Odessa Approves Investment Program for Infoksvodokanal Despite Concerns About the Condition of the Networks

PHOTO: "Infoksvodokanal" Branch/Facebook

Before the Odessa City Council approved the 2026 investment program for the “Infoksvodokanal” branch, a debate erupted over the quality of the company’s work. Council members demanded that the company be audited to ensure it is fulfilling its obligations before any discussion of potential rate increases for residents.

At a meeting of the Odessa City Council’s executive committee, the issue of approving the 2026 investment program for Infoksvodokanal LLC was considered.

Odesa City Council member Oleksandr Korniienko drew attention to numerous complaints from city residents. According to him, Odesa residents are complaining about the inadequate maintenance of the networks managed by the company. He noted that during the winter, due to breakdowns, certain streets and residential buildings suffered from flooding, and the cleanup efforts sometimes dragged on not for days, but for weeks and even months.

Kornienko proposed conducting a detailed analysis of the company’s fulfillment of its investment and concession obligations. In his view, before making any decisions regarding a possible rate increase, it is necessary to assess the extent to which the company is fulfilling the promises it made when the networks were transferred to its management.

The council member also emphasized that rumors of an increase in water rates are already spreading among the public. He noted that people often confuse information about the preparation of relevant decisions with rate hikes that have already been approved, so the authorities must clearly explain the process of their approval.

In response,Leonid Grebenyuk, director of the Department of Municipal Services, explained that investment programs for the “Infoksvodokanal” subsidiary were not, in fact, submitted to the city council for approval during martial law. According to him, the last such program was approved back in 2020 or 2021.

The official also disagreed that the main cause of the high number of accidents was the company’s poor performance. He noted that last winter was extremely difficult due to constant power outages caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

According to the official, power outages led to the shutdown of pumping stations and disruptions in the hydraulic regime of the water supply system. It was these sudden pressure drops, in his opinion, that became one of the main causes of numerous pipe breaks in the networks.

He emphasized that the investment program specifies the amount of funds that the lessee of the entire property complex plans to allocate for the modernization and development of the networks transferred to it for use.

Following the discussion, the members of the executive committee unanimously supported submitting a proposal to the Odessa City Council and the Odessa Regional Council for approval of Infoksvodokanal LLC’s investment program for 2026. All 11 members of the Executive Committee present voted in favor of the corresponding decision.

During the same meeting, the Executive Committee also approved, without discussion, amendments to a number of city-level targeted programs, specifically regarding road safety, the development of electric transportation, the construction of social and engineering infrastructure, the implementation of family and gender policies, energy efficiency programs for apartment buildings, and support for Odessa’s veterans.

In May, INFOX LLC, whose subsidiary supplies water to Odesa, announced its intention to change the rates for centralized water supply and centralized wastewater disposal.

Анна Бальчінос

Executive Committee of Odesa City Council Infoxvodokanal Odesa Odesa region