Kakhovka Irrigation System
{{Short description|Irrigation system in southern Ukraine}}
{{Infobox canal
| name = Kakhovka Irrigation System
| image = Каховский канал.jpg
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| mapframe-zoom = 7
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| start_point = Kakhovka Reservoir
| begin_coord = {{coord|46|48|55|N|33|36|51|E|region:RU}}
| end_point = Various
| end_coord = Various
| location = Kherson Oblast, Ukraine
| length_km =
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| source1_elevation =
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The Kakhovka Irrigation System ({{langx|uk|Каховська зрошувальна система}}; {{langx|ru|Каховская оросительная система}}) is an irrigation system in southern Ukraine. With a total irrigation area of {{convert|780000|ha}}, it is the largest irrigation system in the entire country.{{Cite web |title=Каховська зрошувальна система |trans-title=Kakhovka irrigation system |publisher=Encyclopedia of Ukraine |url=https://esu.com.ua/article-11144 |lang=uk}}
History
In 1951, construction began for the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, which created the Kakhovka Reservoir and provided a water source for local irrigation.{{Cite web |url=https://news.rambler.ru/other/44873634-zhdali-bolee-sta-let-severo-krymskiy-kanal-pridumal-fantast/ |title=Ждали более ста лет: Северо-крымский канал придумал фантаст |trans-title=Waited for over a hundred years: The North Crimean Canal was invented by a science fiction writer |lang=ru |publisher=news.rambler.ru |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220624132143/https://news.rambler.ru/other/44873634-zhdali-bolee-sta-let-severo-krymskiy-kanal-pridumal-fantast/ |archive-date=June 24, 2022}} By 1967, construction for an irrigation system began, and different sections began operation throughout the 1970s.{{Cite web |last1=Granovskaya |first1=L. N. |last2=Verdish |first2=M. V. |title=Анализ деятельности предприятий водохозяйственно-мелиоративного комплекса Украины (на примере Каховской оросительной системы) |trans-title=Analysis of the activities of enterprises of the water management and meliorative complex of Ukraine (on the example of the Kakhovka irrigation system) |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/analiz-deyatelnosti-predpriyatiy-v0d0h03yaystvenn0-meli0rativn0g0-kompleksa-ukrainy-na-primere-kahovskoy-orositelnoy-sistemy |publisher=Природообустройство |year=2011 |issue=4 |page=85-87 |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618190249/https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/analiz-deyatelnosti-predpriyatiy-v0d0h03yaystvenn0-meli0rativn0g0-kompleksa-ukrainy-na-primere-kahovskoy-orositelnoy-sistemy |lang=ru}}
Characteristics
The irrigation system all begin at the Kakhovka Reservoir, where it flows south before diverging into different areas. The entire system includes many interconnected canals, such as the Kakhovka Canal, and it provides water for crops across much of Kherson Oblast.{{citation needed|date= August 2024}}
Because of the vast size of the irrigation system, there are 16 pumping stations throughout the canals.{{Cite web |title=ПРО НАС |trans-title=ABOUT US |publisher=Kakhovka Irrigation System |url=https://ugkmk.davr.gov.ua/about.html |lang=uk}} This includes a main pumping station, which is sized {{convert|138|m}} by {{convert|34|m}}.{{Cite web |url=https://stroyfirm.ru/articles/architecture19.html |title=Каховская оросительная система |trans-title=Kakhovka irrigation system |publisher=stroyfirm.ru |url-status=live |archive-date=August 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824014123/http://stroyfirm.ru/articles/architecture19.html |lang=ru}}