Why did industrial use of water create pollution problems in the Donets River?

The Donets River experiences severe pollution primarily because it flows through the Donets Basin, a major industrial region that relies heavily on the river's water for its operations.1

This area is one of the world’s most significant centers for heavy industry, including iron and steel production, large-scale heavy engineering, and a well-developed chemical industry that utilizes coking by-products and rock salt. The intensive use of the river to support these industrial processes, combined with the demands of large urban populations, has led to significant water quality degradation. The resulting water shortages in this industrial zone were so severe that a canal was constructed in the 1970s to transport additional water supplies from the Dnieper River to the Donets.213