Gheorghe Hajder: Reducing Dniester’s flow to 30 cubic meters per second would mean natural disaster

Reducing the Dniester River’s flow to just 30 cubic meters per second would turn the river into a “small stream,” shut down most water intake stations, and could trigger a natural and ecological disaster, Environment Minister Gheorghe Hajder told a TV show.

The minister said that following a visit to the Novodnestrovsk reservoir together with specialists from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, it was confirmed that the situation is critical.

“Reservoir reserves are already decreasing, they are at a critical threshold, and we are four meters below the level recorded in the same period last year. There is a risk of prolonged drought, and if we do not carefully manage the discharges, we could end up with only 30 cubic meters per second flowing in the Dniester,” Hajder said.

According to the minister, in order to conserve water reserves, the Dniester Commission decided to reduce the flow discharged from the reservoir from 100 to 85 cubic meters per second.

“We decided to limit the discharge from 100 to 85 cubic meters per second precisely to extend the reservoir’s lifetime and to gain time until possible rains in the Dniester basin,” the official explained.

Hajder specified that Ukraine initially requested a reduction of the flow to 70 cubic meters per second, but the Republic of Moldova insisted on a gradual decrease.

“We were against that. We requested additional time and a slow reduction of the flow so we could see how the Dniester behaves and have time to adapt the intake stations,” the minister said.

The official reiterated that warnings about the risk of a water crisis were based on technical data and that the authorities should have acted earlier.

“I stated very clearly that we must prepare so that we do not end up in a situation where the water supply is interrupted. Precious time was lost, and measures began to be taken only when the crisis became evident,” Gheorghe Hajder declared.

The minister warned that a reduction of the flow to 30 cubic meters per second would have serious consequences.

“That would mean we’d have a small stream instead of the Dniester. It would be something very tragic and a natural disaster. Most intake and pumping stations for irrigation would no longer function,” he said.

Referring to the information circulated in the public space regarding water reserves, Hajder stated that it does not reflect the real situation.

“The usable volume that can be discharged is about 900 million cubic meters. Today, about 30 cubic meters per second flow into the reservoir and we are releasing 85. The reservoir is on a downward trend, and we cannot allow the flow to drop to 30 cubic meters per second, because that would be a disaster not only for people, but also for the environment,” the minister said.

He added that Moldovan and Ukrainian authorities will continuously analyze the evolution of the hydrological situation and will adjust discharges according to rainfall and the level of water reserves.

On July 28, the Republic of Moldova introduced a hydrological alert for a period of 30 days, after a significant reduction in water resources in the Dniester basin. Following a visit to the Novodnestrovsk reservoir, the environment minister announced that the water level had dropped to 112.9 meters, more than four meters below the level recorded in the same period last year. The authorities are constantly monitoring the situation and urging the population to save water.