Prime Minister invites mayor and governor to visit him after the publication of NikVesti about the discharge of mine water in Inhulets

Shmyhal instructed to ensure uninterrupted supply of technical water to Mykolaiv, Photo: Shmyhal's telegram

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reacted to our latest article about his scandalous decision to allow the discharge of mine water to the state-owned enterprise «Kryvbasshahtozakhryttia» into the river from which Mykolaiv receives its water.

It turned out that the level of chlorides (salts) in the water exceeded the expectations of the Cabinet by four times. Because of this, the city has had salty, muddy water in the taps for a month now.

After that, the government official held a meeting at which he «instructed to ensure the uninterrupted supply of technical water to Mykolaiv.»

He noted that during the meeting, with the participation of the chairman of Mykolaiv RMA Vitalii Kim and the mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, proposals were considered and possible sources of funds were determined.

«As a result of constant Russian shelling at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and Russia's undermining of the Kakhovka HPP in Mykolaiv, there was a problem with water supply. The government has already allocated more than 1.3 billion hryvnias for its solution. Supply of technical water is ensured,» the prime minister wrote.

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In particular, to improve access to drinking water, a comprehensive solution is currently being developed, which also includes the construction of a new water main. The corresponding project will be prepared in a short time.

«According to the results of the meeting, he instructed to ensure the uninterrupted supply of technical water to Mykolaiv during this year, as well as to immediately begin the design and construction of a new water main to provide the city with drinking water,» added Denys Shmyhal.

As we reported earlier, the state-owned enterprise «Kryvbasshahtozakryttia», which is located upstream of the water intake for Mykolaiv, dumped water from its sumps into the river. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine granted him permission to do this until March 15, 2024, as evidenced by the relevant order «On the discharge of excess return water into the Inhulets River». In fact, we are talking about water that, after use with the help of technical facilities, enterprises return to rivers in the form of sewage, mine, quarry or drainage water. In the order signed by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, it is stated that discharges are needed «to prevent the occurrence of an emergency situation at the hydraulic facilities of the Kryvyi Rih Basin, in particular, which may arise as a result of terrorist acts by the aggressor state.»

What about the water in Mykolaiv?

Back in April 2022, Russian troops destroyed the water pipeline through which Mykolaiv received drinking water.

Previously, NikVesti wrote that the water in the taps of Mykolaiv residents is dangerous for consumption, as it contains enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, toxic elements, has an increased content of chlorides, sulfates, dry residue, etc.

More information about the dangers of drinking «technical» water and what awaits the city's residents in the future can be found in the «Mykolaiv. The city that holds the defense of the south suffers from thirst.»

In March 2023, the director of Mykolaivvodokanal, Borys Dudenko, announced the possible threat of destruction of the sewage system due to the influence of salt water. According to him, over the past year, the water utility has eliminated more than 1,000 leaks, and after the start of the supply of salty water, the number of accidents per day has increased to 10-15 times. In addition, concrete sewer collectors also begin to degrade.

The European Investment Bank has approved additional credit financing of 20 million euros to improve water supply and drainage in Mykolaiv within the framework of the Municipal Infrastructure Development Program of Ukraine.

It was previously reported that 1.2 billion hryvnias are going to be allocated from the state budget for the restoration of the water supply system in Mykolaiv. Such a step is necessary for the city, because salt water corrodes the pipes and over time the entire water supply system will have to be changed in Mykolaiv.

At the same time, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, considers his team's decision to supply the city with salty technical water from the Southern Bug through a water pipeline after the water pipeline from the Dnipro River was damaged by Russian shelling in April of last year.

The Vodokanal is considering six options for arranging a new water intake site to provide Mykolaiv with drinking water.

As you know, the search for an alternative source of water intake began in the summer of last year. At that time, the general director of the water company Borys Dudenko talked about only a few options, where to get the amount of water necessary to fill the water supply system of our city and its 24-hour operation.

The first option is to go up the riverbed of the Southern Bug, choose a place with high-quality fresh water, build a water intake station there, lay a pipeline to Mykolaiv.

The second is to continue pumping water from the Dnipro-Bug estuary, but to install industrial-scale reverse osmosis units. Such installations are very energy-consuming.

On August 19, the department of urban planning, architecture, capital construction and support of development projects of Mykolaiv RMA announced tenders for the reconstruction of 12 sections of water mains damaged by salt water in different areas of the city for a total of 1 billion 348 million hryvnias.

Recently, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, announced the possible deterioration of water quality in the taps of Mykolaiv residents by the end of 2023.

At the same time, he believes that currently the water from the taps in Mykolaiv, which the townspeople consider technical, is better in terms of quality than «most water in Europe.»