Photo: Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine
A centralised fresh water supply has been restored in Mykolaiv, where previously around half a million residents had no consistent access to water.
Source: Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, on Telegram
Quote from Kuleba: “After the Russians blew up the key water main, more than half a million residents of Mykolaiv were left without a constant water supply. To restore people’s access to fresh water, we built a new water main in a year – an extremely complex infrastructure project”.
A new 136 km pipeline has been fully constructed – two lines, each 67.9 km long. The pumping stations are ready.
In August, the network underwent a test filling in compliance with all technological standards. Today, fresh water is being supplied to consumers.
The system is protected from attacks as much as possible in the conditions of a full-scale war: there are underground cable lines, shelters for personnel, backup generators and modern equipment.”
Details: Meanwhile, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych warned that tap water should not be used for drinking yet. “The water supply has been connected to the water utility’s treatment facilities. The water will gradually improve,” he said on his Telegram channel Sienkevych Online.
Kuleba also mentioned that thanks to the expertise of Ukraine’s Recovery Agency, the cost of the project was reduced by more than UAH 2.5 billion (US$60 million). It amounted to UAH 6.3 billion (US$152 million), which is 25% less than the initial estimate.
“The saved funds will be directed to other water supply facilities. The implementation of these projects will ensure a stable water supply for more than 180,000 people,” he said.
The projects in question involve building water pipelines for the Myrove and Tomakivka hromadas in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Bolhrad and Suvorov (Katlabuh) pipelines in Odesa Oblast, as well as pipelines in Lubny in Poltava Oblast and Vapniarka in Vinnytsia Oblast. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]
Background:
On 4 September, the launch of the water pipeline in Mykolaiv was announced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. “Water has begun to be fully supplied to the water canal systems and reservoirs. In two weeks, fresh water will completely replace salt water in all city systems,” she promised at the time.
The key water pipeline that supplied Mykolaiv was blown up by the Russians back in 2022. In 2024, UAH 8.7 billion (US$210 million) was allocated from the state budget for the construction of a new water intake system from Pivdennyi Buh. Overall, the project cost UAH 6.5 billion (US$157 million), so the saved funds will be spent on building water pipelines in other regions.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine had completed the construction of the Inhulets-Pivdenne Reservoir main water pipeline, which supplies water to Kryvyi Rih and the Kryvyi Rih district.
The company responsible for the construction received UAH 7.4 billion (US$179 million) in state funds, but criminals embezzled more than UAH 240 million (US$5.8 million), according to the National Police of Ukraine. This concerns the construction of the main water pipeline – Inhulets-Pivdenne Reservoir.
