Through its Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), USAID provided key materials for a complex renovation of the central water supply system in Krolevets, Sumy Oblast, to improve access to clean, potable water for over 23,000 residents.
The city’s existing pipe network dates back to the 1960s, and most pipes are worn out and dilapidated, rendering the water running through them unsafe for human consumption. Citizens have had to buy drinking water or purify it themselves to make it safe to drink.
Over the last two months, USAID delivered more than 11 kilometers of metal and plastic pipes, 350 hatches, couplings, taps, valves, elbows, washers, nuts, bolts, compression valves, and other equipment totaling more than USD 149,000. This new equipment will allow the city to replace pipes in key areas.
“The total length of the town’s pipe network is 210 kilometers, so we will focus first on priority streets in areas with schools, kindergartens and healthcare facilities,” explained Viktor Lekhman, Mayor of Krolevets. “I hope that this year our residents will be drinking clean tap water instead of buying it from grocery stores.”
Krolevets Vodokanal, the utility responsible for water and sanitation in the city, plans to start the renovation in March or April and finish by the end of summer this year. The estimated cost of the project is USD 986,000. Krovelets plans to use the municipal budget to pay for the first part of the renovation and request the state to fund the remaining work.