Water rationing starts in coming days in Crimea

Water rationing starts in coming days in Crimea, Volodymyr Bazhenov, CEO of Voda Kryma, tells Krymskaya Gazeta. Noting “wild evaporation of water” in all Crimean surface reservoirs, he blames the situation on the drought and on Ukraine’s closing of the North Crimean Canal. Hailed as one of the Great Construction Projects of Communism, the canal was built in the 1960s by Komsomol ‘volunteers.’ After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Ukraine cut off Dnipro River water flows, alleging unpaid water bills by Crimea. Lack of water is hurting vegetable growing, livestock raising and winemaking. Shallow lakes and lagoons are turning into salt pans.