Residents of the Volgograd village called the water supply problem unresolved.
An appeal to Alexander Bastrykin did not help the residents of the Volgograd village of Vodny solve the water supply problem: there is only one functioning well left in the microdistrict, which is not enough to fill the networks. The city hall stated that the restoration work is "close to completion."
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of the village of Vodny in the Soviet district of Volgograd recorded a collective video appeal to the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, in early July, complaining about the water supply problem. The Investigative Committee reported the same day about the start of an inspection regarding the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements.
Vodny (formerly the educational farm of the "Gornaya Polyana" state farm) has been part of the Soviet district of Volgograd since 2010 and is the western outskirts of the regional center. The village is surrounded by water bodies on three sides - the Chervlennaya River, the Volga-Don Canal, and the Bereslav Reservoir. The northern and southern outskirts of the microdistrict border on garden associations. Vodny has School No. 106, the kindergarten "Kolosok," and a health post. In 2002, about 1,000 people lived in Vodny; in subsequent population censuses, the village was not counted as a separate settlement.
The water supply problem in Vodny is "still unresolved," local residents told a correspondent from the "Caucasian Knot" on July 8.
"Vodny should be renamed to Bezvodny (Waterless)," complained pensioner Vera Yakovleva. The woman herself lives on Krasnogorskaya Street in the Soviet district of Volgograd, and her daughter's family lives in Vodny.
"My grandchildren have been visiting for the second week. Instead of swimming and sunbathing at the reservoir, they are stuck in the city. My daughter brought them, saying they are tired of surviving: no bathing the children, no laundry. My son-in-law brings water for flushing the toilet in bottles from the reservoir. Fortunately, the beginning of summer has been rainy, so the garden hasn't dried out. But in July, they promise a heatwave, and it's unclear how to water since there is no water in the village," Vera lamented.
Her son-in-law Andrey explained that initially, the village was supplied with water from four wells. Two of them, he suspects, were privatized by farmers, one collapsed, and the remaining fourth is insufficient to fill the village networks. Accidents at the wells and pipe bursts led to the water supply being cut off in the village.
"I spoke with an engineer (representative of the city administration, - note from 'Caucasian Knot'). He told me that ideally, our village needs at least two wells; one is not enough. But they can't even get this one poor well in order: about three days ago, they seemed to have provided water (after fixing a burst on the line, - note from 'Caucasian Knot'), but the water was muddy. Then again, only a thin stream flows at night. How can you live with such water supply? You can't cook, you can't do laundry - the washing machine doesn't work with such pressure," Andrey told the correspondent from the "Caucasian Knot."
The family has a household: a small garden and fruit trees. The lack of irrigation has not yet affected the plantings, as the man said, "the June rains saved us." Many villagers collect rainwater in barrels and also use it for watering. "For the toilet, I brought water a couple of times in bottles from the reservoir," Andrey confirmed.
A young man living on Shkolnaya Street confirmed that one well for supplying water to the village in summer is "categorically insufficient."
"They told us in the administration that they organized water delivery for us, but I have never seen a water truck here. There is no schedule for water delivery anywhere. Now it's vacation time, but the school is still operating, the kindergarten is working. My niece is here for now, but my sister is struggling with her - no laundry, no mopping the floors, no bathing the child. In the evening, we take her (the niece) to the beach (of the reservoir) - we bathe, but this is not right. There should be clean drinking water from the tap. Are they (the authorities) waiting for an epidemic to break out here? They will wait," the young man, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed his outrage.
A city hall official, who refused to introduce himself, told the correspondent from the "Caucasian Knot" that the work to restore water supply in the village of Vodny "is proceeding as planned" and "is close to completion." He refused to provide information about the results of inspections by supervisory and administrative bodies. The water supply concessions in Volgograd did not answer calls.
The situation with the water supply in the Vodny microdistrict indicates possible violations of two federal laws and the Russian government decree No. 354, noted lawyer Sergey Ivashchenko.
The laws and regulations confirm the constitutional right of citizens to a favorable living environment and establish the minimum allowable interruption in the supply of drinking water to citizens' apartments: no more than four hours (at a time) and eight hours in total over a month. They also define the responsibilities of local authorities to ensure uninterrupted supply of drinking water, the lawyer emphasized.
Ivashchenko also pointed out the comprehensive program for the prospective development of Volgograd until 2034 (No. 7/111 dated 30.01.2024). "We look at this program and see that the Vodny microdistrict is slated for the construction of centralized water supply engineering networks. They will start construction this year and finish in six years. This means that residents of the village will be relieved of the need to operate these outdated worn-out wells. I don't know if the authorities will implement the planned projects, but there is hope," he told the correspondent from the "Caucasian Knot."
Information that the management organization did not deliver water to residents during the prolonged water supply interruption requires, according to the lawyer, verification.
"The prosecutor's office should conduct the inspection; villagers need to write a statement there. The authorities (management and resource supply organizations) are obliged to ensure uninterrupted water delivery during this period. The punishment for those responsible will depend on the extent of the damage caused to citizens due to non-compliance with the laws: from recalculating payments for supplied water to terminating contracts with the resource supply organization and even criminal prosecution if there are consequences for the health and lives of people. The measure of responsibility is determined by investigative bodies and the court," concluded Sergey Ivashchenko.