Officials: Algae bloom caused green water and foam on Dnipro near Kyiv

Officials: Algae bloom caused green water and foam on Dnipro near Kyiv AI

Kyiv environmental specialists and utility KP “Pleso” say a recent green tint and foaming along the Dnipro near Kyiv result from a summer algal and cyanobacteria bloom. They link the change to heat, weak flow and excess nutrients, and say water samples have been taken for lab analysis. This explains a visible change residents have reported along Kyiv’s riverfront; officials are sampling and will announce any pollution findings.

Specialists from the Kyiv Department of Environmental Protection and Adaptation to Climate Change, together with staff from municipal utility KP “Pleso,” investigated recent reports that the Dnipro near Kyiv turned green and produced foam along the banks. They identified the cause as a summer “bloom” — rapid growth of microscopic algae and cyanobacteria that can tint water various green-blue shades.

Experts said blooms are driven by natural and human factors: excess biogenic nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), prolonged heat, warming surface water and slow or stagnant flow in parts of the river. Foam can appear when large amounts of algae die and decompose, concentrating organic compounds at the surface; foam alone does not prove chemical contamination.

Officials have taken water samples for laboratory testing and will report any signs of contamination. The article notes similar processes in the Kyiv reservoir and a separate mid-August fish die-off in the region that authorities have been monitoring.

Know what Kyiv knows.