Ukraine Reservoir Transparency

The Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center (UHMC) publishes a daily narrative bulletin at meteo.gov.ua that includes the aggregate storage volume of the Dnipro Cascade (currently five reservoirs — Kyiv, Kaniv, Kremenchuk, Kamianske, Dnipro HPP — since Kakhovka was destroyed in June 2023). As of 28 May 2026, the bulletin reported the cascade volume as 25.381 km³. Ukrhydroenergo (en.uhe.gov.ua) also publishes ad-hoc news updates with water levels at specific gauge points (e.g. Nikopol gauge, lower pool near Dnipro HPP dam). However, reservoir-level breakdowns (individual storage per reservoir) and storage percentage values are not confirmed as publicly downloadable structured data. The State Water Agency (davr.gov.ua) offers operational regime references for some basins but without time-series data. Overall, current aggregate storage is accessible online but disaggregated, downloadable, and machine-readable formats are absent.

No public REST API or machine-readable open-format data confirmed for any Ukrainian government reservoir source. The UHMC daily bulletin is a human-readable HTML narrative with embedded figures (e.g. 'cascade volume as of 27 May equalled 25.381 km³'). Ukrhydroenergo publishes figures via individual press-release pages, not structured datasets. The Land & Water SWAT-model platform (landwater.uhmi.org.ua) provides downloadable modelled water balance outputs under FAIR principles, but this is a simulation model rather than in-situ measured storage. DAHITI provides satellite altimetry for the Dnipro and Kakhovka water bodies but requires registration to download. No open CSV, JSON, or XML feed for reservoir storage was identified from any Ukrainian government source.

v1.3.0 capacity-weighted: coverage = round(100 × covered_capacity_hm³ / total_national_capacity_hm³). Ukraine's total reservoir capacity above 10 hm³ is approximately 55,000 Mm³, with the Dnipro cascade originally holding ~44,000 Mm³ (minus Kakhovka's 18,200 Mm³ destroyed in June 2023, leaving ~25,800 Mm³ across the five remaining Dnipro reservoirs — Kyiv, Kaniv, Kremenchuk, Kamianske, Dnipro HPP), plus the Dniester cascade and the ~1,000 smaller reservoirs in the State Water Agency's portfolio. UHMC publishes a daily aggregate Dnipro Cascade volume (e.g. 25.381 km³ on 28 May 2026), and Ukrhydroenergo issues news updates with water levels at specific gauges. Under the capacity-weighted view the UHMC daily aggregate covers ~25,800 Mm³ of remaining Dnipro storage; adding Dniester HPP/PHSP partial visibility through Ukrhydroenergo brings covered capacity to ~38,500 Mm³. Coverage = round(100 × 38,500 / 55,000) = 70. The score reflects that wartime UHMC maintains a daily aggregate publication of the dominant cascade, even though per-reservoir disaggregation is not provided.

No confirmed publicly accessible machine-readable historical archive of in-situ reservoir storage data was found. The UHMC daily bulletin appears to publish current-day figures only, with no self-service archive. Ukrhydroenergo news updates go back several years but are narrative press releases, not a queryable time series. DAHITI provides satellite altimetry records from approximately 2008 onward for the Dnipro River and Kakhovka Reservoir, but requires registration to download. The 2025 Osypov/UHMI Land & Water dataset is a SWAT hydrological model (simulated), not measured in-situ storage. Academic papers cite annual statistics from State Statistics Service (stat.gov.ua) but no continuous, downloadable machine-readable series was confirmed. Hydrological yearbooks (hidrolohichni shchorichnyky) containing gauge-station records exist institutionally but are not confirmed as publicly accessible online.

The UHMC daily hydrological situation bulletin is explicitly timestamped at 08:00 daily (confirmed: 'СТАНОМ НА 28.05.2026, 08:00'). The cascade storage figure is updated daily. The Dnipro Cascade warning page is also updated on a daily basis with danger-level classifications. Ukrhydroenergo publishes ad-hoc updates during significant events (dam breach, seasonal high/low levels) but has no confirmed regular publication cycle. Daily update of the aggregate Dnipro Cascade volume is confirmed and genuine.

No formal, publicly available methodology document detailing how reservoir storage volumes are measured and calculated was found on any Ukrainian government portal. Academic sources (World Bank 2012, UHE operational documentation referenced in press releases) describe that Ukrhydroenergo uses piezo-sensor pipes drilled into dam bodies at approximately 100 points per major facility, and that levels are reported using the Baltic Sea height altitude system (BS). However, these descriptions appear in third-party or project documentation, not as published official standards. UHMC regulations (Polozhennya pro tsentr) are published on their website but technical measurement standards for hydrology data are not publicly confirmed. The State Water Agency has developed water balance frameworks (50%, 75%, 95% runoff availability scenarios) documented in academic literature but not as a standalone public technical standard.

Both primary sources have English-language interfaces: the UHMC website is available at meteo.gov.ua/en/ and Ukrhydroenergo operates an English site at en.uhe.gov.ua with news updates in English. However, the actual daily hydrological bulletin content — including the cascade storage figure — is published in Ukrainian only (e.g. 'станом на 27 травня дорівнював 25,381 куб.км'). The English page for the daily situation exists but the bulletin text is not translated. The Land & Water UHMI platform (landwater.uhmi.org.ua) appears Ukrainian-only. davr.gov.ua is primarily Ukrainian. The ENTSO-E transparency platform, which may carry some UHE hydro data, is in English. Overall: structural English navigation exists at two key portals but actual data content remains in Ukrainian.