THE CHANGE OF THE WATER REGIME OF THE VOLGA RIVER IN THE AREA OF THE PROTECTED ISLAND BAKHILOVSKY

The ecological state of the protected Islands Seredysh and Shalyga (now Bakhilovsky island) depends on the water content and flow of the Volga River. We have analyzed the long-term changes in the water flow of the Volga River for the period 1958-2017 in the alignment Zhiguli dam, located 12 km upstream from the island. According to the average annual water consumption, there are three periods that differ from each other in water content: low-water period (1958–1976), high-water period (1977–1997) and the period of average water content (1998–2017), with extremely low-water (1967, 1973, 1975, 1976,1977, 1996) and extremely high-water (1966, 1979, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1994) years. In highwater years, during the passage of the spring flood, the island is almost completely flooded, and in low-water years, during the summer low water, the area of the island increases and changes its configuration.