Ukraine’s Drinking Water Program Has Only Received 20 Percent of Its Funding
25 Jul 2012 – 00:00 by OOSKAnews Correspondent
Ukraine, KYIV — Ukraine’s national Drinking Water Program has received only 20 percent of the funding that was supposed to be allocated to it over the past seven years, according to the Ministry of Regional Development, Building, Housing and Utility Services.
The program absorbed $51 million USD from the budget, out of a total of a $247.5 million allocation.
The ministry identified financing as the main factor “inhibiting the process of increasing drinking water quality in Ukraine.”
Just last week, the ministry officially confirmed that the country’s drinking water can be classified as polluted or very polluted nationwide, finally accepting the figures released by scientists earlier in the year, which until now remained “officially disputed,” OOSKAnews previously reported.
Acting Minister Oleksandr Alipov said in mid-July that “permanent underfunding of the program and realization of many small projects did not allow [us] to take many complex measures. So this year [we] prefer measures that will systematically solve problems in territories that have bad quality drinking water.”
The main criterion for receiving budget financing this year is development of programs to rehabilitate the centralized water supply and wastewater systems in territories where infrastructure was built in the last century. These facilities are critically worn-out and do not meet standards, Alipov said.
According to the ministry, 403 water intake facilities, 115 drinking water treatment plants, 125 pumping stations, 119 water towers, 731 kilometers of water supply networks and 701 water treatment plants have been built or rehabilitated so far under the program.
Fifty-one programs to modernize centralized water supply and wastewater systems were developed with financing from local budgets.
In 2012, the Ukrainian government allocated $24.8 million USD for the Drinking Water Program. The money will be spent on building and rehabilitation of water intake facilities and completing drinking water treatment plants serving kindergartens, schools and healthcare facilities.
The Ukrainian Parliament last year passed a new version of the Drinking Water Program for 2011-2020, with funding from the national budget, local budgets and water companies.
It was previously reported that the national budget would provide $500-$625 million USD for the water supply and wastewater sector in 2012.
- Free
- Oleksandr Alipov
- Ukraine
- Ukrainian government
- Ukrainian Parliament
- Water supply and sanitation in Pakistan
- Water treatment