How Deep Is the Dnipro River in Kyiv?

The figure used to define the depth of any river is its maximum depth in midstream, not near the banks. Depth is measured every year to produce navigational river charts (pilot charts), which are essential for shipping. Within Kyiv, the Dnipro ranges from about 4 to 19 meters deep. The shallowest stretch, around 4 meters, lies between the Southern Bridge and the Paton Bridge, while the deepest point, about 19 meters, is just downstream of the Pedestrian Bridge.

Depth depends on the shape of the riverbed and on human changes to the bottom and banks. In the years of heavy river traffic around Kyiv, large amounts of soil were dredged from the banks to cut navigation channels. Most of this dredging was done on the right bank.

The construction of the Kaniv Reservoir in the 1970s changed the river's structure: the bed was widened, and in some places the river deepened from 1.6 to 4 meters. The Dnipro also became wider and its current slower. Interestingly, the earlier construction of the Kyiv Reservoir in the 1960s did not change the river's depth. With the arrival of the hydroelectric dams, fluctuations in water level dropped sharply. Before that, low-lying areas, mainly Podil, were often flooded. The last major flood came in 1970, when Hydropark was almost entirely under water and Hydropark metro station was closed for several days.

The depth of the Dnipro has since remained fairly stable, with seasonal changes as the main factor. The water level falls from January to mid-March, then rises with the spring floodwaters until mid-April, and falls again from April through June. At other times, a rise is seen only at the beginning of winter because of autumn rains, after which the level drops again.

Source: The Village