Sienkevych says drinking water points in Mykolaiv will be free until the end of the war

Water points in Mykolaiv are likely to be free until the end of the war. Photo: Mykolaiv Regional Water Association

Water points in Mykolaiv are likely to be free of charge until the end of the war.

This opinion was expressed in an interview with hromadske by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych.

In August, during a meeting with the then Danish ambassador to Ukraine, Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, he said that after the resumption of drinking water supply through the water supply system, it was planned to stop using them free of charge. However, the mayor now admits that they will be available to the townspeople until the end of the war.

«Therefore, after we conduct analyses and see that the water from our water supply networks is clean and potable, we plan to freeze this project. But I can say that, most likely, until the end of the war, they will all work for free,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

The mayor noted that the maintenance of the points is an expensive project. International partners are taking on part of the work in this area. The city also wants the state to compensate for the funds allocated to support «Mykolaivvodokanal».

«We have applied to the Ministry of Finance to have the state compensate us for the costs we spend to support «Mykolaivvodokanal». Last year, we spent almost half a billion hryvnias. This is very expensive and we cannot afford it, given that our total budget is about 5 billion hryvnias with all expenses».

As a reminder, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said that drinking water could be available in the water supply system in February 2026.

At the same time, Vitalii Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Management Company, said in a recent interview that drinking water could be available in the taps of Mykolaiv residents in six months to a month. That's how long it will take to complete all the work at the treatment plant and get official laboratory reports.

As a reminder, on 7 October, Mykolaiv was connected to a new water supply system that supplies the city with water. According to Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, the water supply system is already operating in the system of Mykolaivvodokanal, and the filtration system at the treatment plant has been upgraded — 4 out of 8 filters have been replaced so far, with another 4 to be replaced in the near future. The mayor also stressed that after the launch of the new water supply system, the city continues to flush the networks, so you can see open fire hydrants on the streets — this is planned work, not an accident.

By the end of the year, Mykolaiv plans to build additional water treatment facilities that will significantly improve water quality. Their funding is provided from the state budget.