Chernivtsi Vodokanal has presented a comprehensive plan to supply the city with drinking water amid emergency power outages. This was announced at a press conference by Ivan Rus, General Director of KP «Chernivtsivodokanal», and the press service of the Chernivtsi City Council (CCC) published the details on its official Facebook channel. According to RBC-Ukraine, the municipal enterprise has developed four operational scenarios, each designed for a specific duration of a blackout — ranging from a few hours to two weeks.
Water Will Not Stop Even During a Complete Blackout
Ivan Rus emphasized that water supply in Chernivtsi will not stop even in the event of a complete and prolonged power outage. According to him, the supply of water to residents' homes will be ensured through backup power sources and pre-prepared infrastructure solutions. The city council added that a recent emergency power outage has already served as a practical test of utility services' readiness and confirmed the operability of the established mechanisms.
The 24-Hour Scenario: Water Will Flow, with Caveats
In the event that electricity is not restored within one day, water supply in the city will continue, although, according to representatives of the vodokanal, local restrictions are possible. Specific neighborhoods that may suffer from a temporary pressure drop or short-term supply interruption will be announced in advance. «We will report on them in advance», the Chernivtsi City Council specified, emphasizing the principle of informing residents before potential inconveniences occur.
Two-Week Blackout: Water Delivery Schedules
The most severe scenario envisions a situation where the city remains without electricity for seven to fourteen days. In this case, as acknowledged by KP «Chernivtsivodokanal», the introduction of water supply schedules will become inevitable. The reason is cited as uncertainty regarding fuel reserves for backup generators. For neighborhoods where water will not temporarily flow through pipes, the vodokanal will organize the delivery of drinking water to specially designated points. Residents and visitors of the city were advised to prepare containers in advance for critical needs.
22 Booster Stations: Working on Upper Floors
Special attention was paid by the city council to the issue of supplying water to the upper floors of multi-story buildings. According to the CCC press service, specialists are currently resolving the issue of arranging power for 22 booster stations so that during outages, electricity is supplied to the pumping units and water reaches the upper floors. This is, essentially, the final stage of infrastructure preparation for the winter period, when the risk of prolonged blackouts increases.
Context: Winter Preparation and Water Resource Issues
The presented plan fits into the broader context of Ukrainian cities preparing for the 2026–2027 winter season, when, according to energy experts, the load on the grid and the risk of emergency outages remain high. Concurrently, the State Water Agency of Ukraine is discussing whether the low water levels recorded in several regions this year could turn into a long-term problem for municipal water supply. For Chernivtsi, located in the western part of the country and outside the zone of the most acute hostilities, the main risk is specifically related to energy resilience rather than direct infrastructure damage.
