"Kyivvodokanal": No electricity means no water, winter poses a risk of network freezing in homes

"Kyivvodokanal" warned that the water supply to apartments in Kyiv directly depends on the availability of electricity: when the lights go out, the pumps stop, and the water remains in the network, not reaching the upper floors of apartment buildings. This was stated by Serhiy Horkutenko, Deputy General Director of the company, in an interview with "Economichna Pravda."

According to him, the main danger is not the lack of water, but the possibility of the sewage system stopping during winter due to prolonged power outages. Water can be delivered by a water truck or brought in containers, while a sewage system shutdown poses significantly more serious consequences for the city. The sewage system has already been redesigned so that the drainage from residential buildings operates independently of electricity, and even during the most difficult days, the network continued to function, noted Горкуценко.

He identified the winter scenario as the most risky: if there is no electricity for 20 hours a day at a temperature of approximately -10 °C, there is a very high risk of freezing and damage to internal heating and water supply networks. In response to a clarifying question about whether this would mean complete freezing of apartment buildings when there is only four hours of light a day, the expert answered affirmatively and called it a collapse of internal building systems. The heating systems, which are laid along the exterior walls of buildings, are the most at risk – they freeze faster than the water supply pipes in central shafts.

To reduce the risks, Korkutenko advises residents and management companies to pre-insulate basement areas and check the shut-off valves and inlet pipes from the street into the building.

According to the deputy director, tariffs for residents have not changed for four years, which has resulted in a practically zero investment program for the company, and no major repairs have been carried out. During this time, the company has lost 40% of its employees, so one electrician or power engineer is responsible for maintaining several stations, which makes it difficult to respond quickly to emergencies during mass shelling.

To stabilize water pressure in the "Kyivvodokanal" network, the company is preparing a technical solution based on its own power generation; previously, it was reported that the city is building large-capacity power plants and plans to complete these works by December.