Riazhskykh explained why it is important to relocate the Southern Bug Administration to Mykolaiv

Alla Ryazhskikh, member of the regional council and chair of the standing committee on environmental issues. Photo: ‘NikVesti’

Alla Ryazhskikh, a member of the regional council and chair of the standing committee on environmental issues, explained why the Southern Bug River Basin Water Resources Administration should be based in Mykolaiv rather than Vinnytsia.

This will enable the comprehensive and rational use of water resources in the Southern Bug River basin, she wrote on her Facebook page.

«Since the start of 2021, the Mykolaiv Regional Council’s Committee on Environmental Issues has consistently emphasised the importance of the rational management of the region’s water resources, adopted relevant recommendations, and worked closely with the Mykolaiv Regional Water Resources Office and the Specialised Environmental Prosecutor’s Office,» wrote Alla Riazhskykh.

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The Southern Bug River Basin Water Resources Administration is a state organisation responsible for the management, use and protection of water resources in the Southern Bug River basin. The Administration is also responsible for the rational use of water and monitoring water quality.

In accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive, she noted, river basin management should be carried out according to the ‘from source to mouth’ principle.

«That is, where the condition of the river, the level of pollution and water use issues can be assessed — in Mykolaiv. In 2019, the Southern Bug River Basin Administration was relocated to Vinnytsia, but the staffing capacity, managerial and technical capabilities of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Resources Office have been retained,» the councillor reported.

She noted that Mykolaiv region is suffering from significant climate change, particularly in recent years — in the form of drought and soil salinisation — yet at the same time possesses the greatest agricultural potential in the country.

«Water resource management specifically in our region will provide an opportunity for the comprehensive and rational use of water resources in the Southern Bug River basin, particularly given the new technological water pipeline for Mykolaiv and the operation of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant,» wrote Alla Riazhskykh.

She also called on Artem Chornomorov, who has urged Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko to return management of the Southern Bug to Mykolaiv, to join in addressing other environmental issues in the region.

«It is unexpected, surprising, but pleasing that some MPs have taken up the issue of transferring the Southern Bug River Basin Administration to Mykolaiv almost at the final stage and may become an intermediate link in the chain of decisions taken. The Regional Council and the relevant committee still have plenty of ideas for addressing environmental issues, so we invite Mr Artem Chornomorov to collaborate right from the outset, and we particularly need assistance regarding the preservation of the Buhohardivska Palanka of the Zaporizhian Host,» the people's deputy wrote.

As a reminder, the State Agency currently comprises two territorial units: a regional water resources office, such as the one in Mykolaiv Oblast, and a basin management office. The latter operated in Mykolaiv until 2018, but was subsequently relocated to Vinnytsia, according to Oleksandr Malikin, Deputy Head of the Regional Water Resources Office in Mykolaiv Oblast.

In April 2026, the Mykolaiv Regional Council appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers to return the Southern Bug River Basin Administration to Mykolaiv.

And at an away meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers in May 2026, the issue of returning the Southern Bug River Basin Water Resources Administration to Mykolaiv was discussed. It is currently located in Vinnytsia.

Following this, Artem Chornomorov called on Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko to return the Southern Bug administration to Mykolaiv.