The water level in the reservoir supplying drinking water to the south of Ukraine has reached a 30-year high. This increases the likelihood of floods in the region and signals a lack of regulation..

A sudden rise in the water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir is recorded in altimetry data using satellites to measure altitude, published on Friday by the French company Theia, writes the New York Times..

The USDA Foreign Service has not recorded such a high water level at the Ukrainian dam since at least 1992, when the agency began publishing such data.. Russian troops control the dam and nearby power plant, which are vital to regulating the reservoir's water levels..

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An analysis of several months of satellite imagery by the New York Times also showed that the water level has risen significantly and is now covering the sandbars that line the waterway.. In recent days, the reservoir has reached an even more threatening level.. And it looks like the water is actually overflowing over the dam.

This is a dramatic change in the situation, which occurred only a few months after the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir reached a historic low.. Then Ukrainian officials expressed concern about the lack of water for drinking, agriculture and cooling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, located nearby.. By the end of February, the water level was almost two meters below the usual average..

Recent videos and satellite imagery from late last year show that at least three gates that control the flow of water through the dam have been opened.. Obviously, this was done by the Russian military, who control the Kakhovka power plant.. This, in turn, allowed water to flow through the dam at an alarming rate during the winter.. At the same time, a relatively small amount of water entered the reservoir.

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It is not known exactly how the water level has risen so much since then.. But former Air Force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist David Helms says the Russian military appears to have left too few shutters open to control the flow of winter snowmelt and spring rain.. Comparing the effect to a leaky bucket, Helms said that too much water is entering the reservoir..

The river brings a lot of water. And this is much higher than the norm, ”explained the American expert..