Moldova and Ukraine agree to further reduce water releases as the Dniester reaches historic lows

The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine continue their joint response to the critically low water levels in the Dniester River Basin. On 11 August 2026, the Commission on Sustainable Use and Protection of the Dniester River Basin (Dniester Commission) held its fifth extraordinary meeting of 2026, in a virtual format, to review the hydrological situation and adjust the water release from the Dniester hydropower complex.

The situation has worsened since the Commission last met on 31 July. On 7 August, the inflow to the Dniester Reservoir fell to 42 cubic metres per second — the lowest value on record — and averaged just 48 cubic metres per second — 19 per cent of the norm — over the first days of August. At Zalishchyky, the key gauging station for the reservoir, the water level has dropped below the historic minimum in a record stretching back to 1886. Both countries are already limiting water use to protect drinking-water supplies: in Ukraine, restrictions apply to some 195 water users; in Moldova, irrigation is allowed only at night from centralized systems, and other non-essential uses are prohibited until the end of August.

As part of this joint effort, a Moldovan delegation led by Minister of Environment Gheorghe Hajder travelled to Ukraine on 5 August 2026 to assess the situation on the ground, visiting the Khotyn water intake and carrying out joint hydrological measurements with Ukrainian specialists at Halych — roughly 400 km upstream of the Novodnistrovsk reservoir — where the recorded inflow was just 17 cubic metres per second.

Having reviewed the updated data and forecasts, the Commission agreed to reduce the release of water from the Dniester hydropower complex from 85 to 75 cubic metres per second. The two sides also agreed to exchange further technical information ahead of the next meeting. The Commission will reconvene at the end of August — or earlier, should the situation deteriorate further.

The meeting was organized with the support of the project “Advancing transboundary co-operation and Integrated Water Resources Management in the Dniester River Basin through implementation of the Strategic Action Programme”. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) serving as the implementing agency, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as the executing agency, and support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).