As of Thursday, April 25, 23 out of 24 hydraulic units were in operation at the Saratov hydroelectric station, and 45 deep spillways were used.
“The flood is gaining strength,” the press service of the enterprise notes. — Water discharges into the downstream are approaching the maximum predicted, [на четверг] the volume is 25.3 thousand cubic meters per second. At the same time, the water level above the dam is maintained within the values established by Rosvodresursy – 28.08 meters, and below the dam the water level has risen to 20.2 meters.”
SarGES added that the downstream Volzhskaya HPP (in its area of responsibility is the situation in the Volgograd reservoir, where Volsk, Saratov and Engels are located), at the direction of Rosvodresursov, operates in maximum water discharge mode for a special spring release of water into the lower reaches of the Volga.
“The peak of the flood with maximum water discharges (up to 27 thousand cubic meters per second) at the Saratov hydroelectric station is still expected on April 28. No emergency situations are expected,” station employees emphasize.
Recently, the governor of the Saratov region, Roman Busargin, addressed the head of the Federal Water Resources Agency, Dmitry Kirillov, urging him to take measures to increase the level of the Volga in the region in the spring and summer.
- Since September 2023, residents of the region began to report a sharp decrease in the water level in the Volga – the quay wall on the embankment in Saratov became exposed, and a barge and an icebreaker that sank many years ago became visible from the shore.
- Experts attributed the shallowing to the release of water from the Volga-Kama Canal following requests from other regions. The Saratov Regional Duma sent an appeal to Rosvodresursy to raise the level of the Volga in the region.
- State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin proposed calling federal officials to the lower house of parliament to report on the topic of river shallowing, and then called on the General and Environmental Prosecutor’s Offices to respond to the situation.
- At the end of October, Rosvodresursy changed the spillway for the region.
