Guess Which Country Once Supplied 85% of Crimea’s Freshwater?.
This brief article from the December 2016 issue of the FMSO publication OE Watch was taken from a Ukrainian weekly.
The current lack of fresh water supply in Crimea may be a case in point.
In the accompanying excerpt from a Ukrainian weekly, the author points out that the fresh water supply in Crimea has dropped toward critical levels, and that ifa solution is not found soon, some settlements may be “doomed.” Prior to March 2014, Ukraine provided the bulk of energy and water to Crimea via power grids and the North Crimean Canal [shown in red on the map below], which supplied “85 per cent of Crimea’s fresh water needs.” These sources have since been restricted by the government in Kiev, forcing Russia to ferry supplies into Crimea.
While the construction of a rail/road bridge from Russia to Crimea over the Kerch Strait continues, it will likely not be completed for at least another year.
Indeed, the author refers to “the fairy tale about the bridge,” which will purportedly solve “a number of problems,” yet in reality, will not fully address Crimea’s water and energy shortage.
Plans to generate more energy for Crimea via electric turbines or gas pipelines (which could be used to run a desalinization project) have been hampered by Western sanctions.
The author describes how Russian offcials have attempted in the past to bribe local Ukrainian authorities to channel water into Crimea.
Enjoy!
"The word ‘enough’ does not exist for water, fire, and women."