Key facts
- Kyiv's water and sewage systems depend entirely on electricity.
- The city's water system consumes significant electricity to draw and pump water.
- Failure of the wastewater system could lead to untreated sewage flooding the city.
- Russia has increased attacks on Ukraine's energy system fivefold since 2024.
- Kyiv's only sewage plant, Bortnychi, has been directly targeted.
- Kyivvodokanal is operating generators but faces staffing and funding shortages.
Kyiv faces a growing risk of a water crisis this winter as Russian strikes on energy facilities threaten the city's electricity-dependent water and sewage systems. The city's water system, which draws and pumps around 700 million liters of clean water daily, is a major power consumer and relies heavily on the central energy grid. Experts warn that prolonged power outages could cause the wastewater system to fail, leading to untreated sewage flooding the city and posing a serious health and environmental hazard. Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, making the grid more vulnerable. The Bortnychi sewage plant has also been directly targeted. While authorities have emergency plans and have stockpiled equipment, they face staffing and funding shortages, and generators can only partially compensate for the main grid's failure.