An expert explains whether Kyiv really faces an epidemiological catastrophe

UNIANA entrepreneur and vice president of the Ukrainian Water Association Artem Shira commented on warnings that a shutdown of the sewer system could lead to an epidemiological catastrophe in as little as three days.

In his view, a complete cessation of Kyiv's sewer system is practically impossible, and the worst scenario could be local disruptions at individual pumping stations.

"The sewer system in Kyiv is almost impossible to stop. The worst that can happen is that we discharge untreated effluents into the Dnipro, and people may not even notice. Local temporary problems are possible if a small sewer pumping station fails, but this is unlikely to be a desirable target for the enemy," said Shira to Telegrah.

According to him, if the sewer stops and water in taps remains, the most affected will be residents on lower floors. At the same time, water on upper floors may disappear first due to a drop in pressure in the system.

"If there is water but the sewer is not functioning, water will start leaking from toilets on the first floors. The water utility will, most likely, respond quickly and prevent this," Shira assured.

At the same time, if water is turned off in the same buildings, there will be no sewage overflow. New exact terms for when problems will appear on lower floors have not been given by the experts.

Forecasts for Kyiv

Earlier, deputy general director of Kyivvodokanal Serhiy Gorkutsenko said that outages could cause interruptions in water supply in Kyiv, and under very cold weather there is a risk of freezing of internal plumbing systems.