Use of water resources of the left tributaries of the middle Dnipro: hydropower and melioration
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Sarnavskii Serhii 
Published: December 2023

The left tributaries of the Middle Dnipro - Psel, Vorskla, Sula, Trubyzh, Supii, Zolotonoshka, Kryva Ruda, Kobelyachok, Kagamlyk, Irkliy, Kovray and Kovalivka belong to the category of medium and small rivers. These rivers are important for the left-bank forest-steppe of Ukraine, where they flow. They are used for irrigation of agricultural land and for hydropower. Global climate change in the region and the introduction of green electricity in Ukraine, these two aspects are currently very important for two reasons. The total flow volume of the rivers of the left bank of the Middle Dnipro subbasin is similar to the flow volume of the Southern Bug, and the catchment area is even larger. The three largest rivers of the region, Psel, Vorskla and Sula, are particularly promising in this aspect. Today, small hydroelectric power plants only operate on the Psel and Vorskla rivers. All hydroelectric power plants are located in the middle course of the river: on the Psel - within the boundaries of Sumy and Poltava regions, and on Vorskla - within the boundaries of the Poltava region. The left bank of the Middle Dnipro has 15 small hydros operating today, with 10 of them on the Psel and 5 on the Vorskla. River Psel, from the village of Nyzy in the Sumy region to the village Sukhorabivka fish of Poltava region, fully regulated. The following small hydropower plants operate on Psel: Nyizivska, Vorozhblyanska, Mykhailivska, Bobrivska, Knyshivska, Veliko-Sorochynska, Shishatska, Velika Bagachka, Ostapievska and Sukhorabivska. The total annual electricity generated is 4.78 MW. Upon the completion of its planned operation by 2025 as planned in the plan for the development of hydroelectric power plants, the Malobudyshchanska hydroelectric power plant is scheduled to be functional. 5 small hydroelectric power stations operate within the Vorskla riverbed and its left tributary – the Vilshanka – Opishnyanska, Vakulynska mini hydro, Poltava Hydro mini hydro, Nizhnyomlinska and Kuntsivska. The Vorskla river from the village of Kuzemin in southern Sumy Oblast to the village of Kunzevo in Poltava Oblast is regulated by regulating locks and small hydrographic locks. These locks are located in the villages of Kuzemin (Sumy Region) and Derevky (Poltava Region). Both systems are included in the development plans of their regions until 2025, within which 2 small hydroelectric power plants will operate. A total of 1.72 MW of small hydropower is generated within the Vorskla Basin. The power of hydroelectric power stations on both rivers ranges from 0.19 MW to 1.04 MW - Shyshatska small hydroelectric power station. Global climate changes also affected the Left Bank-Dnipro hydrological region. Over the past 30 years, the average annual air temperature has increased by 1.5-2 0C and the annual precipitation has decreased by 20-30 mm. The most significant changes are seen in the southern, southwestern, and eastern parts of the left bank of the Middle Dnipro, especially in the small river basins of the Dnipro Lowlands and the lower reaches of the Sula, Psel and Vorskla rivers. Therefore, these regions need irrigation systems functioning within their river basins. The left bank of the middle Dnipro River basin has a total of 26 irrigation systems covering a total area of 65,000 hectares. The largest number of irrigation systems is in the Dnipro Lowland river basin:13 irrigation systems (12,000 ha) on the left bankin Cherkasy Oblast,11 irrigation systems (50,000 ha) in Poltava Oblast, and 2 irrigation systems (up to 3,000 ha) in Kharkov Oblast. Thus, the left bank of the middle Dnipro river has great potential for hydropower and water quality improvement. The total capacity of small hydropower plants in the Psel and Vorskla river basins is 6.5 MW, which is about 6.37% of the total capacity of small hydropower plants in Ukraine (in 2019: 102 MW for Ukraine). The use of small hydroelectric power stations on Vorskla and Psel is quite promising for Poltava and Sumy regions for local consumption and the growth of the share of green energy in these regions. As for irrigation systems, in general, 32% of the total irrigated area in the Dnipro basin (196,000 ha) is concentrated on the left bank of the middle Dnipro river.