Chernivtsi is developing plans for water supply during blackouts

Chernivtsi plans to maintain water supply even in the event of prolonged power outages. The municipal utility “Chernivtsivodokanal” has developed contingency plans for blackouts lasting from one to 14 days and is also preparing backup power sources.

Ivan Rus, CEO of the municipal utility “Chernivtsivodokanal,” stated during a press conference that the city’s water supply should not come to a complete halt even in the event of a large-scale blackout.

According to him, to ensure this, the utility has planned to use four water intake sources and specially developed action plans for power outages of varying durations.

Utility workers have prepared operational scenarios for power outages lasting one, three, seven, and 14 days.

If there is no power for one day, water will still be available in the city, though water pressure may drop in some buildings. Subsequently, water supply may be temporarily suspended in certain sections of the network.

If the outage lasts three days or longer, Chernivtsi may implement a water supply schedule.

“We will announce these in advance,” the Chernivtsi City Council clarified.

If the power outage lasts seven to 14 days, utility officials predict that water rationing schedules will be difficult to avoid. One reason is the uncertainty regarding fuel reserves for backup power.

For areas where water will be temporarily unavailable due to a prolonged blackout, the water utility will organize the delivery of drinking water. To do this, they plan to use their own tankers and enlist the help of private contractors.

To meet critical needs, the utility has already secured 2 MW of generator capacity, and an additional 1 MW is in the process of being connected.

In addition, the water utility is using a 150 kW solar power plant. By the end of the year, they plan to expand it by another 0.6 MW.

City council officials emphasized that the recent emergency power outage demonstrated the utility’s preparedness for such situations.

According to the city council, during the power outage, the water utility switched to generators within minutes and was able to maintain water pressure in the system.

Currently, specialists are also working to provide backup power for 22 water-boosting stations. This should help maintain water supply, particularly on the upper floors of buildings during power outages.

This was reported by the press service of the Chernivtsi City Council.

As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi to assemble a special team of managers for Kyiv, which will develop solutions to prepare the capital for a difficult winter. According to the head of state, he discussed possible participation in this effort with Vasyl Malyuk, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Volodymyr Groysman, and Serhiy Sukhomlyn.

Earlier, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that the State Treasury Service had frozen the capital’s funds earmarked for the restoration of residential buildings damaged by Russian shelling. He called on the government to unfreeze the funding.

Kyiv has completed more than 60% of the measures outlined in the city’s resilience plan. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said they expect to complete all planned work by December.