Massive Pipe Break Leaves 50,000 Residents in Ukraine's Lviv Without Water

First Deputy Mayor of Ukraine's Lviv Andriy Moskalenko has said that around 50,000 residents in Lviv were left without water following a major rupture of the city’s main pipelines.

“About 50,000 subscribers are currently without water. The problem occurred when water was restored after the previous accident - the pressure caused a new rupture because the pipes are old,” Moskalenko wrote on Facebook, The Caspian Post reports via Russian media.

He added that replacing all outdated pipelines would require approximately $239 million, funds that are currently unavailable in the city budget.

According to Lvivvodokanal, the municipal water utility, this is the largest water supply incident in decades. The initial rupture occurred on a 600 mm main pipeline in the village of Domazhyr, cutting off water to 13 nearby settlements and several districts of Lviv.

Although initial repairs restored partial water supply, several new ruptures soon followed. Early on October 25, utility crews completed another round of repairs and began refilling the system, which had been fully drained across 30 km of pipelines and major reservoirs. However, a new rupture near Domazhyr caused a drop in pressure at pumping stations.

In a statement, Lvivvodokanal acknowledged the unprecedented scale of the crisis:

“We are forced to acknowledge that Lvivvodokanal is dealing with the most serious crisis in the city’s water supply system in decades. Even our veteran staff cannot recall a time when parts of Lviv were left without water for three days, with repeated failures preventing stabilization,” the company said.

Authorities have deployed water trucks to supply residents until centralized water service is fully restored.