Modern Hydrological Changes in the Moskva River Basin

N.I. Koronkevich, E.A. Kashutina, K.S. Mel’nik, and K.V. Luk’yanov

The current changes (occurred in 2015–2017, the period for which necessary datasets were available) in the annual flow of the Moskva River under the influence of anthropogenic and climatic factors are considered. They are compared with the period of annual normal flow calculation. The anthropogenic impact on runoff is also estimated in comparison with the middle of the 19th century and with 1960s–1980s (the period of the greatest anthropogenic load on water resources). The contribution of urbanization, hydroengineering construction and water consumption to runoff changes is assessed. It is shown that the modern 1.6-fold increase in the Moskva River runoff as compared to the period of annual normal flow calculation (3170 × 106 m3) occurred mainly due to anthropogenic factors. The recent runoff increase has been accompanied by a more than two-fold decrease in total wastewater as compared to the end of the 1980s.