The impact of full-scale armed conflict on water bodies as water supply sources

Abstract

Water resources are the basic component of sustainable development of the country. Water resources are unevenly distributed across the territory of Ukraine, most settlements and enterprises located in the northern, eastern and southern regions use surface water for water supply. The armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine directly and indirectly affects the state of water bodies, as well as the provision of basic human needs - clean drinking water. With the beginning of conflict on the territory of Ukraine in 2014, water resources regularly suffer from russian terrorist actions. The aggressor uses water resources as natural obstacles, uses the destructive effect of water to kill Ukrainians and cause maximum damage to Ukrainian economy. Also, the destruction of the water treatment and water supply system is used by russian troops as a means of pressure creating water scarcity and terrible sanitary conditions in populated areas. The impact on water resources during armed conflicts in different parts of the world have common features and significant features depending on the level of the conflict and the technology of the water supply system itself. First of all, the impact of armed conflicts on water resources is direct and indirect. The direct impact on water resources as water sources is the direct destruction of water reservoirs, water intake structures and water pipes, contamination of water bodies with the remains of sunken military equipment, mines and chemicals released into the water during the decomposition of weapons. Indirect impact on water sources is in some cases more threatening than direct. The destruction of containers with oil products, chemical substances, fertilizers, which with rainwater or directly fall into water bodies, has much greater damage than the direct impact of sunk military equipment. Forest and meadows fires and other surface cover damages lead to the reduction of the lag time to the river on the catchment area, floods increasing, flooding of larger areas, increasing amount of litter, chemical pollution, and plastics in the rivers. In most of the military conflicts described in the literature, a significant deterioration of water quality in rivers is noted, associated with the discharge of both domestic and industrial wastewater. There is the destruction of wastewater treatment plants, the inability to deliver chemicals for treatment, the inability to control unauthorized discharges of wastewater leads to the contamination of the surface water sources. The report analyses the results of surface water quality researches which officially published by the Water Resources Agency of Ukraine and other governmental and scientific organizations. Monitoring of the surface water quality is carried out on the controlled part of the Ukraine, it is not yet possible to assess the consequences of armed conflict and russian activities on the captured territories.