Keywords: water-salt regime, technogenic impact, river flow rate, underground runoff, anion content

The need to supply consumers with adequate quality water in the south of the Dnipropetrovsk region and water for irrigation in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions requires thorough studying the features of the water-salt regime of the technogenically mostly loaded section of the Inhulets River, which is the purpose of this paper. Unlike previous studies of this section of the Inhulets River, which dealt primarily with average concentrations in river water and long-term trends, an analysis of state water monitoring data was conducted with a frequency of once every 1–3 months, involving data on daily water flows in two sections for 6 years along with results from satellite surveying, the state hydrochemical monitoring data were analyzed to study the water-salt regime of the Inhulets River within the section of approximately 70 km length, situated between the Karachunivske dam reservoir and the village of Andriyivka. 22 short periods in 2014–2019 were examined in detail, during which the flow rate of the Inhulets River, discharges from the Saksahanske reservoir, and the anion contents in water in the upper and lower reaches of the river section were measured. Statistical analysis with water-salt balance equations assessed the technogenic and natural factors influencing the discharge of the Inhulets River and the increase in its water salinity. It was found that the anion content in river water after passing through the studied section during periods without extensive mine-water discharges increases by almost 1.5 times. This gives a quantitative assessment of the technogenic impact on the hydrogeochemical regime in the considered part of the Inhulets River valley. The share of chlorides in river water increases after passing through this area, on average, from 20–22% to 38% during periods without mine water discharges and 68% during periods with discharges from the mine water storage pond. The practical significance of the results is determined by the quantitative assessment of water losses and changes in water quality when using this section of the Inhulets Riverbed to transport fresh water to the southern areas of the Dnipropetrovsk region, where water supplies were disrupted following the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam.

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