WASH Cluster Alert Bulletin Double Issue: 01 March - 30 April 2017 Issue 8 INCIDENTS ANALYSIS: JANUARY — APRIL 2017 WASH Cluster Coordinator The total number of incidents during the second half: period March-April 2017 is almost the same Mark Buttle [email protected] (slightly lower) than the number of incidents in January-February 2017 (27 vs 24). At the same time, there was a strong peak in February and March with only 4 incidents were recorded in April, the quiet- WASH Cluster IMOs: est month of the year. Incidents have however restarted following a decrease around Easter. Volodymyr Kalinin The apparent drop of incidents in April [email protected] does not fully reflect the real situation as, Number of incidents Stas Dymkovskyy while the number of incidents decreased, 25 serious strategic damage was not repaired, [email protected] 20 leaving the systems more vulnerable. Voda 20 18 Donbassa, has no access to repair the sec- ond branch of the South Donbas water con- 15

duit near the first lift pumping station (near 9 Key facts Avdiivka) since February (as result, around 10

350, 000 people are constantly at risk of 4 5 Around 460,000 people had water cut off in Vulnavakha and Kras- limited access to the safe drink- noarmiiske, and Mariupol relies on 0 ing water due to incidents in Starokrimska reservoir. Also, since early Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Apr-17 April 2017. March, Petrovsky water intake has been de- energized and does not supply water to the The number of people experience water shortages at last 9 people workers been killed city (NGCA); and water supply was 24 h from Voda Donbasa staff since stopped several times in the Karbonit water 881,097 832,688 the beginning of the conflict, system. and 13 injured. In spite of a general decrease in the number of incidents, a significant number 461,800 Issues to highlight of people continued to experience limited Water and Electricity Issues are access to clean drinking water. In April, interconnected (see page 2). around 460,000 people experienced water 87,500 shortages at least 24 hours. The de-facto Risk of damage through shelling authorities of Luhansk NGCA announced an January February March April decreased in April but is now emergency situation in Pervomaisk and increasing again. Kirovsk due to lack of water supplied from the government controlled area (GCA). The official reason Access to areas for repairs con- for those water shortages is that pipe is damaged on the GCA side and Popasnyanskyi Vodakanal) does tinues to be a key issue. not have resources for repair the damage. The final chart (below) shows that almost half of the water supply interruptions were due to power- lines damaged by shelling. At the same time, there was 6 incidents with sewage system: 2 in January- February and 4 in March-April 2017. Affected facilities The WASH Cluster Ukraine highlights that WASH Alerts Jan-April many civilians continue to suffer water shortages with an increased risk of water Water shortages 48 14% related disease, as the months become warmer. Water quality issue 3 49% Meanwhile workers at critical social infra- structure continue to suffering from the Access to sanitation 0 37% conflict including by putting their own

Environmental damage 3 health and lives at risk. In April one worker of Donetskvodocanal (Donetsk city water Electricity cut off Water infrastructure damages Other distribution system) was injured by shelling. INTERDEPENDENCE OF WATER AND ELECTRICITY

In March and April it became apparent that water and electricity utilities are becoming dysfunctional in , with similar risks also applying to water utilities in Donetsk . Financial, technical and political issues are affecting utility companies in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts: in the immediate term, in Luhansk, putting 400,000 to 600,000 people on both sides of the line at considerable risk of from reduced or cut water supply, or having to use alternative unsafe water sources (discussed below).

Key Points:  Popasyanski Vodakanal (PVK) currently does not supply any water to the Non- Government Controlled Areas (NGCA) of Luhansk oblast as they need to repair pipe- lines. However PVK also need to pay elec- tricity bills to LEO and can only do so when they receive payments from Luhansk Voda, via Dzerelo Novovo Zhittja (DNZ) an inter- mediary based in GCA. Around 180,000 people are living in the most badly affected towns served by the Karbonit system, where people now receive insufficient and non-potable water from alternative water sources. LEO may also cut off electricity to PVK due to non-payment of bills, in which case 20,000 people in will also be cut.  Several vodocanals in Luhansk GCA are at the risk of electricity cut off due to the debts. Including, PVK Voda- kanal; Starobilsk Voda; and Svartove Voda- kanal. In addition to PVK this will affect an- other 200,000 people in GCA areas who will also be cut from mains water supply; and the action could cause damage to elec- tricity infrastructure due to power inbal- ance.  People in Luhansk NGCA are now affected by a decision by LEO to cut power com- pletely in late April 2017. For now alterna- tive electricity providers have been found, however these are unlikely to be sustaina- ble. Widespread power cuts in Luhansk NGCA would lead to loss of water supply and potential for sewage to be discharged to the environment without treatment.

Humanitarian impact of water utility problems: In addition to the hardship of experiencing water restrictions the humanitarian effects of the limited availability of clean water include that as the weather warms up the risk of water-related disease is increasing, with the real possibility of outbreaks diarrhea, and more serious issues such as cholera or hepatitis A and E. Vulnerable elderly or disabled people living in multi-storey buildings, will face diffi- culties accessing water, and schools, kindergartens, old people’s homes and hospitals may suffer water shortages causing temporary closures. If people use different water sources, maybe more distant, and with more people competing to use those sources then el- derly or disabled people, women and children may experience additional protection risks.