How the Black Sea coast is cleaned after disaster at the Kakhovka Reservoir

What is the problem?

The consequences of the Russian army's detonation of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant continue to emerge. On the Black Sea coast, terrible evidence of a terrorist attack is still ashore. For example, recently, EcoRubric wrote about a deer corpse washed up on one of the beaches.

The water near the banks is covered with branches, garbage, plants — everything that the water released from the reservoir washed away on its way.

Household appliances, sofas, and gas cylinders are thrown ashore.

In addition, mines, which have already been found on the coast, are a danger — they may end up in piles of garbage on any beach. Another danger on the beaches is bacterial contamination of the water. As reported in Operational Command South in the Odesa region, two anchor river mines were washed away by a stream to the sea coast. One of the mines was discovered by a resident of a coastal village. The ammunition was at the edge of the water. The man brought the mine to his yard, mistaking it for a gas cylinder. A military unit discovered another mine during coastal surveillance. They found it at a distance of almost 100 kilometers from the previous one. 

Since washing away everything in its path, the water from the reservoir passed through sewers, basements, cesspools, and other communications and eventually got into the sea. The epidemiological situation worsened significantly — desalinated water combined with heat led to a sharp increase in pathogenic microorganisms. Rubryka explained possible consequences in one of the first materials about the effects of blowing up the hydroelectric power station, and now the worst predictions have been confirmed.

The Odesa Regional State Administration has already reported salmonella and intestinal infections in the Black Sea. Fish caught in the sea is also dangerous: on June 10-11, more than 200 kg of fish that did not meet the requirements of the law were not allowed into circulation. At the same time, according to the representative of the regional eco-inspection, Mykola Slizovskyi, a sharp drop in sea salinity and an excess of iron in the water continues to this day, but the situation has begun to stabilize.

What is the solution?

Odesa Regional Military Administration has temporarily banned visiting beaches, using water, fishing, and swimming in the waters of the Black Sea, the rivers Inhul, Inhulets, Southern Bug, and Bug estuary. The situation is under control, but there is a mine danger and the threat of infectious diseases.

Lanzheron Beach in Odesa is now littered with a pile of garbage. Behind is a tractor driven by communal services that have already received permission to clean the beach area. Photo: Serhii Smolentsev

According to Pavel Bulanovych, director of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Odesa Regional State Administration, disregarding these prohibitions can lead to a serious epidemiological situation, which will be extremely difficult to deal with. Referring to the conclusions of scientists from the professional institute, he said: "I have a compelling request: do not eat seafood, fish, and mussels. This puts everyone at risk, leading to a chain reaction that can be difficult to deal with," Bulanovych continues. "I warn against visiting the coast, let alone swimming. Many explosive devices have already been and will be brought to us. Today, animal corpses are found in the water; in the last three days, there have already been three cases — deer and roe deer were found. I warn and urge you to take all measures to protect your health and that of your loved ones."

In the prevention of intestinal infections, there are very simple steps:

• observing the rules of personal hygiene, such as washing hands with soap before eating, after returning from the street, and visiting the toilet;
• if there is no access to water, treat hands with antiseptic agents;
• consumption of food purchased only from a verified manufacturer and in compliance with the rules for the sale of food products;
• before eating vegetables and fruits, wash them with boiled water;
• drink only boiled (within 3-4 minutes) water;
• do not leave cooked food without a refrigerator and cover it from flies;
• do not drink unboiled milk, and do not eat raw eggs;
• do not swim in polluted water bodies;
• limit contact with patients who have signs of intestinal infection.

It will not be possible to assess the pollution level until the water recedes from the areas flooded after the Russians blew up the Kakhovka HPP. This was stated by the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Lyashko, in an interview with BBC News Ukraine, published on June 15.

"Now the water is just starting to recede from the flooded areas. We'll see how long the water recedes and the consequences. We don't see what's under the water right now. We're just simulating the situation — what died out there," he said, answering the question whether you can swim in the Black Sea this season.

According to Lyashko, only when the water returns to the river will it be seen how quickly it gets cleaned. It depends on the degree of destruction of the dam and on how the water will leave the estuary.

The accumulation of garbage from the coast must be cleaned. This process will be started, but after the official permission of the State Emergency Service, Bulanovych said about this during the press conference.

Trash removal from the coastal zone is possible only after obtaining permission from the State Emergency Service and the military. "Only after all the work is done and there is a conclusion from the explosives service," he noted.

So far, the ban applies to volunteers and those who care about the cleanliness of the environment. However, some Odesa beaches have already started to be cleaned.

The mayor of Odesa, Gennadiy Trukhanov, on the air of the KYIV24 channel, also called on the citizens not to clean the beaches on their own, but in the same air, in the background of the speaking mayor, on Langheron beach, people are seen doing this. Instead, the mayor explains: the beaches are cleaned by workers of communal services who have already received the appropriate permission from the military. The first cleanings began on June 14, and the fruitful results are already there.

Employees of the Chornomorskyi housing complex are cleaning of one of Odesa's beaches

"We clean the beach area in particular. Municipal enterprises and private companies operating along the coast are involved," Deputy Director of the Department of Urban Economy Vitaly Tsurkan also noted.

As a result of the cleanup, as many as six dump trucks of garbage — approximately 60 cubic meters — were removed from Langeron alone. The beach was cleared, among other things, of a rusty barrel and a large piece of wooden fence.

The sea washes a lot of garbage ashore. Photo: Serhii Smolentsev

"For the next two weeks, we plan to clean all Odesa beaches from Lanzheron to the 16th station of the Great Fountain. We have several cleaning crews working simultaneously in different places," added Tsurkan.

Garbage is immediately collected separately: containers for the collection of construction and large-sized waste have been installed on the beaches. There are 13 of them in total.

However, this is definitely not the last cleaning because many unrecognizable objects are still in the sea, which will soon be brought to the shore. On the floating islands, the corpses of animals, as well as live snakes and frogs, are nailed to the beaches.

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