Protecting water facilities from strikes is the top priority. They underpin not only water supplies but also heating, explained Serhii Sukhomlyn, former head of Ukraine’s State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, at an event organised by LB and EFI Group.
He noted that it is impossible to fully protect wastewater treatment plants. However, there are key elements whose protection is possible at a second level.
This approach was used in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro and other localities.
The destruction of a sewage pumping station is not the biggest challenge. Once the “valve” is opened, all sewage will flow into the Dnipro, triggering an environmental catastrophe.
If a strike hits a sewage pumping station, the water supply to the entire city must be shut off, which means heat supply will not function.
“That is why, first and foremost, electricity is very important, but water is number one today for all Ukrainian cities, especially large ones like Kyiv,” he said.
Sukhomlyn stressed that a great deal is being done to protect water facilities, including through resilience plans. Work is under way on mobile water-supply stations.