For the past six months, the Foundation’s team has been assisting communities in Khersonska Oblast that are located close to the front line and have lost access to drinking water due to the ongoing hostilities. Thanks to the flexibility of the Providing Multi-Sectoral Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict-Affected Populations in Ukraine project, we are able to deliver water to these areas while taking into account the current security situation and the requests of local authorities.
“There are still many people in these communities who, unfortunately, do not have access to drinking water. We are trying to find ways to help them, considering the appeals from Kherson residents, the security situation, and our experience in water supply,” explains Anton, a civil engineering specialist. “In areas where the security situation permits, we distribute water directly from water trucks or fill large tanks for longer-term storage. When the situation is more dangerous, we deliver water in smaller containers.”
Filling Water Tanks and Purchasing New Ones
We deliver water to the communities of the Khersonska Oblast via water trucks, filling the community tanks, which we refill as needed. Residents can come at their convenience and take as much water as they need.
This method has proven effective in the Daryivska community. Initially, the community did not have large tanks, so we decided to purchase and install them in the central village and the surrounding settlements. Now, we can quickly fill the tanks, and the local administration informs residents, allowing them to collect water at their convenience without creating queues.
In the Pravdyne village of the Bilozerska community and the Kalynivska community, there were already water tanks, but in the latter, there weren’t enough. So, we purchased and installed additional ones there as well.
Water Distribution from Trucks
In settlements where there were no tanks, we delivered water by truck and dispensed it from several taps into containers that locals brought with them.
This is how we operated in the Daryivska community. However, this method is relatively risky, as the water truck has to remain in place for several hours while everyone collects water. We reduced the waiting time by equipping the truck with a system of taps that allowed eight people to collect water simultaneously, but queues still persisted. Therefore, in September, we purchased and installed tanks in all the settlements where we deliver water by truck.
Delivering Water in Small Containers
We use this method in communities where the risk of shelling is high, and it is necessary to act quickly without staying in one place for too long.
Most of the villages in the Beryslavska and Tyahynska communities are located very close to the front line. We cannot bring water there with our truck, so we decided to deliver bottled water instead. The local authorities help distribute the bottles to the villages in the community.
Providing Households with Large Water Storage Canisters
We adopted this method after receiving an official request from the Beryslavska community. The local residents asked for help with 20-liter canisters for water storage in their households, and we decided to provide them with canisters and fill them with drinking water.
The Providing Multi-Sectoral Humanitarian Assistance to Conflict-Affected Populations in Ukraine project is implemented by the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” in partnership with the humanitarian organization CARE Ukraine and the Ukraine Response Consortium, with financial support from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA).