Under the bottom of the Sea of Azov, according to the Russians, there are huge reserves of water. They are planned to be extracted using the oil extraction method.
The Russian authorities intend to drill wells at the bottom of the Sea of Azov to improve the water supply to Crimea. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin announced this at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meeting transcript published on the Kremlin website.
“Currently, active work is underway to improve the water supply to Crimea. For this, water pipelines are being built, and artesian wells are being drilled. We are already technically ready to launch the Beshterek-Zuysky water pipeline, and by April 15 we plan to open about five additional wells,” Khusnullin said.
He noted that in parallel, work is underway to explore additional sources of water.
“Now we continue to study the possibility of obtaining water from the bottom of the Sea of Azov. We have carried out certain design work and in April we will start drilling the first wells,” Khusnullin said.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation explained that this project is expected to resolve the issue of providing water to most of the peninsula. According to him, there are huge reserves of water under the bottom of the Sea of Azov.
“We are already sure of this, the key question is at what distance from the coast and at what depth. We are now discussing this in great detail with Rosgeologia. We already see for sure that water can be extracted using the oil production method, and there is such world experience. We will try to supply this water to the Crimean Vodokanal, “Khusnullin answered to Putin’s question about the possibilities of the method.
He clarified that “the volume of this water will be clear by July.”
A comprehensive plan to ensure water supply to Crimea and Sevastopol, according to Khusnullin, provides for the implementation of 14 measures worth 48 billion rubles. ($ 651.4 million). The plan also includes the possibility of building desalination stations in case other measures do not provide the required volume of water.
Until 2024, the Russian Federation plans to increase the volume of water supply to the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol almost twice, to 300 thousand m³.
“Despite all the latest statements by Ukraine, they again declare that something will be limited to us, we have no doubt that we will fully provide Crimea and Sevastopol with water,” Khusnullin said.
Ukraine provided through the North Crimean Canal up to 85% of Crimea’s needs for fresh water. After the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in the spring of 2014, Kiev stopped the water supply to the peninsula… In April 2017, the Crimean authorities assured that they managed to completely overcome this problem, but, as experts reported to the publication “Crimea. Realities”, this information is not true. According to media reports, no alternative to the supply of Dnieper water has yet been found in Crimea, except for large-scale pumping of groundwater.
In June 2019, the ex-Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine to the ARC Boris Babin said that invaders offered bribes for the restoration of water supply to Crimea.
In September, the head of the North Crimean Canal, Sergei Shevchenko, said that supplying water from mainland Ukraine to Crimea technically impossible.
Chairman of the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, People’s Deputy from Servant of the People Yuri Aristov told reporters of the Scheme (Radio Svoboda) program, aired on January 30, 2020, that the Ukrainian authorities considered the idea of selling water to Crimea. The representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea Anton Korinevich said in response that Ukraine did not intend to renew water supply to Crimea before the de-occupation of the peninsula.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal said that supply of fresh water from the mainland of Ukraine to the occupied Crimea are possible only in the event of a humanitarian disaster on the peninsula.
At the end of 2020, Aksenov said that desalination of water will be possible at least in a few years, but later admitted that “there is no other way”.
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