Residents of Mykolaiv are calling for the road surface to be repaired, having been dug up three times due to a water main burst

Residents of Mykolaiv are calling for the road surface to be repaired following water utility works on Sevastopolskaya Street. Photo: Oleksii Bychkovskyi

In Mykolaiv, at 47 Sevastopolska Street, the same situation has been repeating itself for several years: water starts leaking from a manhole, the leak is fixed, and the section is re-asphalted. But after a while, there is another leak, and the whole process repeats itself. Residents are asking for the water mains to be repaired to prevent further incidents, and for the asphalt to be restored.

Oleksii Bychkovskyi wrote about this in the Contact Centre group at Mykolaiv City Council.

Back on 26 August 2024, the man reported that leaks at 47 Sevastopolska Street occur regularly. Before the new asphalt was laid, he asked for the utilities to be repaired, as each time the asphalt is restored, it is then broken up again, wasting money.

«A few years ago, new asphalt was finally laid on this stretch and kerbs were installed. Even whilst the remains of the old asphalt were being removed, before the new layer was laid, I wrote to the contact centre saying that the underground utilities needed to be thoroughly repaired first, as the water utility digs up this spot regularly every six months. However, this was not done. A month and a half ago, they were digging in one spot; they’d only just filled it in, and now water is leaking from another spot, and the brand-new asphalt will gradually turn into a patchwork of repairs,» wrote Oleksii Bychkovskyi.

On 14 September, the man reported again that the water was still leaking, but no repairs had been carried out. Later, in the comments under the post, «Mykolaivvodokanal» replied that the leak had been plugged and that the contract for the asphalting would be passed on to the contractors.

Leak on Sevastopolska Street, 47 in February. Photo: Oleksii Bychkovskyi

The asphalt surface was not restored after repairs on Sevastopolska Street. Photo: Oleksi Bychkovskyi

On 1 February 2026, a Mykolaiv resident raised the same issue.

«The repairs lasted four months. And now it’s the same again. Has anyone counted how many hundreds of thousands of hryvnias have already been spent on this section? It’s a rhetorical question. Perhaps it is time to do it properly, replace the pipe, rather than just fitting clamps or hammering in plugs, which only last a few months,» said Oleksiy Bychkovskyi.

On 20 April, another complaint from the man was registered. He recalled the history of his complaints and asked for the asphalt to be repaired if the water mains cannot be fixed.

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«How much longer can this go on? Look at the history of my complaints — it’s been the same thing for several years. Perhaps it’s time to properly fix the water mains in this spot once and for all, so we don’t have to dig up the road every six months and waste money on asphalt? But if that’s not on the agenda again, then I simply ask once more that the asphalt surface be restored after the water utility’s work at this address,» the Mykolaiv resident said.

The press office of «Mykolaivvodokanal» confirmed to NikVesti that they had received several complaints regarding leaks. However, as it turned out, these were in different locations, but each time the asphalt had to be removed.

«Currently, the water main leading to this house and running alongside it is a PO pipe, and it is not in a state of disrepair. There is no point in replacing that pipe. Leaks occurred there in different places: the first time in the water supply manhole — they dug it up and repaired it; the second time — at the point where the pipe enters the house. They had to dig it up and repair it there as well. The third time, a leak occurred directly on the main pipe. In other words, it has always been in different places,» noted the water utility.

There are no leaks at present, but there has been a report for asphalt resurfacing since February.

«The situation is the same now. We will resurface the road. The order for the asphalt resurfacing was submitted on 3 February. The only problem is that our tender has expired. Once the new tender is in place, the resurfacing work will begin in earnest,» added the water utility.

As a reminder, employees of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal» have spoken out against the company’s new management and the Supervisory Board, accusing them of unprofessionalism and preparing the company for privatisation.

The Supervisory Board of «Mykolaivvodokanal», together with Director Hennadii Iziumov, stated that the company is in a critical financial state, which is the result of a prolonged management crisis, ineffective management and systemic problems in the company’s operations.

It is known that during a meeting between water utility staff and the new CEO, Hennadii Iziumov, on 15 April, the issue of the dismissal of Technical Director Vasyl Telpis was raised. An audio recording of this conversation is in the possession of the editorial team at NikVesti.

During the meeting, the employees stated that Telpis’s dismissal came as a surprise to them, as he had worked at the water utility since the 1980s and had been acting as head following the death of Borys Dudenko.

At the meeting, Hennadii Iziumov assured those present that he had not taken the decision to dismiss Telpis. According to him, Telpis was dismissed by the Supervisory Board.

However, the Supervisory Board of the Mykolaivvodokanal Municipal Enterprise subsequently stated that it had not taken a decision to dismiss the company’s technical director, Vasyl Telpis, contrary to what the new CEO, Hennadii Iziumov, had previously reported.