Their main purpose is water supply, irrigation, and drainage of land; they are also used partially for fish farming and recreation.
Its construction started in 1957 for irrigation of the Kherson Oblast steppe regions and Crimea, as well as water supply to Simferopol, Sevastopol, other populated places, and the Kerch Industrial District.
It provides water to the Krasnoznamianka, Chapli, Kolonchak, Krasnoperekopsk, Krasnohvardiyske, Pervomaiske, and other irrigation systems with a total area of over 350,000 ha (1,400 sq mi).
Equally important is the Dnipro – Donbas Canal, which is for water supply of Kharkiv and cities of the Donets basin as well as land irrigation.
The Siverskyi Donets – Donbas Canal, designed to supply 25 m3 (33 cu yd) per second of water, was put into service in 1958.