Mykolaiv will receive water at the end of August, - MinRegion on water supply system readiness

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksii Kuleba

The Mykolaiv water supply system has been filled with water in stages for more than two weeks. So far, 44 kilometres of the network have been laid and 65% of its length has been tested. The water has passed the first and second pumping stations, and pumping through the third has begun.

This was announced by Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine, Minister of Communities and Territories Development.

He stressed that the construction is progressing rapidly: 99% of the pipeline has been installed in six months, and the pumping stations are 85% complete.

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksiy Kuleba

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksii Kuleba

- This is a modern project with energy-efficient solutions and additional opportunities for field irrigation, as solutions and opportunities for regional development are being implemented alongside the installation of the main equipment. For example, the supply of 50,000 cubic metres of water per day for farmers, modern frequency converters to save energy, backup generators for each station, a fibre optic system, and backup power lines," said Oleksiy Kuleba .

"Particular attention is paid to safety: substations and cables are placed underground, shelters for workers are being built, which will allow the system to operate even in difficult conditions.

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksiy Kuleba

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksii Kuleba

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv. Photo: Oleksiy Kuleba

According to Kuleba, the final hydraulic tests are still to be carried out.

- "The final hydraulic tests, the final check of pressure and tightness parameters are ahead. And by the end of August, water will be supplied to people," assured Oleksiy Kuleba .

We remind you that the system started to be filled with water at the end of July. As the engineers explained, the start-up should not be done abruptly, as it could cause a water hammer.

Advertising

Read also the article « NikVesti » « I'm tired of carrying those aubergines». Will Mykolaiv get drinking water in 2025?».

Water supply for Mykolaiv

It has been more than three years since Russian troops damaged the water pipeline that supplied Mykolaiv with water. Since then, the city of almost half a million people has been without a centralised supply of quality water. Currently, Mykolaiv residents receive water from a backup source, which raises many questions about the quality of this water and the salt content in it. The salt water damaged 1,200 kilometres of the city's water supply network. Boris Dudenko, director of «Mykolaivvodokanal», said that it is impossible to replace the entire length of the network that was damaged by salt water. As of August 2024, only about 3 kilometres of the network had been replaced.

All this time, representatives of state and local authorities were looking for ways to restore drinking water supply in Mykolaiv. The final solution was found in 2024: a new water supply line would be laid from Nova Odesa, and the money was allocated from the state budget.

The regional recovery service even selected contractors who will work according to the principle of «design-build». They are three companies, each of which is responsible for one of the three work areas: «Ukrtransmist», «Rostdorstroy» and «Avtostrada». However, later both the client and the construction contractor were changed. The customer for the construction of the new water pipeline was the Service for Infrastructure Restoration and Development in Dnipropetrovska oblast, and the contractor was the group of companies «Avtostrada».

The future water pipeline for Mykolaiv is expected to be built and launched by autumn 2025, said Serhiy Sukhomlyn, head of the State Agency for Reconstruction. Back during a conference in Berlin in 2024, First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Kornienko, answering a question from «NikVesti», said that the lack of drinking water in Mykolaiv was one of the biggest problems in Ukraine that the state should solve in the near future. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has 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 programme.

Solar power plants are going to be installed on the water supply system for Mykolaiv, which will reduce the cost of water tariffs for the city's residents, said Vitaliy Kim, head of the UIA. At the same time, the contractor «Autostrada» explained that they decided to lay a new water supply system for Mykolaiv from Nova Odesa, as it is the «closest site with good quality drinking water». They also showed photos of the construction of the new water supply system.

Still need more purified water

Although a new water supply system for Mykolaiv is promised to be built by autumn 2025, this does not guarantee that the city will immediately receive drinking water, as a new water treatment system needs to be built, Kristina Mikulova, head of the European Investment Bank's Eastern Europe Regional Centre, told «NikVesti».

At the same time, Deputy Mayor of Mykolaiv and head of the city's recovery working group Serhiy Korenev said that the Mykolaiv Recovery Agency is working to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant and launch it simultaneously with the new water supply system. And Vitaliy Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Authority, said he did not want to rush to take out a large loan for the construction of water treatment facilities for Mykolaiv, despite the EIB's readiness to allocate more than €100 million.

Later, it became known that the State Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure is currently upgrading the water treatment system for Mykolaiv on behalf of the government.

Together with the constructed water pipeline, this will allow the city to launch a centralised drinking water supply in August 2025, said Sergiy Sukhomlyn, head of the State Agency for Infrastructure Recovery and Development.