Meter-long voids found under a dam on the Danube (PHOTOS)

Meter-long hollows were found under the dam on the left bank of the Danube River.

Specialists of the Danube section of the Odesa region of the State Institution “State Hydrography” discovered a meter-long hollows on the left bank of the Danube from 96.7 to 97.3 km under the body of the protective dam, at a depth of 5-6 meters.

Earlier, while checking the coastal navigational marks, experts saw a part of the concrete bank protection sliding into the river. The hollows were found after the site was surveyed with a multi-beam echo sounder.

Probably, the reason for the collapse of the bank protection was the partial leaching of the soil from under the base, due to the prolonged action of the current. In these places, the natural depths under the very coast are 7-20 m, and the main coast is mostly almost vertical to a depth of 5-6 m, and is constantly under the influence of a strong current.

Soil leaching and collapse in such conditions is only a matter of time, experts say. This is similar to the situation that is observed in the area of ​​the 108 km mark of the river, where, due to the destruction of the bank, a duplicate protective dam was built.

Not far from the 97 km mark, information signs were installed. Also, as a result of the survey, it was found that the lower part of the concrete formwork of the dam is in a “suspended” state. Therefore, the erosion resistance of the dam has significantly decreased. In spring, during floods, there is a possibility of partial destruction of the dam with serious consequences: the bank protection can fall under its own weight, pulling a part of the embankment along with it, as happened in the damaged area.