The Dnipro – Donbas Canal (), also known as Dnieper – Donbass Canal () is a
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
in
Eastern Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...
, connecting the
Siverskyi Donets with the
Dnipro River. The canal is mainly to improve the area's depleted
water supplies, and is one of the largest canals in the
Dnipro basin.
History
Throughout the 20th century,
Soviet industrialization depleted the freshwater supplies in eastern Ukraine.
With the construction of
Siverskyi Donets – Donbas Canal in the 1950s, the main source in
Siverskyi Donets became further depleted.
Construction of a new canal between the
Dnipro
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
and the
Donbas
The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...
region began in 1969, and was originally planned on two stages: the first from the
Dnipro river to near
Izium
Izium or Izyum (, ; ) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine that serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion and Izium urban hromada. It is about southeast of the city of Kharkiv, the oblast's administrative cen ...
, and the second towards the city of
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
. The first section opened in 1981, but construction of the second section (which would have added a further , taking the canal onwards from the Krasnopavlivka Reservoir to the Karlivka Reservoir near the city of
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
) was suspended, and that section never opened.
Characteristics
The canal begins from the
Dnipro river in
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in simultaneously southern, eastern and central Ukraine, the most important industrial region of the country. It was created on February 27, 1932. Dnipropetro ...
, and at the moment ends at the
Siverskyi Donets in
Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in eastern Ukraine.
Kharkiv borders Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the southeast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the southwest, Poltava Oblast to the w ...
, for a total length of .
See also
*
North Crimean Canal
The North Crimean Canal, formerly known as the North Crimean Canal of the Lenin's Komsomol of Ukraine in Soviet times, is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula. The c ...
*
Siverskyi Donets – Donbas Canal
References
{{Reflist
Canals in Ukraine
Dnipro
Donets
Canals opened in 1981