The Ukrainian Dam Collapse Is an Ecological Disaster

The news from Ukraine tends to focus on the current status of the war and the immediate flooding effects of the dam collapse. But there's a growing consensus that the dam collapse is an ecological disaster that will have effects for generations and will extend well past Ukraine itself.

From Scientific American:

It’s too early for a thorough assessment, of course. But take the issue of flooding for agriculture and for soils in general. Some places in the region grow rice, for example, with very heavy use of pesticides. The region also has a big problem with groundwater salinization because of intensive irrigation over the years. So those pesticides, salt and huge amounts of oil that entered the Dnipro River from the disaster are mixing with the clean water from the reservoir, blending into a toxic broth that is washing over everything. Our government estimates that up to 500 tons of oil could end up in the river. This is one of the big concerns we have, and it will have consequences for nature, for agriculture and for people’s drinking water. And on top of that, the destructive power of the floods is threatening some important protected areas.

From Wired:

 Alongside wildlife in the Ukrainian part of the steppe live farmers, many of whom grow grain. The Ukrainian Agrarian Council estimates that the Kakhovka disaster could lead to a 14 percent drop in Ukraine’s grain exports. The country is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of wheat—meaning there will be serious knock-on effects for countries that rely on imports. Farmers in the area also produce cherries, plums, apples, tomatoes, eggplants, and other crops, says Susanne Wengle, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. “These orchards have been growing for generations. It’s very unclear how they can recover,” she says. Hook adds that even once the flood waters recede, there could be significant but less obvious damage to tree roots underground that could blight vegetation in the coming months. Flood water can sometimes carry sediments to tree roots and block oxygen.

For communities that depended on the Kakhovka Reservoir for drinking water and the irrigation of farmland, it will be difficult if not impossible to replace this water resource, says Volodymyr Starodubtsev of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, via email.