The irrigation season for 2026 is gradually starting across Ukraine, marking a key stage in preparing water management infrastructure for efficient water use in the agricultural sector, ProAgro Group reports.
According to the State Agency of Fisheries, the irrigation season has already officially begun at the Kiliia Interdistrict Water Management Department in the Odesa region. As part of the season’s launch, the GNS-1 pumping station of the Tatarbunary irrigation system has been put into operation. The main goal is to carry out desalination works in the “Danube” canal, which is an important stage in preparing water infrastructure for full-scale operation during the irrigation season.
At the same time, employees of the Vilniansk Interdistrict Water Management Department in the Zaporizhzhia region continue to implement a set of preparatory measures for the irrigation season, while the Izmail Water Management Administration is preparing hydraulic structures — basins and forebays of pumping stations — for stable and uninterrupted operation. To ensure proper throughput capacity, manual and mechanized cleaning of silt is being carried out, in particular at the NSP-4 pumping station of the Suvorov irrigation system, which allows ensuring uninterrupted water supply in the required volumes and accurate accounting of water use.
Taking into account the rising water level in the Danube River, hydrological conditions are being analyzed, and opportunities are being used for gravity-fed replenishment of Danube-adjacent reservoirs. To ensure water flow, шлюзи-regulators are maintained in proper technical condition, including the “Hromadskyi” шлюз-regulator, which performs the function of regulating water levels in the Danube River and the Katlabukh reservoir.
As reported, in 2025 the state allocated UAH 34 million to support 10 agricultural enterprises operating on reclaimed lands in Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Odesa, Sumy, and Cherkasy regions. The support was intended to compensate costs for the reconstruction and/or construction of irrigation systems.
