[REVISION HISTORY]

Moldova water and energy crisis: reservoir depletion

38 recorded revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-19 08:44 UTC → 2026-10-27 15:01 UTC · added ~~removed~~

By mid-October 2026, the hydrological crisis in Moldova remained critical. A Post-Disaster Needs Assessment report released on October 16 estimated that petroleum pollution in the Nistru river, caused by a Russian attack on the Novodnestrovsk hydroelectric plant in the spring of 2026, resulted in €2.33 million in losses for Moldova. The pollution affected approximately 200,000 people, leading to the preventive suspension of water intake at Cosăuți and forcing schools in Bălți to transition to online learning. Of the total losses, €1.18 million was attributed to disaster risk reduction, while other costs were linked to the environment, water, sanitation, and health sectors. Following an agreement on October 14 for Ukraine to increase water discharge from the Novodnestrovsk complex by 20%, recent rainfall has begun to impact reservoir levels. By October 19, water levels in the Dubasari reservoir rose by 8 centimetres to 28.10 metres, and the Novodnestrovsk reservoir saw a 3-centimetre increase to 110.96 metres. In Bălți, Mayor Alexandr Petkov reported that the water level near the Cosăuți intake station rose to 2.38 metres. Despite these slight increases, environmental expert Ilia Trombitchi warned that upcoming precipitation forecasts for the upper Dniester basin may be insufficient for a significant recovery, though he does not expect a deterioration in the water supply situation over the next month. ~~Local authorities in Bălți continue to rehabilitate artesian wells~~ At the COP17 biodiversity conference, Environment Minister Gheorghe Hajder emphasized that addressing the river's pollution and declining levels requires international investment and initiatives like the RE-MAP project to ~~secure additional water sources.~~ restore wetlands.

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