VIENNA, June 7. /TASS/. The water level in the reservoir that is supplying the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been declining throughout the day on Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Director-General Rafael Grossi has said.
In his words, water level in the reservoir declined by 83 centimeters between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time, reaching 15.44 meters. When the level goes below 12.7 meters, the ZNPP will no longer be able to pump water from the reservoir to replenish the reserves at the site.
"As the full extent of the damage to the dam is not yet known and the water loss rate is fluctuating, it is not possible to predict exactly when this might happen. If the current rate were to continue, however, this level could be reached in the next couple of days," Grossi said in a statement on Tuesday.
At the same time, he added that the station had alternative sources of water, including a cooling pond that has enough water for a few months.
A spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS on Tuesday there was enough water in ZNPP reservoirs used to cool its reactors. The situation is under control, he said.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka HPP in the early morning hours on Tuesday, presumably using missiles fired from an Olkha multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). The gate valves of the plant’s dam collapsed as a result of the shelling, causing water to pour out uncontrollably.
As of now, the water level in Novaya Kakhovka has risen to above 12 meters. Fourteen settlements have been flooded and up to 80 are at risk of being inundated. People are being evacuated from neighboring settlements. However, according to local authorities, large-scale evacuations are not necessary. Farmlands along the Dnieper have been washed away. There is a risk of the drying out of the North Crimean Canal, which feeds water to Crimea.