The debt of Mykolaiv citizens to Vodokanal amounted to more than ₴249 million: the KP may be on the verge of closure

Mykolaivvodokanal utility company, photo from the company's page

If the residents of Mykolaiv continue to neglect the payment of debts for water supply and drainage services, the utility company Mykolaivvodokanal will be on the verge of closure.

The company's press service reported this in the Telegram channel.

As of July 31, out of almost 186,000 subscribers in Mykolaiv, 83,319 users have not paid for services — 45%.

«You can give a lot of excuses from consumers. However, in order to ensure water supply and drainage to/from each residence, Mykolaivvodokanal:

1. paid for water delivered to consumers,

2. purchased electricity for operation of pumping equipment;

3. purchased fuel and lubricants for the operation of the company's road transport;

4. purchased reagents for water disinfection;

5. the salary of the personnel who ensure the smooth operation of the enterprise has been paid,» the water utility reported.

Since the beginning of the year, the total debt of Mykolaiv citizens amounted to 248 million 604 thousand hryvnias, and in July the amount increased by another 672 thousand hryvnias.

If the debt situation does not change, the city may run out of water, as the water company says, and the utility company itself may close.

«These figures, this information, are despair and warning at the same time. If the situation does not change, the enterprise will be on the verge of closure. We hope that no one aspires that at some point the enterprise will stop due to debts, and the city will be left without water and drainage, and the collapse that the invaders dreamed of after bombing our water supply will come?» wrote the KP.

It is worth noting that the water supplied to Mykolaiv residents' homes is technical and suitable only for household needs — washing clothes, washing dishes, cleaning, and use in the shower and toilet. The use of this water for drinking and cooking is not recommended.

What about the debts in Mykolaiv?

As of January 2024, residents of Mykolaiv owe more than 241 million hryvnias for water supply and drainage services. Among the regions of Ukraine, the people of Mykolaiv became one of the biggest debtors for water supply services.

In social networks, they began to publish advertising videos with threats to block Mykolaiv residents' credit cards due to debt. In a comment to «Nikvesti», the director of KP Borys Dudenko explained that the purpose of such videos is to convey to the population the need to pay for debts.

And as of the end of October 2023, the total debt of the residents of Mykolaiv for heat supply services to the regional thermal energy company amounted to 213 million hryvnias. By that time, the townspeople had already paid 95% of the debt for the 2022/23 heating season, and currently the sum of last year's debt is 90 million hryvnias. The director of Mykolaivoblteploenergo stated that in 2024 the company plans to introduce a two-rate tariff. This means that residents of Mykolaiv will pay for heating throughout the year, not just during the heating season, but in winter the payments will be higher.

Vitalii Kim, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, believes that the large number of debts for housing and communal services in the region is connected with the impact of the war on the financial and psychological situation of people.