Restrictions on water supply are being imposed in temporary occupied Mariupol amid critical shallowing of the Starokrymskoye reservoir, water will be supplied only 6 hours a day, the Mariupol City Council reported on Telegram on Thursday, UNN reports.
On March 3, the occupation authorities of Mariupol introduced schedules for water supply to residents' homes. As usual, water will be supplied only from 06:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 21:00. The rest of the time, the pressure will be reduced to the lowest possible level. This is due to the critical shallowing of the Starokrymskoye reservoir
"It was predictable. The approximate flow rate of the reservoir is 40 thousand cubic meters per day. And the city needs to be supplied with 150,000 cubic meters. That's why the reservoir is running out of water," said Vladimir Antonenko, head of Mariupolvodokanal.
Prior to the occupation, Mariupol used to draw water from the Siverskyi Donets Canal and the backup Starokrymske Reservoir. During the Russian invasion, the Siverskyi Donets was damaged, and Mariupol switched to supplying only from the reservoir.
"Hourly supply will not solve the problem, as a new source of water supply is needed," the city council said.
The situation is reportedly similar in occupied Donetsk, where the invaders have been unable to solve the water problem for 10 years. There are also hourly schedules and water deliveries, for which people line up in queues.
In the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the issue of quality water supply was to be resolved through an investment project to modernize the city's water supply and sewage system, which was supported by the French government. The new drinking water plant was to be commissioned in 2023-2024. Currently, the French government's agreement with Mariupol remains ratified, but is suspended due to the city's occupation.
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Earlier, Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol , also stated this problem because the level of drinking water in the Starokrymskoye reservoir is rapidly decreasing. According to him, the shallowing has been gradually continuing since 2023, but since August 2024 it has been gaining critical speed. Due to the increased load on the infrastructure, mass migration of Russians, and the incompetence of the occupation authorities, Mariupol will begin to experience a total problem with water supply in the spring, the advisor said.