Expensive project to supply Donetsk with water from the Don approved

The expert compared its cost with the Crimean bridge

Water will appear again in Donetsk. Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Marat Khusnullin and head of the Donetsk Republic Denis Pushilin have agreed to build a conduit from the Don River. The project is expensive, but worth it – for nine months now, water has been supplied to the houses of Donetsk, at best, only two hours a day.

During the meeting, Khusnullin and Pushilin discussed the restoration of Mariupol and paid special attention to providing the republic with water. “A decision was made to build a conduit from the Don River. Despite the fact that the project is complex and expensive, its implementation is scheduled for the first half of 2023,” the head of the DPR said.

The problems began last winter: after shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the South-Donbass water conduit, which feeds dozens of settlements, was put out of action. Some of the houses were transferred to reserve storage facilities, some areas completely lost their central water supply.

The main water artery “Seversky Donets – Donbass” was de-energized on February 25 due to hostilities. For some time, water, of course, came, but little and intermittently. By the end of August, the canal ran out of supplies, and it completely stopped its work. By the summer, several additional water intakes were built in the republic from the Olkhovsky and Gorlovsky reservoirs. This did not completely solve the problem, but slightly increased the reserves.

In social networks and chats, Donetsk residents publish the places of delivery and the schedule of centralized water supply. She walks two hours a day, but does not reach the upper floors everywhere. “Two weeks – not a drop,” writes Irina, who lives in the Kalininsky district of Donetsk, in August. In the fall, the problem was aggravated by the fact that due to the lack of water it was impossible to establish full-fledged heating …

After the construction of the water conduit from the Don, the inhabitants of the republic will be able to return to normal life. “Finally, the problem will be solved once and for all. I can’t even believe it!” – write in the comments to the news.

About how much it will cost the budget, “MK” talked with the president of the Crimean Academy of Sciences Viktor Tarasenko:

– Water is the most expensive resource today. Don itself does not always meet the needs of the region in water supply. There is a general trend towards deterioration of the water supply situation in the entire south of Russia. But it is clear that Donetsk is now Russian territory, so we need to share and somehow resolve these issues.

– How much will the project cost?

— It will be very expensive, but the main thing is that it is technically feasible. Another question: what is expensive. The Crimean bridge was also expensive, but they did it.

– Are there any other ways to supply the region with water?

— It could be wells. There are hydrogeological services that can calculate reserves. But this is a complex issue, which should be dealt with by specialists of the department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, and so on.