields there, and the wheat was ankle-deep. There was no rain and there was no harvest, but the North Crimean Canal existed.
Everyone understands this. Yes, some will rejoice, of those who dream of the return of Crimea to Ukraine, there are about ten percent of them. And those who understand - well, we have already overcome the difficulties with energy supply, gas supply, and have completely lifted the transport blockade. Some more time will pass, and we will resolve the water issue,” Tsekov assures.
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