Winter water sampling trip within the framework of DG3(Ukraine) in the Dnipro River Basin in Ukraine

NUBiP of Ukraine is one of the 26 partners of the international project EU Horizon Path4Med project "Demonstrating innovative pathways addressing water and soil pollution in the Mediterranean Agro-Hydro-System" and is responsible for implementing the tasks of the Ukrainian demonstration site DG3(Ukraine) "Future pathways for zero pollution in the Dnipro Basin under emerging challenges and threats", which is a platform for the implementation of innovative approaches to combat soil and water pollution.

As part of the project implementation program, scientists from the Department of Agrosphere Ecology and Environmental Control of the NUBiP of Ukraine carried out an expedition on February 14-16 2025, to collect water samples. The duration of the expedition covered three days with a total distance of about 1700 km, with 24 water sampling sites located within the territories of the Desna River sub-basin and the Middle Dnieper sub-basin.

It is worth noticing that this winter sampling was conducted during a cold and windy period. In that time, the air temperature was from -21℃ (the average t at night) to -6℃ (the average t at midday). During the expedition, we saw freezing water in some of the water sampling sites, and non-freezing water in other sampling sites despite the air temperature of around -16℃.

NUBiP’s team on the project, associate professors Olena Naumovska and Svitlana Palamarchuk, under the guidance of the coordinator of the Ukrainian part Vita Strokal, took part in this expedition. They took water samples and determined water parameters at the sampling sites using portable devices, such as EC60 Waterproof (EC, TDS, Temp), EZODO 8200/8200M (pH, EC, TDS), PDO-408 (DO, Temp).

This winter water sampling trip was proactive and required some effort to take water samples. During this trip, we could observe the amazing view near the Desna and Dnipro Rivers, Kaniv, Kremenchuk, and Kamianske Reservoirs.

 

In spite of the cold weather, we managed to take 24 water saplings sites and sent them to a certified laboratory to determine the chemical and ecotoxicological indicators of water quality.

 

Vita Strokal,