Ukrainians in Mykolaiv facing water scarcity

Russia's war in Ukraine has caused another crisis.

In the south of Ukraine, in Mykolaiv, one of the critical regions of the front, the water supply system collapsed due to artillery fire by the Russian army, and residents were sentenced to water queues brought from other regions. At the same time, the occupation of neighboring Kherson by the Russian military has made it difficult to find an additional source of water.

Boris Dudenko, director-general of the Mykolayiv Vodokanal, told Report that the pipeline supplying water to the city of Mykolaiv via the Dnieper River was damaged during the fighting on April 12:

Unfortunately, the city populated by half a million people was without water for about 20-22 days. Accordingly, the sewerage system did not work during this period. The damage is estimated at about 20 million hryvnias ($0.67 million). The damage to the population and the system cannot be measured in money since water is life, and its absence means the absence of life. We have tried to solve this problem, and now water enters the centralized system of the city from the Southern Buh River, or more precisely, from the Southern Buh port. The port is where the river flows into the Black Sea. When the wind blows from the sea, our systems are unable to purify the salt and make the water potable. For this reason, it was decided to use this water to meet the sanitary needs of the population and then look for other water sources. We also work with scientific centers. With their help, we hope to find a new water source to supply the city of Mykolaiv with drinking water."

According to him, it is impossible to clean the water well enough without bacteriological contamination: "After treatment, the water meets the bacteriological requirements but not the requirements on chemical analysis. Therefore, this water should not be used for drinking or cooking; only for sanitary purposes. We do not currently have access to areas where pipes are damaged. These areas are located where active military operations are currently carried out, which we call the "gray area". If we can liberate the territories from occupation, the water supply will be restored as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will have to look for alternative water supply sources for the city of Mykolaiv. This is a problematic issue because although the city is located in the basin of two rivers, the available technologies do not allow for purification to the level of drinking water."

MP Ramil Agabekov, who is involved in supplying Mykolaiv with drinking water in connection with the current crisis, told Report that the city's daily need was about 40,000 cubic meters: "After the water line to Mykolaiv was shot, we did our best to provide the city and people with water. Water was transported to Mykolaiv by truck from Odessa, Kyiv, Lviv, and other cities. Water was delivered to all districts of the city. True, you can still see it, but now the situation is better than before because the city is already supplied with technical water, which reduces the demand for domestic water. Its daily water demand is about 40 cubic meters. We provided water to both the bakery and the zoo. All of Ukraine supported us on the issue of water supply. Personally, I brought 3,500 tons of water. At present, we continue to supply water to many regions. But again, the situation has improved significantly. At present, we provide the population only with drinking water."