Water level in ZNPP cooling pond drops due to heat - IAEA

This was announced on Friday by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi .

“Decreased water levels in the cooling pond remain a potential source of concern and we will continue to closely monitor the situation at the site to ensure there is an adequate supply of cooling water for plant needs at all times,” Grossi said.

It was noted that in recent weeks, IAEA experts at the station have observed a constant decrease in the water level in the station’s cooling pond. “If this trend continues, Zaporizhzhya NPP personnel confirmed that pumping water from the pond will soon become problematic. Maintaining the water level in the reservoir is complicated by hot summer weather,” the agency reported.

After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam last year, the Russian occupation administration of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant dug 11 groundwater wells to provide about 250 cubic meters of cooling water per hour for the cooling ponds. These ponds provide enough water to cool all six reactor units in their current cold shutdown state.

The IAEA statement also reported that agency experts at the Zaporizhzhya NPP continued to hear military activity at different distances from the power plant.