«The water will be cleared in 2-3 weeks» — Deputy Head of the State Water Agency on the Seim and Desna

On September 12, the Seim River was once again polluted with organic matter, which has now reached the Desna River. However, as it moves downstream, the water quality is improving. It is expected to be cleared in 2-3 weeks.

Ihor Hopchak, deputy head of the State Agency for Water Resources, shared this information with Hromadske Radio.

Hopchak stated that the water quality in the Seim and Desna rivers had previously stabilized. However, on September 12, the Seim experienced another pollution event that has now impacted the Desna.

Currently, the highest concentrations of chemical oxygen consumption are found along a one-hundred-kilometer stretch of the Seim. The area stretches  from the village of Mutyn in Sumy Region to the village of Dolynske in Chernihiv Region. Over time, the organic pollutants are being diluted and oxidized, leading to a decrease in pollution levels. At the same time, they have not yet returned to normal.

“We conduct daily monitoring. Based on the results of measuring priority pollutants from samples of the Seim and Desna rivers, we found no exceedances of environmental quality standards for pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals. There is a slight exceedance of nickel in Baturyn, but it is only one-tenth of the maximum allowable level. This may be attributed to a natural phenomenon», — said the deputy head of the State Water Agency.

Hopchak noted that the level of re-contamination is not as significant as it was during the last incident. The movement of river flows is occurring at a rate of 20-30 kilometers per day, which is the speed at which clean water flows.

“If we take the length of the Seim River (approximately 250 kilometers) and add 360 kilometers of the Desna River, we can expect that in about 2-3 weeks, the clean water will completely wash away the pollutants, and the riverbeds will be restored», — explained Hopchak.

The expert also mentioned that even during the previous, more severe pollution event, contaminants did not reach the water intake stations in Kyiv and Brovary. This was due to the Desna being wider and deeper closer to its confluence with the Dnipro, which enhances its self-purification capacity. The river’s natural purification process was further supported by seven aeration plants.

Pollution of the Seim and Desna Rivers

As a reminder, on September 17, the Seim River experienced another pollution incident in Sumy Region. This lead to a deterioration in water quality at the upper monitoring points up to the village of Mutyn.

Another pollution event was recorded on September 24 in the town of Baturin, where chemical oxygen consumption exceeded acceptable levels by 2.2 times. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine reported that no exceedances were found for ammonium nitrogen, nitrites, phosphates, or chlorides.

At the same time, measurements of water samples in the Desna River indicate that water quality has improved at all locations. Additionally, no movement of pollutants has been recorded in the Kyiv region. The water quality of the Desna River at the water intake points in Kyiv and Brovary remains within normal limits, according to the Ministry of Environment.