BALTI, Moldova (AP) 鈥� Tens of thousands of Moldovans have been left without water after a Russian strike on a hydroelectric plant in neighboring Ukraine resulted in oil polluting a major river that flows through both countries.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has blamed Russia for the pollution on the Dniester River following an attack on Ukraine鈥檚 Novodnistrovsk hydropower plant on March 7, saying it鈥檚 鈥渢hreatening Moldova鈥檚 water supply鈥� in the European Union candidate country.
The Ukrainian plant is situated about 15 kilometers (9 miles) upstream from Moldova鈥檚 northern border with Ukraine and supplies water to about 80% of Moldova鈥檚 population of about 2.5 million. Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, such as dams and river ports, since it fully invaded the country in 2022.
鈥淩ussia bears full responsibility,鈥� Sandu said on Sunday in a post on X.
Moldova declares environmental alert
Moldova鈥檚 environment ministry on Sunday declared an environmental state of alert for 15 days, giving the authorities a legal mechanism to boost technical interventions and impose temporary restrictions on water supplies.
鈥淲e are taking this decision to make sure we prevent any risk to the population鈥檚 health,” it said. 鈥淏ecause of the continuous wave of pollution with oil products, the risk of the pollution spreading, and the exceedance of contaminant levels in the northern area of the Dniester River.鈥�
While oil pollutants have been confirmed in the river following the strike, the exact source of the pollutant is not yet clear.
The situation has forced the authorities to cut the water supply to several districts, including Moldova鈥檚 second-largest city of Balti, which has a population of about 90,000 people. As well as humanitarian aid from neighboring Romania, Moldova鈥檚 military stepped in this week to distribute drinking water in the northern city from a 10-tonne tanker.
Water shortage impacts residents
鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard, very hard,鈥� said 84-year-old Balti resident Liuba Istrati, who has been carrying buckets of water up to her apartment. 鈥淲e live on the fifth floor, it鈥檚 just the two of us, old people, my husband is sick in bed.鈥�
The water shortage has also forced some schools to close and move learning online.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a complicated situation, I have to come every day to get water,鈥� said Irina Mutluc, a teacher living in Balti. 鈥淓ven for one person you need quite an amount of water to consume, for the bathroom and so on, so it鈥檚 really complicated.鈥�
The authorities are now racing to clean up pollution and analyze and monitor the river water. Neighboring Romania, which has close relations with Moldova, has dispatched teams and equipment, such as absorbent materials for dams, to aid cleanup efforts.
Tests show improvement in water
鈥淭he latest samples taken show an improvement in the water indicators, which confirms the effectiveness of the filters and barriers for the capture and disposal of pollutants,鈥� the Ministry of Environment said on Wednesday.
The ministry added that the authorities are 鈥渨orking at an accelerated pace鈥� to resume water supplies, 鈥渂ut this decision will be made exclusively on the basis of at least two consecutive sets of analyses, taken on two different days … Protecting the health of citizens remains the absolute priority.鈥�
Moldova鈥檚 environment minister Gheorghe Hajder said Wednesday at a press briefing that for the first time since the crisis began, three critical monitoring points on the river 鈥渞eached the admissible limit鈥� of oil pollution.
He added that if the analyses show the same results or improve in the next 48 hours, authorities will consider reopening a pumping station on the northeastern border with Ukraine, which supplies several districts and Balti.
鈥淚t is clear evidence that upstream oil diversions have been greatly mitigated, and the absorbing dams have had their effect,鈥� he said.
The Dniester River originates in southwestern Ukraine and spans more than 1,300 kilometers (846 miles), continuing downstream through Moldova, back through southern Ukraine and empties into the Black Sea.
鈥淎lthough at some points values may temporarily return within acceptable limits, matter continues to come in waves, making it difficult to accurately anticipate evolution,鈥� the environment ministry said.
Moldova plans criminal case
Moldova鈥檚 General Prosecutor鈥檚 Office said Tuesday that it will open a criminal case to investigate the matter, while Moldova鈥檚 foreign ministry summoned Russia鈥檚 ambassador to Chisinau, Oleg Ozerov, who was presented with a bottle of brownish water.
In an online statement on Wednesday, the Russian embassy in Moldova argued that the Moldovan authorities have not presented any evidence of Russia鈥檚 complicity, aside from 鈥渁 container with an unknown murky liquid, with no markings regarding where and when it was obtained,” and that 鈥渂y definition cannot be proof of anything.鈥�
The statement claimed that Moldovan authorities 鈥減ublicly claim a lack of precise information about the nature of the incident, the type, and the amount of pollutants,鈥� putting forward 鈥渃onflicting theories.鈥�
Ilya Trombitsky, a biologist at Eco-TIRAS, an umbrella of nongovernmental organizations in Moldova and Ukraine, says that while it鈥檚 difficult yet to determine the short or long-term consequences of the pollution, the fact that 鈥渟everal cities are without water is an evident social damage.鈥�
鈥淚t depends on the nature of the pollutant 鈥� we still do not know either the source or the substance of pollution,鈥� he told The Associated Press. 鈥淚t is evident that it is not healthy for birds, wetland birds. It is evident that some invertebrates were killed, especially upstream 鈥� crustaceans, but small ones, (which) can be food for fish.鈥�
鈥淢oldova does not have experience in such spills,” he added.
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McGrath reported from Leamington Spa, England.
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