The contractor explained why it was decided to lay the water supply line for Mykolaiv from Nova Odesa: «This is the closest area where drinking water is of good quality»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

It was decided to build a new water supply system for Mykolaiv from Nova Odesa, as it is the nearest site «with good quality drinking water».

This was announced by Maxim Shkil, founder of the «Avtostrada» group of companies.

He explained that the water in the Southern Bug River, which is closer to Mykolaiv and below the existing water intake, has sea water impurities and therefore high chloride levels.

Comment by Maxim Shkil, founder of the group of companies «Avtostrada», to a Facebook post, screenshot

Since March 2025, the construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv has been carried out by «Autostrada», said Maksym Shkil.

«More than 1,000 employees, hundreds of units of equipment are involved, we work around the clock,» he added.

According to him, the construction of the water supply system for the city is going to be completed in 5 months — by August 2025.

«This is an absolutely record pace for an infrastructure project of this scale. Despite the fact that the project is complex, it is quite real for the Autostrada team: the Autostrada Design Institute develops technical solutions that the construction units immediately implement. We work on the design&build principle, which ensures full synchronisation of the work of engineers and builders and significantly reduces the lead time. No subcontractors — only internal resources. At the same time, Autostrada's production facilities, including concrete and asphalt plants and laboratory complexes, are operating 24/7 at the water supply system construction site. The quality of materials and work is controlled at every stage of production,» said Maksym Shkil.

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

He specified that the active phase of work on the first section of the water supply system started in March, and the second and third sections — in April.

«All work is carried out exclusively by Autostrada, without the involvement of subcontractors. This approach ensures full control over the processes, strict adherence to schedules and maximum efficiency in the use of budget resources,» he added.

The total cost of the water supply system construction, including additional works, amounted to 6.2 billion hryvnias. The total length of the new water supply network is 67.8 kilometres. Three powerful pumping stations (640-800 kilowatts) are planned along the route to ensure a stable water supply.

The capacity of the water supply system is 120,000 cubic metres per day for Mykolaiv and 50,000 cubic metres for the reclamation system of Nova Odesa and Mykolaiv district.

Construction of a new water pipeline for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

The water supply system for Mykolaiv will work as follows, the contractor explained: water will be taken through four gravity pipes from the Southern Bug River in the area of Nova Odesa, filtered, and then transported through three pumping stations to Mykolaiv's water treatment facilities.

«The route is being laid outside of settlements or along their outskirts, and we are avoiding laying pipelines through city and village streets with a large number of utilities. This approach allows us to preserve the existing infrastructure and complete the work faster and without unnecessary complications for local residents,» said Maksym Shkil.

He also added that all pumping stations and power grids are located in protected areas for safety during shelling.

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Avtostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Autostrada»

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, photo: «Avtostrada»

On 7 April, the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in Mykolaiv Oblast cancelled three contracts with contractors that were to build a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. The respective additional agreements on the termination of contracts were signed with the companies «Avtostrada», «Ukrtransmist» and «Rostdorstroy».

Water supply for Mykolaiv

In May, Mayor Senkevych expressed hope that the dismissal of Oleksandr Kubrakov from the post of Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure would not affect the plans to build a new water supply system for the city.

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Mustafa Naiiem was also dismissed in June. However, Naiiem later responded to the Ministry of Finance's accusations that the Agency had not provided a water supply project in Mykolaiv region, noting that at the time of his dismissal, the terms of reference for the procurement procedure were already being prepared.

During a briefing on 11 July, answering a question from NikVesti, Vitalii Kim said that Mykolaiv had not yet received funds from the government for the construction of a new water supply system, as the amount had changed. He planned to submit an updated project estimate to the government for consideration.

Earlier, Vitaliy Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Authority, told reporters that due to the optimisation of the estimate, about ₴3 billion was needed to build the water supply system. However, earlier the figure was between ₴4 and 8 billion.

It is worth noting that in two years the government has not allocated funds for the construction of a new water supply system to provide Mykolaiv with quality water. This is evidenced by the amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution №566, approved on 29 April 2024, according to NikVesti. At the same time, in 2023, the government allocated ₴8.2 billion for the construction of new water mains in the Dnipro region, and this year — ₴5.1 billion.

During the conference in Berlin, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniienko, answering questions from NikVesti, said that the lack of drinking water in Mykolaiv is one of the biggest problems in Ukraine that the government must solve in the near future.

The head of the parliamentary faction «Servant of the People» David Arakhamiia believes that funds for the construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv should be allocated from the state budget reserve fund.

On 23 July 2024, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych met with the leadership of the Service for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure in Mykolaiv Oblast to discuss the construction of a water supply pipeline for drinking water.

Later, it became known that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had ordered the construction of a new water supply system to provide Mykolaiv with drinking water «under the fast track option» — drinking water should be available by the summer of 2025. The government has already approved the relevant programme.

Why was there salty water in Mykolaiv in March?

Mykolaiv was left without water for some time after the Dnipro water supply system was damaged. Subsequently, salt water from the estuary was introduced into the network, and today the city receives river water. Its quality is inferior to that of the Dnipro, but it is still better than the estuary water. This way, almost half a million people in Mykolaiv receive better quality technical water in their homes, according to the explainer NikVesti «Why is there salt water in Mykolaiv again? We explain».

However, since the beginning of March 2024, residents of Mykolaiv have noticed that the quality of the water in their taps has deteriorated — it has become saltier and more yellow than usual.

The municipal utility «Mykolaivvodokanal» commented on the deterioration in water quality only on 15 March. It explained that the deterioration in water quality «is caused by natural and man-made factors», and added that «there are no simple and quick solutions to such complex issues, but work in this direction is ongoing».

It turned out that the state-owned enterprise «Kryvbasshakhtozaklykation», located upstream of the water intake point for Mykolaiv, had discharged water from its sedimentation tanks into the river. The permission to do so until 15 March 2024 was granted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as evidenced by the relevant order «On the discharge of excess wastewater into the Inhulets River». In fact, we are talking about water that, after use, is returned to rivers by technical facilities of enterprises in the form of wastewater, mine, quarry or drainage water.

However, the main condition of this permit from the Cabinet of Ministers is that the company must comply with individual regulations. That is, the content of chlorides (salts) in Ingulka should not exceed the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of 350 milligrams per cubic decimetre (per litre). To achieve this, mine water should be supplied to Ingulets together with fresh water, which would dilute it and reduce the percentage of mineralisation. However, it turned out that this figure was exceeded by more than 4 times.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reacted to the latest story «NikVesti» about his scandalous decision to allow the discharge of mine water by the state-owned enterprise «Kryvbasshahtozakryttia» into the river from which Mykolaiv receives water. He held a meeting at which «instructed him to ensure an uninterrupted supply of industrial water to Mykolaiv».

And in April 2024, the Ukrainian government allocated ₴125.5 million for water supply to Mykolaiv.