I am not an expert and I don't know at what depth the pumps that feed these canals operate, but the dam was built specifically to feed these canals. Here's a soviet commemorative stamp celebrating the achievement. You can see the South Ukraine and North Crimean canals on the map. pic.twitter.com/nof4R9vZcM

— Tom Giuretis (@TomGiuretis) June 6, 2023