Lake Katlabug is a life support system for tens of thousands of people and a source of water for more than 15 settlements in Izmail and Bolgrad districts. It is the source of daily drinking, irrigation of fields, and the full life of our communities. And it is this system that is on the verge of destruction today.

As of 25 June 2025, the water level in the lake is only 0.88 m BS, which is a very low level:
- 0.82 m below the normative retaining level (NRL);
- only 0.18 m above the dead volume (DV), the critical point after which pumping stations cannot function;
- the lake's fill level is only 57%;
- The actual volume of water was 74.8 million m³, while the design capacity was over 131 million m³.

The alarming figures have become a cry for help. Every three days, the water recedes by another two centimetres. A little more and the line will be crossed: pumping stations will stop, irrigation will disappear, and taps will dry up. The region is rapidly sliding into a humanitarian and economic abyss.

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? The problem is multilayered:
- The dry autumn and winter of 2024-2025 will be without sufficient rainfall.
- Abnormally high air temperatures in spring and early summer.
- Extremely weak gravity flow from the Danube River, due to critically low levels in the watercourses.
- Lack of sufficient funding for water pumping by pumping stations using locks and SPSS.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Loschynivka reservoir, which is filled from Katlabuga, is almost depleted. Silt, rotting vegetation and deep sinkholes make it impossible for the pumping equipment to operate properly.

We risk losing much more than water. Life itself is at risk in the southern communities of Odesa Oblast. Exhausted wells are already leaving families without the most basic necessities - the ability to drink, wash clothes, water the garden, and water the livestock. Where water was flowing yesterday, dry ground is cracking today. The sanitary and epidemiological situation is rapidly deteriorating, as the heat and lack of industrial water increases the risk of disease. Young people are leaving, leaving villages without a future, and the elderly are left alone with thirst, powerlessness and fear. This region is already home to the largest number of internally displaced people in Odesa Oblast - and if the situation is not stopped, we will have a large-scale crisis that no amount of reserves can extinguish.

The fields that fed not only families but also markets are drying up. More than 6,000 hectares of land may be lost in the near future. We are talking about vegetables, fruits, and grains that should have been part of our food security. The losses of the agricultural sector are measured in hundreds of millions of hryvnias. Local markets that feed towns and villages will stop working, logistics chains will be broken, people will lose their jobs, and businesses will lose their raison d'être. Rural communities, which are already holding on by will and effort, will find themselves in the grip of economic ruin.

And with it, the ecosystem is disappearing. The lake, which was once a source of life for waterfowl, fish, and aquatic flora, is suffocating. The lack of water exchange and heat cause massive blooms and rotting of vegetation, and the water turns into a swamp. The fauna flees or dies. The first signs of soil salinisation are already being recorded - and if we don't act, this land will never be fertile again. The balance has been broken, and it will not be restored by itself.

Every day of delay is a day of loss. And every day we lose more than just water. We lose hope, stability, life.

🤝As an agrarian expert and a deputy of the regional council, I am deeply convinced that there is no time to waste. The government must act immediately.

1. Allocation of funds for the forced replenishment of Lake Katlabug.
   Without the launch of the SPS pumping station, the situation will deteriorate every day.
2. Repairing and strengthening the water supply infrastructure.
   In particular, cleaning of the Zhelyavsky and Gromadsky locks and renewal of pumping equipment.
3. Coordination at the interagency level.
   This is not only a matter of agricultural policy, but also of internal security, ecology and social stability.
4. Implementation of the comprehensive programme "Preservation of Strategic Waterbodies of Southern Ukraine", taking into account climate change and water shortages.

🌾We need to realise that without water, not only crops die, but life itself dies. Katlabug is not just a water body on the map, but the heart that feeds dozens of settlements, keeps the agricultural economy afloat, and provides every family with the most necessary things. And if nothing is done, the black soil will become dust, the wells will become empty pits, and the villages will become silent shadows of a once vibrant land.

Even in the midst of war, when resources are scarce, the water problem cannot wait. Because here and now it is not about comfort - it is about survival. The food front rests on these fields, on these people who stayed at home and work despite the shelling and losses. And if they do not receive support, the entire system may be shaken - not only locally, but also nationwide.

A dehydrated region is a lost source of strength. And we have no right to lose a single drop.
🇺🇦З respectfully,
Alla Stoyanova,

Member of the Odesa Regional Council,
expert on agricultural policy

Media material - the https://news.telegraf.com.ua/ukr/ukraina/2025-06-25/5913000-na-odeshchini-byut-na-spolokh-za-kilka-dniv-unikalne-ozero-peretne-mertvu-poznachku
💻We are pleased to present a video created by farmers in the south of Odesa region - a sincere appeal from the people of the land who are fighting for their crops, water and lives every day. The footage shows not just landscapes, but the disturbing truth about the catastrophic shallowing of Lake Katlabug and the despair that is growing in every community.

📞❗️Зараз It is more important than ever that as many people as possible learn about this problem. Lake Katlabug is disappearing before our eyes, and with it the hope of thousands of families for water, crops and a decent life.

We ask everyone who cares to share this material. Your repost is a voice of support, a chance to draw attention, a step towards saving entire communities. Only together can we stop the disaster.