Water level in Kherson down by 4cm, Dnieper back into normal streambed - Ukrainian environment ministry

MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) - As of Sunday, the Dnieper River in Kherson returned to its normal streambed, and the water level was 0.33 meters according to the Baltic System, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.

"The level has decreased by 4 centimeters over the past 24 hours, and the overall decrease since the Kakhovka HPP disaster is 5.35 meters," the ministry said in a statement on its social account.

The average water level in the Nizhnedneprovsky nature park is about 30 centimeters. The area is continuing to shallow in the Veliky Lug national park. The Sem Mayakov (Seven Lighthouses) marsh preserve is in danger of drying. The Big and Small Kuchugurs archipelago has dried out completely. The water level in the Kamenskaya Sech national park has dropped roughly by over 13 centimeters, it said.

Ukrainian media have quoted Alexander Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration subordinate to Kiev, as saying that the water level in the area was 33 centimeters as of Sunday morning.

The Khersonvodokanal water utility started disinfecting the water supply network and carrying out water lab tests. Emergency services also continued pumping water out of flooded premises and repairing equipment.

The Khersongaz gas utility is testing the gas pipelines for possible leaks, Prokudin said.