"At the current height of the reservoir by the ZTPP [Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant ], the water pumps continue to be operable," the IAEA said in a statement on Sunday.
However, the pumps are currently "not continuously being operated" since both the ZTPP channel and the cooling pond near the ZNPP have enough water to meet cooling requirements for several months ahead, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the level of the Kakhovka reservoir has been dropping rapidly, the agency said. On Sunday morning, it was estimated at 11.27 meters (36.97 feet), down from nearly 17 meters before the dam was damaged.
Moreover, the height keeps falling elsewhere in the reservoir, which may result in a "possible difference of about two metres compared with the level reported by the ZTPP," the IAEA said, while recalling that the height of the water level is a key parameter for the continued operation of the water pumps.
In his regard, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency's experts needed access to the location near the ZNPP to "clarify the reason for a significant discrepancy between different measurements of the height of the reservoir," the statement read.
"I fully expect that our experts will be able to go there very soon to independently assess the situation. I will also personally raise this important matter with the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant," Grossi added.
The upper part of the Kakhovka power plant on the Dnepr River was damaged overnight from June 5 to June 6. It was not destroyed completely but its crumbling caused an uncontrollable outflow of water to towns downstream. Moscow said AFU militants attacked the dam, which led to a large-scale humanitarian disaster and called on the international community to condemn the actions of the Kiev regime. Authorities in some of the affected areas evacuated the population.