Study of the influence of war on hydrochemical indicators surface waters of the Dnipro river within the boundaries of the city of Zaporizhya and Zaporizhya district
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26565/2410-7360-2026-64-27Keywords:
surface waters, environmental assessment, anthropogenic load, water pollution, war impact, hydrochemical parameters, anthropogenic influence, military influence, Dnipro River, quality of surface watersAbstract
Introduction. The Dnipro River is one of the largest river systems in Europe and a key source of surface water in Ukraine, which ensures the functioning of industrial, communal and agricultural water management complexes. Within Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia District, the river system is subject to the cumulative impact of many years of anthropogenic load caused by the high concentration of the metallurgical, energy, and chemical industries, as well as significant flow regulation due to the functioning of the cascade of Dnipro reservoirs. This forms a complex multicomponent hydrochemical regime with pronounced spatio-temporal heterogeneity of water quality indicators. At the same time, since 2022, the functioning of the Dnipro basin has been affected by an additional extreme factor - military actions, which significantly changed the structure and intensity of anthropogenic impacts on water ecosystems.
The purpose of article. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive assessment of the modern hydrochemical state of the surface waters of the Dnipro River within the city of Zaporizhzhia and the Zaporizhzhia district under conditions of increased anthropogenic and military influence, as well as the identification of the main patterns of spatio-temporal variability of key hydrochemical indicators.
Research methods. Methods of comparison, computer-based statistical data processing using correlation analysis of the results, as well as modeling and forecasting using regression analysis, were applied. Research results. In order to achieve the stated aim of the study, we selected two monitoring points for the surface waters of the Dnipro River within the city of Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia District. The analysis was based on data from the Water Monitoring Laboratory of the Basin Water Resources Management of the Azov Rivers and covered the period from 2015 to 2026.
Conclusions. The paper presents the results of a comprehensive environmental assessment of the quality of surface waters of the Dnipro River within the city of Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia district. The analysis of hydrochemical parameters at the monitoring stations DVS-1 and the village of Bilenke for 2015–2026 indicates a generally relatively stable state of the aquatic environment, with a transition to an unstable regime after 2022 and especially in 2024–2025.It is shown that at DVS-1 there is an increase in chemical oxygen demand (COD) without a corresponding rise in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), as well as an increase in suspended solids and mineral components (sulfates and chlorides). This indicates the input of hardly oxidizable and technogenic pollutants as a result of shelling of the city. In the village of Bilenke, while a stable oxygen regime is maintained, a sharp increase in suspended solids, mainly of mineral origin, is recorded, as well as pulsed changes in biogenic elements due to intense upstream pollution (DVS-1). The identified features are interpreted as a consequence of wartime impact, manifested through short-term intensive inputs of combustion and destruction products due to increased shelling intensity in Zaporizhzhia in 2025–2026, changes in the hydrological regime, and suppression of natural biogeochemical processes.
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