Inflow to Zaporizhzhia NPP cooling pond shallows due to Kakhovka HPP explosion. censor.net 12.06.23 22:29 Photo Censor.NET Incidents Satellite images show shallowing of a tributary to the Zaporizhzhya NPP cooling pond. This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the Schemes. Planet Labs satellite imagery from 9 June shows that the tributary to the pond that cools the ZNPP is significantly shallower and no water is flowing into it. This happened as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station by the Russian military on 6 June, which caused the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir to constantly decrease, which in turn caused the shallowing of the tributary. According to Energoatom, the water level in the reservoir has already dropped to 9 metres, but there is still enough water in the ZNPP pond. As the state-owned enterprise explains, almost all but one of the plant's power units have been put into a "cold shutdown" state. "The situation for ZNPP is certainly unpleasant, but the cooling pond is over 16 metres high and the water has not fallen since the dam was blown up. The pond itself, like all nuclear power plants, was designed with nuclear war in mind, so the structure is strong. In its current state of cold stasis, the water will last for years. Of course, the level in the pond will slowly drop, but there are alternative sources of supply, such as underground wells. If the Russian military does not blow up anything or deliberately provoke a terrorist attack at the power unit, the accident will not happen," commented Energoatom.
