With support from the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA), the city of Krovelets will now have a more reliable supply of safe drinking water for its nearly 20,000 citizens.
On November, 1 2024, USAID ERA delivered a combined sludge suction machine and drain cleaning equipment worth more than $120,000 to the Krolevets City Council in Sumy Oblast. This machine will eliminate clogging and water supply and sewage network accidents in Krolevets, clean its sewage systems, and provide high-quality and timely services to the community’s residents and businesses, as well as to neighboring communities.
Previously, the utility company, Krolevets Water Supply used outdated equipment and was unable to promptly respond to technical issues, which led to long-term water supply shutdowns and increased repair costs and water pollution. They would rent this type of machine from third parties to fix water supply problems, which cost $100 a day and hurt their budget.
“Thanks to this new machine, work productivity will significantly increase, and the time and costs fixing accidents will decrease. This will make it possible to ensure a more reliable and uninterrupted operation of the water supply system, reducing the risk of water hammers and network breaks, which is especially relevant for our city with frequent power outages,” explained Tetiana Kharitonova, Director of the Economic Development Department of the Krolevets City Council. “Therefore, the ability to swiftly fix network accidents will improve the quality of drinking water and the stability of the water supply in Krolevets.”
More major repairs of the central water supply are underway in the city as well. Following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Krolevets City Council, in late 2023, USAID ERA began delivering 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 $149,000 to the city. This new equipment is allowing the city to replace many of its pipes, which date back to the 1960s and are dilapidated, rendering the water running through them unsafe for human consumption. So far, nearly 20% of the planned pipe replacements are complete, supporting one of USAID ERA’s objectives to rehabilitate target infrastructure at the local level in Ukrainian communities.
Combined sludge suction machine and drain cleaning equipment provided by USAID ERA to Krolevets City in Sumy Oblast.