Around a hundred households in Varvarivka will be connected to the mains water supply

In Varvarivka, there are plans to decommission the old boreholes and reconnect residents to the mains water supply. Photo: Suspilne

In Varvarivka, there are plans to reconnect around a hundred households from the old boreholes to the centralised water supply network. This concerns the outermost part of the neighbourhood near the «ATB» supermarket.

This was announced by Vitalii Lukov, Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv, during a staff meeting, according to NikVesti.

According to him, this part of Varvarivka previously received water from several boreholes. However, for many years the water from these boreholes has not met drinking water standards and has been used mainly for non-potable purposes.

«There were several boreholes there even before the water pipeline across the estuary was built. The water in them had not met drinking water standards, at least for the last few decades. But people used it, mainly for domestic purposes. During the war, the situation deteriorated sharply; moreover, the pipes themselves have become very clogged over the years,» Vitalii Lukov told NikVesti.

According to him, there is no point in restoring the boreholes, as it is impossible to improve the water quality there. Therefore, it was decided to gradually switch customers to the centralised water supply via the culvert.

The municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal» is carrying out the work in stages using its own resources. The main problem with the water supply in the «ATB» area is expected to be resolved by the end of October.

At the same time, the city has managed to secure $2 million in aid from Caritas. This money will not be spent directly on laying a water main in Varvarivka — the plan is to use it to purchase equipment for the water utility.

«On the mayor’s instructions, we sought funding, but our partners were reluctant to take on this work because it is complex. Therefore, the water utility is gradually resolving the issue on its own. We continued to seek funding and found it, not for the construction of the water main, but for the purchase of equipment. In this way, the water utility will have some resources available for other works,» explained the deputy mayor.

Exactly what equipment will be purchased is currently being agreed with the water utility. According to Vitalii Lukov, this could include pumps, valves and other equipment. The plan is to complete the procurement using donor funds by spring 2027.

What is the situation with the water supply in Varvarivka?

As a reminder, construction of the culvert to Varvarivka began in September 2019. Part of the funding for it was allocated from the state budget, with a further 21 million hryvnias coming from the Mykolaiv city budget. In November 2020, the water pipeline under the Southern Bug was commissioned. In total, its construction cost 77 million hryvnias. It was expected to provide a centralised water supply to around three thousand homes.

However, residents of Varvarivka have hardly connected to the new system at all. In the two years since it was launched, only 20 households have done so. In August 2023, the culvert was officially commissioned and transferred to the management of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal».

Subsequently, some of the residents of Varvarivka, who had been receiving water from boreholes, were reconnected to the culvert. After this, residents began to complain about yellow water coming from their taps, so their water supply was switched back to the boreholes.

In January 2026, the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, stated that he did not consider the 77 million hryvnias spent on the culvert to be a wasted investment. He attributed the low demand for connections to the quality of the water that Mykolaiv was receiving at the time. According to him, residents were unwilling to spend their own money on connecting to the water mains if they were still using water from boreholes anyway.

The mayor noted that once the construction of the new treatment works was complete and the supply of drinking water had been restored, the culvert would become more in demand. The city authorities also planned to expand the water supply networks in Varvarivka and restore additional water supply loops.