A state of emergency has been declared in Pyatigorsk due to water supply problems.

Water supply to parts of Pyatigorsk has been out for over a day, leaving approximately 30,000 residents without water. The water main breakdown is not scheduled to be repaired until the afternoon of Saturday, February 14.

The water supply disruption on February 12 affected several cities in the Caucasian Mineral Waters region, including Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, Zheleznovodsk, Lermontov, and surrounding villages, including the village of Yessentuki. Water supply is also partially restricted in the city of Mineralnye Vody.

The breakdown occurred on the main Kuban water pipeline, built in 1971, reducing water supply to the main pumping station, according to Stavropolkraivodokanal. The company initially planned to repair the spill during the day on February 13, but today the completion date was pushed back to 8:00 a.m. Moscow time on February 14, and then to 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on the same day.

In the first half of the day, workers were digging canals to drain the water leaking from the damaged pipe in order to reach the damaged area. "A pit filled with water, approximately four meters deep, has formed at the site of the spill. (...) The damage is presumably located in the lower part of the pipe, which makes it impossible to determine the nature of the damage at this time," the Pyatigorsk PTP "Kavminvodokanal" reported in a Telegram message.

Pyatigorsk Mayor Dmitry Voroshilov announced today that a state of emergency at the municipal level has been declared in the city. According to him, the villages of Energetik, Nizhnepodkumsky, Sredny Podkumok, and the village of Konstantinovskoy (part of the Pyatigorsk urban district) have been without water for two days. The official also reported that water is being delivered to city residents by truck.

Nikolai Bondarenko, head of the Predgorny district, reported that 3,000 people are without water in the villages of Zheleznovodsky, Voronov, and Bykogorka. In total, the main water pipeline failure affected between 20,000 and 30,000 consumers, Kommersant reports.

Due to the lack of water supply, classes were canceled today at some schools and kindergartens in Pyatigorsk and the village of Inozemtsevo, Interfax-Yug reports. The Stavropol prosecutor's office reported the launch of an investigation into the disruption to the water supply in the Caucasian Mineral Waters.