As of fall 2022, the restoration of the water infrastructure cost $5.5 billion 

This assessment was given by the World Bank. Anna Danylyak, an expert on the development of sustainable agriculture of the NGO “Ekodiya” (Ecoaction), told about this during a briefing at Media Center Ukraine – Odesa.

She noted that this assessment refers to the first six months of the war and only to the territories controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.

“The losses of Ukraine’s water infrastructure are water pumping stations, water treatment facilities, wells, water supply networks, wells, sewerage networks, the World Bank estimated at $7 billion. But this assessment is far from complete,” – Anna Danylyak said.

She added that, according to the World Bank’s estimate, $5.5 billion should have been spent on the restoration of water infrastructure.

“But this is a preliminary estimate as of last fall. The longer the war lasts, the bigger will be losses and the need for recovery,” – the expert noted.

She also noted that studying the impact of hostilities on water as a component of the environment is, in her opinion, “a task with an asterisk.”

“If we talk about the impact of war on water as a component of the environment, primarily on chemical pollution, then this is a task with an asterisk. “It is often unknown what the quality of water and its chemical composition was before the start of hostilities. It makes a really big difference. Studying the impact of hostilities is a specific task because you have to know what you are looking for. We are talking about pollution with heavy metals, petroleum products, and other toxic elements. Not every laboratory had the ability to conduct such analyzes in Ukraine,” – the expert added.

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