oa Environmental Assessment of the War Impact on the Surface Waters of the Dnipro River in the Zaporizhzhia City

This work analyzed the impact of anthropogenic pressure, including war, on the state of surface waters in the Dnipro River in Zaporizhzhia. The analysis utilized the Streeter-Phelps model approach, which allows for evaluating the balance between oxygen consumption in water and its restoration through diffusion from the atmosphere. Additionally, supplementary anthropogenic impacts were considered, namely the activities of industry, agriculture, and municipal enterprises. The impacts associated with the war were also assessed, specifically the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam (the elimination of the Kakhovka Reservoir) and the cessation of operations at the Dnipro HPP. It has been established that during 2023–2024, a process of self-purification of water occurred in the Dnipro River in the upper pool of the Dnipro HPP. It has been proven that the reduction in the level of contamination by phosphate and ammonium ions since the beginning of the war played an important role in improving drinking water quality. However, threats to further self-purification exist if pre-war levels of surface water pollution return, as evidenced by the research results obtained.