Zhovtneve Reservoir to be restored after construction of water pipeline in Mykolaiv

The restoration of the Zhovtneve Reservoir will begin only after the reconstruction of the water supply system and the construction of treatment facilities that will improve the quality of water supply.

This was announced by the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitalii Kim during a press conference on 30 December, according to NikVesti.

The project to restore the Zhovtneve Reservoir has already been included in the Cabinet of Ministers' resolutions, but funding has not yet been provided. According to Vitalii Kim, this issue is considered the third stage of work, after the completion of the main projects — the restoration of the water supply system and the construction of treatment facilities.

«The Zhovtneve Reservoir project is included in the Cabinet of Ministers' resolution, but it is currently without funding. My priority is to restore the water supply to Mykolaiv so that there is water, and we have discussed and agreed on this with the Restoration Agency and the relevant ministry.»

He stressed that the loss of the Kakhovka reservoir had led to a significant deterioration in the situation, as this reservoir performed important functions in water purification and aeration.

«The next step should be the construction of treatment facilities. This is the second priority. Even if we resume water supply from the Dnipro, it will not be of the quality that residents are used to. Because the Kakhovka reservoir served two purposes: it was like the Zhovtneve reservoir, it was a water storage facility and it provided aeration when water was discharged downstream. Now it has neither,» added the Head of the RMA.

He added that upon completion of these two stages, the restoration of the Zhovtneve Reservoir will begin, which will become an important reserve for ensuring water purity in the region. However, funding for these works will depend on the state budget and other priority projects.

«The third priority, after we finish these works, will be the Zhovtneve reservoir. We need it as a reserve to ensure clean water. It is in the project, we are working on it, but in terms of funding, it will be primarily allocated to the water supply and treatment facilities. Next, we will move on to the Zhovtneve reservoir. I am in favour of the Zhovtnevske reservoir, but it is the state that allocates money. And there are many priorities in the country that are more important than the reservoir,» said Vitalii Kim.

As you know, Mykolaiv is going to reconstruct the Zhovtneve reservoir for 4.3 billion hryvnias. These funds will be spent on project development and works, according to the Programme of Economic and Social Development of Mykolaiv Oblast for 2024.

Later, Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Authority, explained that it was impossible to restore the reservoir by carrying out routine repairs — it would require a major reconstruction. Currently, Mykolaiv is considering several options for sources to fill the Zhovtneve reservoir with water after its restoration.

Prior to that, on 19 September 2023, during the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, Vitalii Kim said that Mykolaiv Regional Water Authority would appeal to the Government and the President's Office to support the project for backup water supply in Mykolaiv. A few days later, commenting on this thesis, Borys Dudenko, CEO of «Mykolaivvodokanal», said that about 300 million hryvnias was needed to restore the Zhovtneve reservoir.

In the article NikVesti «Water issue in Mykolaiv. Is it possible to restore the Zhovtneve Reservoir and how will this help the city?» we wrote that the reservoir, which has been out of service for 16 years, is to be restored by carrying out a complete reconstruction. This requires tens of millions of euros.

The Zhovtneve reservoir in Vitovskyi district, near the Kulbakyne neighbourhood, was built in 1957 and used as a strategic freshwater reserve for industrial and domestic water supply in Mykolaiv.

The design of the Verkhnii Inhulets irrigation system, which included the Zhovtneve reservoir, was developed by the Odesa branch of «Ukrdiprokomunstroy» in 1954. Its volume at the time of the start of operation was 15,000 cubic metres, and later grew to 32,000 cubic metres (at maximum capacity), and its depth in some places was up to 28 metres. It was filled annually, in the autumn and winter (160 days), with Dnipro and Inhulets water.

In 2006, as a result of the slow water exchange, the reservoir silted up and the water salinity increased significantly. Along with the appearance of a strong putrid, mercaptan-like smell in the water, there was an increase in water colour from 30 to 75 degrees, dry residual from 300 mg/dm3 to 1120 mg/dm3, a twofold increase in chloride and sulphate content, and oxidation.

The city authorities decided to release water from the Zhovtneve Reservoir to clean the silt layer. In addition, the maintenance and protection of the reservoir became unaffordable for the city's budget. In this regard, the city authorities of Mykolaiv, whose mayor at the time was Volodymyr Chaika, repeatedly appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to allocate a state subvention for restoration work to ensure the operation of the Zhovtneve Reservoir. However, at the time, this issue was not very relevant to the government.

In 2008, the project to clean up and restore the reservoir was postponed. For 8 years, no one raised the issue of the feasibility of restoring the reservoir, neither in the city nor at the state level.

In 2016, a video filmed with a quadcopter was published online, showing the territory of the «Zhovtneve «Sea», as the reservoir was called. In 2018, journalists from the «Inter» TV channel filmed a story showing that a landfill had already formed on the territory of the former reservoir.

In 2020, the problem of restoring the Zhovtneve Reservoir was raised to a new level by Olena Kiseliova, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council. At the time, she suggested that the utility company «Mykolaivvodokanal» should seriously address the problem with water reserves and restore the operation of the Zhovtneve Reservoir.