GENICHESK, May 5. /TASS/. Water levels of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper River will start subsiding next week, said Vladimir Leontyev, the mayor of the city of Novaya Kakhovka near the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

"It is just a matter of time, water should subside in a few days. If the HPP had not been subjected to constant shelling attacks, if the dam’s shutters had not been damaged, we could have had a chance to regulate water levels of the Kakhovka Reservoir in a more effective and timely manner," Leontyev said on Thursday.

The official added that he saw no threat of flooding at populated areas of the Kherson Region.

Earlier, media reported that waters of the Kakhovka Reservoir rose by 17 meters, which is above normal levels.