Enhancing the Efficacy of Meliorative Systems in Southern Ukraine during Post-War Reconstruction

The conflict in southern Ukraine, coupled with the environmental catastrophe precipitated by the detonation of the Kakhovskaya Hydroelectric Power Plant dam, has considerably jeopardized the nation’s food security. There is an urgent necessity to replenish the principal irrigation canals across the liberated territories. The primary conduits of these systems are subject to substantial filtration losses, resulting in widespread inundation by groundwater in numerous regional zones. Concurrently, an intensifying deficit of water resources is anticipated in the forthcoming period. Given these circumstances, the drainage outflow from irrigated fields presents a viable alternative water source for irrigation and other economic activities, post-requisite water treatment. This study aims to provide a theoretical framework for the methodology and computation of filtration losses from the principal canals, as well as to evaluate the potential for drainage water capture by canal drainage systems for their subsequent efficient utilization. The quantification of filtration losses, exemplified by the operation of the Ingulets irrigation system along the main canal, was executed via numerical and analytical methodologies. This facilitated the strategic conservation of the region’s water resources. The findings of this inquiry offer a suite of recommendations for the post-conflict reconstruction of irrigation systems. These include applying local natural and advanced anti-filtration materials for canal lining, underpinned by scientifically validated design and technological principles. The proposed measures aim to significantly ameliorate the ecological conditions of the affected area and curtail unproductive water loss amid the prevailing scarcity of water resources for the community’s consumption.