Initiative: Training Center for Defense of Human Rights
Location: Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv region
Year: 2018

Web: http://hr-advocacy.mk.ua/projects/project-safe-water/ (in Russian)

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2231993863694639/ (in Ukrainian and Russian)

Tap water in Mykolaiv, a city in the south of Ukraine that has a population of about half a million people, is - as in most Ukrainian cities - certainly not drinkable. Therefore, residents have no choice but to go and buy drinking water from "certified" vending machines located throughout the city. In January 2018, however, there were more than 130 cases of jaundice also contracted from this "guaranteed potable" water sold from vending machines.

In response, the Clean Water for Mykolaiv campaign was launched. The initiative had samples of water from the vending machines tested in a laboratory and created an on-line map with information on water quality. At the same time, thanks to media coverage of the topic and negotiations with the city authorities, the management of the city water mains began to take samples from the water supply network, to test them, and to publish the results of the analyses.