Ecology: Biology of Interactions. 6.08. Water Availability and Soils in Ukraine
On average, the planet has about 11,000 cubic meters of river water per person per year. Most of Ukraine belongs to regions with limited water resources (less than 1,000 cubic meters per person per year), including Crimea, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Language (latest version) / Russian Language (update stopped)
6.07. The Problem of Energy Supply
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interaction Chapter 6. Human Ecology and Conservation
6.09. Global Warming
6.08. Water Availability and Soils in Ukraine On average, about 11,000 m3 of river water per person per year is available on the planet. Most of Ukraine belongs to regions with limited water resources (less than 1,000 m3 per person per year), including Crimea, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine. Sufficient availability (1-2,000 m3 per person per year) is found in Western Ukraine and Poltava Oblast, while excess availability occurs in part of Western Ukraine and in Sumy Oblast. Seventy percent of river runoff falls in northwestern Ukraine, where 40% of the population lives. From one quarter to one third of Ukraine's small rivers have disappeared. There is a close link between soil degradation and disruption of the water cycle. Destruction of soil structure reduces infiltration and groundwater recharge. Increased surface runoff intensifies soil erosion, and groundwater exploitation aggravates this process. From 1980 to 1990, Ukraine lost 463 thousand hectares of agricultural land; currently, according to some estimates, up to 200 thousand hectares are lost annually. Over 20 years, humus content in soils declined by 20%. One third of arable land is affected by water erosion. The 1995 disaster in Kharkiv may serve as an example of the danger of surface runoff from large territories. A heavy rainstorm that hit the city was routed into urban drainage systems and entered the treatment plant. Excess inflow caused destruction of treatment facilities and release of their contents (including municipal sewage waste). During prolonged repairs (which, among other things, required divers to descend into liquid with high fecal content), water supply through city pipelines had to be almost completely stopped in order to minimize wastewater inflow to treatment facilities.
6.07. The Problem of Energy Supply
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interaction Chapter 6. Human Ecology and Conservation
6.09. Global Warming