Crimea is a peninsula located in the northern part of the Black Sea, with a total area of about 25,000 square kilometers and a population of about 1.88 million. The Crimean Peninsula is strategically located, with beautiful scenery and a pleasant climate, making it a well-known health and tourist attraction in the Black Sea. However, Crimea also has a big disadvantage, that is, the lack of fresh water.
Crimea has a subtropical monsoon climate with little precipitation, but the Crimean Peninsula is small in size, the terrain is dominated by plains, and only the southern region is low hills and mountains, so the rivers are short and short, and it is difficult to store water resources.
Historically, crimea's fresh water can be self-sufficient, but with the development of industry and the increase of population, crimea's water shortage problem is becoming more and more serious. In the 18th century, the Crimean Peninsula was incorporated into the territory of Tsarist Russia, who built military ports in Sevastopol and other places, and immigrated a large number of people from other regions to Crimea, and the population of Crimea began to increase.
During the Soviet period, Crimea's industry, agriculture, and tourism all developed rapidly. Crimea's industry is dominated by shipbuilding, and agriculture is mainly divided into three categories, wheat, corn, and sunflowers are grown in the plains, goats are raised in the southern mountains, grapes are planted, subtropical fruit trees are planted, and so on. Tourism is dominated by coastal tourism and wellness, with many large hotels. Economic development and population growth have led to an increasing shortage of water in Crimea. So where does Crimea's need for fresh water come from?
First, Kherson Oblast. Kherson Oblast is located in southern Ukraine, on the lower reaches of the Dnieper River, north of the Crimean Peninsula, with a total area of about 30,000 square kilometers and a population of about 1.3 million. Kherson Oblast is the largest agricultural state in Ukraine, with a vast black land and abundant water sources, with the titles of Ukrainian bread basket and Ukrainian granary.
The freshwater resources of Kherson Oblast are mainly dependent on the Dnieper River, the fourth largest river in Europe, originating in Russia, flowing through Belarus, Ukraine, and finally in Kherson Oblast into the Black Sea. The section of the river in the canton of Kherson, the section with the largest runoff of the Dnieper, is very well supplied.
Therefore, in order to solve the problem of water shortage in Crimea, during the Soviet period, the North Crimea Canal was built to divert water from Kherson Oblast to Crimea, which solved The Freshwater Demand in Crimea.
Second, Krasnodar Krai. Krasnodar Krai is a first-class administrative region of the Russian Federation, located in the south of Russia, in the coastal plain of the Sea of Azov, in the western part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, with a total area of about 76,000 square kilometers and a population of about 5.22 million. The capital of Krasnodar Krai is Krasnodar, but the city of Sochi is more famous, located on the Black Sea coast, the warmest region in Russia in winter.
Thanks to the superior climate and location, the tourism industry in Krasnodar Krai is relatively developed, and it is close to the Greater Caucasus Mountains, with sufficient water sources, many rivers and lakes, as well as large reservoirs such as the Disxkesk Reservoir, the Krasnodar Reservoir and so on.
Krasnodar Krai is separated from the Crimean Peninsula by the Kerch Strait, and due to the abundant water supply and similar location, after the incorporation of Crimea into Russia, Russia also transported fresh water from Krasnodar Krai to Crimea. Therefore, the fresh water needed in Crimea mainly comes from these two regions.