Restoration of the Seimas and Desna will take 2-3 years, about 5,600 tons of polluted water have entered the rivers
About 5,600 tons of polluted water entered the Seim River in the Kursk region from a sugar factory, which caused serious pollution of both the Seim and the Desna. It will take 2-3 years to completely restore the ecosystems of these rivers.
This was announced during a press conference on September 12 by the director of the Institute of Hydrobiology of the NAS of Ukraine, Serhii Afanasyev, and the director of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the National Emergency Service and the NAS of Ukraine, Volodymyr Osadchyi. informs Ministry of Environmental Protection.
According to Osadchy, the amount of contaminated water was estimated using satellite images. He noted that this pollution destroyed all the dissolved oxygen in the water in a few hours, which led to a mass death of fish.
Serhii Afanasyev, in turn, reminded of the ecological disaster on the Dniester in 1983, when all the living fauna on 500 km of the river was destroyed due to the breach of the earthen dam of the Stebnytskyi tailings storage facility. He noted that on unregulated rivers such as Seim and Desna, the ecosystem can recover in a few years.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection reported that together with scientists and representatives of the State Water Agency, they are developing optimal measures to restore the natural quality of water and river ecosystems.
The situation as of today
The pollution has already traveled 242 km along the Desna River. According to the data of the Ukrhydrometeorological Center, contaminated water may reach Kyiv Oblast around September 14-16. At the same time, “Kyivvodokanal” assured that they are preparing for all possible scenarios.
Olena Kramarenko, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, reported that the content of dissolved oxygen in the water of the Diet in Ukraine has returned to the norm – 4 mg/dm³, and mass deaths of fish are no longer recorded. In Desna, pollution spreads more slowly and has a heterogeneous character.
Three aeration units have been installed in Chernihiv Oblast, and new aeration systems are additionally being installed in Kyiv Oblast.
As of September 12, 31 tons of dead fish have already been collected: 12 tons of 150 kg in Sumy region and 19 tons in Chernihiv region.
What is known about pollution
On August 27, the State Fisheries Agency reported on the pollution of the Seim River by Russians. Exceeding the level of harmful substances, in particular ammonium, was recorded in the water in Sumy region and Chernihiv region. Oleksandr Krasnolutsky, First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection, noted that it is not clear whether the pollution was intentional or the result of an accident.
Later it became known that the pollution is organic in nature and entered the river from a sugar factory in the village of Tyotkino, Kursk region. Due to the low level of oxygen in the water, a mass death of fish began.
In four communities of Sumy Oblast and one community of Chernihiv Oblast, bathing, fishing and the use of water for economic needs were prohibited. No violations were recorded in the Desna River in Kyiv Oblast, but similar restrictions were introduced in Sumy Oblast and Chernihiv Oblast.
