Fresh water returned to Mykolaiv for the first time since 2022

Residents of Mykolaiv were forced to use salty or industrial water for three years, but finally the centralized supply of fresh water has been restored.

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

The water crisis in the city began in 2022, when Russian troops blew up the Dnipro-Mykolaiv water main.

"To give people back access to fresh water, we have built a new water pipeline, which is a highly complex infrastructure project," Kuleba said. "The 136-kilometer-long pipeline, which consists of two lines of 67.9 km each, has been fully constructed. The system has passed the test filling, the pumping stations are ready, and fresh water has been supplied to consumers since yesterday.

According to a government official, the new system is protected from shelling as much as possible: cable lines are laid underground, shelters for personnel have been set up, and backup generators and modern equipment have been installed.

As a reminder, the water supply system from Nova Odesa was launched in Mykolaiv on October 1. The water should start flowing directly into the city's water supply system in the coming days, around October 7-8.

The new water supply system is 67 kilometers long and takes water directly from the Southern Bug River. The system consists of two lines with a total capacity of 120 thousand cubic meters of water. The first line is already completely filled with water, while the second is currently being pumped.

Kim explained that at the first stage, the water from the new water supply system will be mixed with water from Ingulets. This is necessary to flush the old city pipes. The process of fully upgrading the system and tangibly improving the water quality may take about four months. This is much faster than the initial forecasts, which envisaged a timeframe twice as long. Residents will notice a gradual improvement in the quality of their drinking water.

Катерина Глушко