Overview
- The Dniester Commission agreed on August 11 to reduce discharge from the Novodnistrovske reservoir to 75 m³/s after successive cuts earlier in August to conserve rapidly shrinking water stores.
- Natural inflow has plunged to record lows, with the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center reporting just 42 m³/s on August 7, the lowest since the reservoir was built in 1985.
- About 80% of Moldova’s population depends on the Dniester for drinking water and the intake serving Chișinău is operating at a minimally acceptable level, raising the prospect of stricter local rationing or limits on irrigation and industry.
- Fueling transboundary tensions, Ukrainian officials warned the Novodnistrovska hydroelectric plant could be stopped if the reservoir drops below 112 metres — a threshold that Moldova disputes — while the Dniester Commission agreed to continuous monitoring and to reconvene if conditions worsen.
- States along the wider river system are using emergency engineering fixes — forced refilling of Odesa’s Catlabuh reservoir, planned pump upgrades and solarization, Hungary’s construction of a Danube bottom sill starting August 13, and Romania’s controlled shutdown of Cernavodă — measures that buy time but leave a need for long-term water allocation, pumping modernization, and energy backup plans.