North Crimean Canal

North Crimean Canal
map of the canal
Specifications
Length	250.1 miles (402.5 km)
History
Former names	North Crimean Canal of the LKSMU
Original owner	State government
Principal engineer	Ukrvodbud
Other engineer(s)	Ukrdiprovodbud
Date of act	September 21, 1950
Construction began	1961
Date completed	December 29, 1975
Geography
Start point	Tavriysk
End point	Kerch city water treatment facilities
Branch(es)	Krasnoznamiansky Canal Soyedenitelny Canal
Connects to	Dnieper River

The North Crimean Canal (Russian: Северо-Крымский канал, Ukrainian: Північно-Кримський канал; in the Soviet Union – North Crimean Canal of the Lenin's Komsomol of Ukraine) is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine, and the Crimean Peninsula. The canal also has multiple branches throughout Kherson Oblast and the Crimean Peninsula.

The construction preparation started in 1957 soon after the transfer of Crimea of 1954. The main project works took place between 1961 and 1971 and had three stages. The construction was conducted by the Komosomol members sent by the Komsomol travel ticket (Komsomolskaya putyovka) as part of shock construction projects and accounted for some 10,000 "volunteer" workers.

The canal begins at the city of Tavriysk, where it draws from the Kakhovka Reservoir, and stretches out in a generally southeasterly direction, terminating at the small village of Zelnyi Yar (Lenine Raion); from there, a pipeline carries water to supply the city of Kerch at the eastern extreme of the Crimean Peninsula. Seven water reservoirs lie along the main canal, which is 402.6 km (250.2 mi) in length. Water flows by gravity from Tavriysk to Dzhankoy, where it is elevated by four pump stations to a height of over 100 m (330 ft) to energize its continued downstream flow. In Crimea, numerous smaller canals branch off the main channel, including the Razdolne rice canal, Azov rice canal, Krasnohvardiiske distribution canal, Uniting canal, and Saky canal; through these, water is also supplied to the city of Simferopol.