Water level in Kakhovka reservoir drops below “dead point”

The level of water in the Kakhovka reservoir is 12.5 meters as of the evening of Thursday, which is lower than the so-called "dead" point of 12.7 meters, below which water pumping is impossible.

Ihor Syrota, head of the Ukrhydroenergo facility, makes the relevant statement. 

The water level is already 12.5 meters. This is lower than the "dead" point of 12.7 meters, below which we cannot pump water for the settlements and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, he said. 

The drop in water level is likely to stop at approximately 3 meters, he noted.

If the dam in the lower part is destroyed to the very foundation, the depth of the reservoir will be no more than 3 meters, and it will decrease in width from 3.5 kilometers, as it was before the explosion, to 1-1.2 kilometers, that is, it will return to the Dnipro bed as it was before the construction of the reservoir itself, Syrota said.

The reservoir is dropping by 1 meter per day, and then its decline will continue for another 7-8 days, he said.

The official noted that half of the power plant is already completely covered with water, and the second half is 70% sunk. The earth inserts between the airlock and the power plant are also already under water and are subject to washing out.