A new water supply system for Mykolaiv has already been launched, but the water from it «cannot be drunk» — additional treatment plants are promised for the New Year

Construction of a new water supply system for Mykolaiv, 22 May 2025, photo: Darina Melnychuk, NikVesti

As of 7 October, specialists have already launched a new water supply system for Mykolaiv - it has been connected to the water utility's networks.

This was announced by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych during a briefing after a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities on 7 October, NikVesti.

He explained that the filtration system at the water utility's treatment facilities has been updated, which should allow for better purification of the water coming from the water supply system.

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- At the moment, the water supply system is already connected to the networks, to the treatment facilities of «Mykolaivvodokanal». During this time, «Mykolaivvodokanal», thanks to the help of our international partners, has replaced additional filtration and completely replaced 4 out of 8 filters. We plan to replace 4 more in the near future. This is very hard manual work,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

However, by the end of the year, it is also planned to build additional treatment facilities that will improve the quality of the water in the taps of the townspeople. Funds for this are promised to be allocated from the state budget.

«Until the new year, the water will be constantly changing, and another additional procedure is planned for the new year, which will make the water many times cleaner. This is the construction of additional treatment facilities, which will also be financed from the state budget,» the mayor explained.

Vitalii Kim, Head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, added that currently the water in the taps of the townspeople is not potable and cannot be consumed.

«The water will gradually change for the better, but it cannot be drunk. Now three laboratories measure its characteristics every day.

You will feel that the water is changing for the better, but it will be gradual. We have been waiting for three years, and we will wait a little longer,» said Vitalii Kim.

Oleksandr Sienkevych added that after the launch of the new water supply system, the city will flush the network. Therefore, the planned water leakage will be observed on the streets.

«It is important to say that the networks that were contaminated with industrial water must be flushed. Therefore, in the near future, we urge residents of Mykolaiv not to be surprised when fire hydrants are opened and water leaks out of them. This is not an accident, it is a planned action to flush the networks,» he said.

As you know, the first stage of the tender is currently underway — prequalification for the construction of new water treatment facilities in Mykolaiv. The project is funded by the European Investment Bank and the Danish government. This means that at this stage, the submitted applications are being checked and a list of companies is being formed that will be able to participate in the next stage of contractor selection.

Kristina Mikulova, Head of the EIB's Regional Centre for Eastern Europe, told NikVesti that there is a «temporary solution» and a «long-term solution» to provide Mykolaiv with quality water. What does this mean?

• «The temporary solution» is the launch of a new water supply system with modernised water treatment facilities that the city has. Funds for their modernisation should be allocated by the state. This will make it possible to supply treated water to the taps of Mykolaiv residents, but not yet of drinking quality.
• «The long-term solution» is to build new water treatment facilities. Funds for this are provided by the European Investment Bank (loan) and the Danish government (grants). This project will take several years to implement and should help provide the city with water of European standards.

Mykolaiv needs more purified water

Although the launch of the new water supply system for Mykolaiv took place in October 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 Serhii Koreniev 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 Vitalii 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 Serhii Sukhomlyn, head of the State Agency for Infrastructure Recovery and Development.