Cholera and e. coli discovered in water supplies after Kakhovka Dam destruction
Cholera and e. coli have been found in water supplies in southern Ukraine following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Kherson Oblast, Oleh Pavlenko, the head of Ukraine’s State Environmental Inspection agency, said on June 13.
“There is no major pollution, but there are already some cases of detection of cholera and Escherichia coli in terms of sanitation,” he said.
The agency is carrying out constant monitoring of the southern district, as well as collecting daily water samples for analysis, Pavlenko noted.
“Currently, the first threat is water pollution, which occurred due to those fuel and lubricant materials and nuclear chemicals that got into the water, and all this went into the Black Sea,” he said.
When asked how long it will be impossible to use water in wells, Pavlenko said that it will be necessary to clean the wells before using them after the water level drops. However, the difficulty lies in salinity conditions and heavy soils.
The areas affected by the Russian destruction of the Kakhovka Dam are subject to intensified epidemiological surveillance, Ukraine’s Health Ministry reported on June 9.
The ministry pointed out that flooded areas might face diseases associated with limited access to clean water, including cholera.
The Kakhovka Dam: what is known about the explosion
On the night of Tuesday, June 6, Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka Dam, which has been occupied for over a year. Cities and villages downstream of the dam on the Dnipro River were completely or partially flooded.
Ukrainian hydropower operator Ukrhydroenergo reported that the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was completely destroyed and cannot be repaired. Ukraine’s Southern Command clarified that while the entire dam was not destroyed, there is significant damage.
At an urgent meeting of the National Security Council, President Zelenskyy gave the order to carry out evacuation from at-risk areas and to provide drinking water to all cities and villages that received water from the Kakhovka Reservoir.
Evacuation from the right bank of the Kherson region continued through the night, while on the Russian-occupied left bank, which was more heavily affected by the flooding, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding.
The Economy Ministry has stated that the construction of a new hydroelectric power plant may require about $1 billion and at least five years.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has opened an investigation into the disaster as an act of ecocide, and Ukraine has appealed to the International Criminal Court to ensure justice.
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