Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources reports of the long-term trend of river shallowing, first of all the Kura River.

The Ministry reports that in June the maximum flow rate in point Giragkesemen on the Kura River was only 858 cu m per second versus 1,167 cu m/sec in May 2011, 1,400 cu m/sec in April 2010 and 2,720 cu m/sec in 1968. The situation in Salyan point was as follows: 579 cu m/sec in June 2012, 965 cu m/sec in May 2011, 1,890 cu m/sec in April 2010 and 2,350 cu m/sec in 1968.

However, water reserves did not lower the minimum values of 2000-2 in the country’s largest Mingachevir Storage Reservoir. For example, in April 2012 the water in the storage reservoir reached level of 76.96 m versus 76.75 m a year earlier, in May - 77.87 m against 79.87 m, in June - 77.72 m against the 81.81 m.

This is a fundamentally important factor in view of the fact that the reservoir contains up to 4 bn cu m of water, and the destruction of the dam of the Mingachevir reservoir can lead to catastrophic flooding and inundation of areas in the Kura-Araz lowland. Today, there is no such a threat.

09.07.2012 11:26