Kiev Reservoir
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Map of the Kiev Reservoir. |
The
Kiev Reservoir, or
Kiev Sea () is a large
water reservoir located on the
Dnieper River in
Ukraine. Named after the city of
Kiev, which lies to the south, it covers a total area of 922 square kilometres within the
Kiev Oblast. The reservoir was formed in 1960-1966, as a result of the
Kiev Hydroelectric Power Plant dam being built in
Vyshhorod. The reservoir is mainly used for
hydroelectricity generation, industrial and public consumption, and irrigation.
The reservoir is 110 km in length, 12 km in width, has a depth of four to eight meters, a volume of 3.7 km³, and a usable volume of 1.2 km³. The reservoir, together with the
Kakhovka Reservoir, the
Dnieper Reservoir, the
Dniprodzerzhynsk Reservoir, the
Kremenchuk Reservoir, and the
Kaniv Reservoir, has created a deep-water route on the river. However, the construction has also contributed to significant environmental problems such as the diminished flow velocity which reduces water oxygenation, and has a negative result on the balance of aquatic life forms. Also, during its construction some nearby villages were flooded, one of which was
Teremtsi. But the residents of the village persuaded
Soviet authorities to let them stay, only to be evacuated later in 1986.
Like
all Dnieper reservoirs, Kiev reservoir poses potential threat of tremendous
flooding if its
dam is destroyed. Moreover, it contains additional major threat.
After the
Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in
1986,
radionuclides washed away by rains badly contaminated the bottom
silt of the reservoir. During the years following the disaster, there were suggestions to drain the reservoir because it was too shallow. It appeared that, if done, this could have created the threat of the tremendous amounts of radioactive dust travelling by wind, lethally affecting
Europe.
A similar threat is permanently discussed regarding the potential destruction of the reservoir's dam (as a result of natural accident or terrorist damage). But the authorities continue to dismiss such dangers as unreal, claiming to be in full control of the dam's safety. However, serious concerns were raised in
2005, when a fake
terrorist alert was made.
*
Threat of the Dnieper reservoirs*
Expert:Kiev Sea dam is in 93% emergency state *
Information about the reservoir*
Satellite photo of the dam creating the reservoir, from Google Maps
