The North Crimean Canal
The Dnieper (or “Dnipro”) River has supplied water from mainland Ukraine to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal. The canal is fed by the Kakhovka Dam, located on the Dnieper:
Before 2014, supplies from the North Crimean Canal made up around 85% of Crimea’s water consumption.
Disruption to water supplies:
After the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Ukraine cut off supplies from the North Crimean Canal.
Russia made efforts to restore the supply of water along the canal once it had begun the attack of February 2022. However, in June 2023, the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed by an explosion. Surrounding areas incurred severe flooding; entire villages were overrun with water:

As a result, “the mouth of the canal quickly dried up”.
Crimea has been left reliant on its internal water resources:
Crimea’s own water resources are relatively modest… we estimate the total guaranteed flow of rivers in Crimea as 371 million cubic meters a year, which is a very conservative estimate for conditions of extreme drought.
A total of 23 reservoirs have been built in Crimea – a centralized water source to supply the needs of the population and agriculture. Of these, eight reservoirs were filled using water from the North Crimean Canal (up to 145 million cubic meters in total), while surface runoff from the peninsula’s mountain rivers accounted for the other 15 (up to 245 million cubic meters in total).
The current picture of water in Crimea
While Crimea presently has water, supplies are threatened due to dry weather. Russian infrastructure problems have also caused severe shortages. Accidents and malfunctions have left areas temporarily without water.
Water supply from the Dnieper to the peninsula must be restored for the normal functioning of the Crimean economy.
Lack of water is causing issues for farmers in Southern Ukraine, too. Networks of other canals fed by the Kakhovka Dam have steadily been drying up.
Repairing the Kakhovka Dam
Estimated cost of repairs is around $1 billion:
Building a new dam and hydroelectric station will take at least five years and require at least $1 billion, the head of Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota, said on June 7. - Kyiv Independent, June 8, 2023.
Ukraine has made pledges to rebuild the dam, but plans have evidently been slowed by the ongoing conflict.
Key objectives:
- Repair the Kakhovka Dam.
- It is in both Russia’s and Ukraine’s interests to split the rebuilding costs 50/50.
Ukraine to guarantee unhindered, uninterrupted supply of water to the Republic of Crimea.