EU supports Kryvyi Rih in restoring critical infrastructure and ensuring access to clean water

The European Union, in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the City Council of Kryvyi Rih, has launched a €30 million project to support the reconstruction of the water supply system in the city. 

On 21 July, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová hosted a meeting at the EU Delegation in Kyiv with Acting Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Yuriy Vilkul and IOM Chief of Mission in Ukraine David Womble to symbolically sign the agreement for this water infrastructure project.

The new EU-funded project will enhance water quality, reduce energy consumption, and reduce water losses across the city’s pipeline network. In partnership with Kryvyi Rih City Council, water company Vodokanal and local authorities, the IOM will rehabilitate pumping stations, replace pipelines, and improve the efficiency of the city’s water treatment plant. 

Over the next two years, the project will benefit up to 700,000 residents of Kryvyi Rih, including around 80,000 internally displaced people. 

“Kryvyi Rih endures not only the devastating consequences of the Kakhovka Dam destruction but also continued Russian shelling,” said Katarína Mathernová, EU Ambassador to Ukraine.  “This project represents more than infrastructure recovery. It is a reaffirmation of our solidarity with a heroic city whose people are going through an unimaginable hardship. The restoration of safe and reliable access to water is essential for public health, recovery, and human dignity – and we are proud to stand with Kryvyi Rih in this crucial effort.”

The Kakhovka Dam, captured by Russia at the start of the invasion, was breached in the early hours of 6 June 2023, causing dozens of deaths and massive damage, submerging 620 square kilometres of territory in four oblasts — Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia. The 2023 Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, prepared jointly by the United Nations and the Government of Ukraine, with inputs from the World Bank Group and the EU, estimated the loss and damage caused by the dam destruction at $14 billion. 

Before the disaster, Kryvyi Rih relied on the water supply from the Kakhovka Reservoir. With it no longer viable, the city has been dependent on degraded and insufficient alternative sources.  

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Press release