Country background
- In 2003, the Millennium Development Goals of Ukraine were adopted to the country context. The national water target consists in increasing, by 2015, the proportion of population with access to safe drinking water by 12% according to national coverage data. A sanitation target hasn’t been defined.
- Despite the high coverage data on water and sanitation, the Ukraine is facing deteriorating infrastructure and unreliable services.
Policies and strategies
- The Water Code and the Law on Drinking Water and Drinking Water Supply are the major acts regulating water supply and wastewater treatment in Ukraine. The Water Code, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in June 1995, is the main legislative act regulating the use, governance and control, as well as the protection and conservation of Ukrainian water resources. The Law on Drinking Water and Drinking Water Supply from January 2002, establishes legal, economic and organisational basis for the functioning of the drinking water supply system in order to provide the population with high-quality and safe drinking water.
- The State Sanitary Rules and Standards on Potable Water determine the hygienic requirements to the quality of centralized economic and potable water supply.
- Supply of quality drinking water, especially in rural areas, is a priority for the Ukraine. Accordingly, the main objective of the State Programme (adopted in 2002) is to improve by 2010 access to centralized water supply for rural settlements, which currently use transported water. The State Committee of Ukraine for Water Management is responsible for programme implementation.
- Water supply and sanitation sector reforms started in 1994. The National Programme for Reforms and Development of the Housing and Communal Sector for 2004-2010 was adopted in 2004, and revised in 2008 for the period 2010-2014. Programme goal is to improve the performance of public utilities to enable sustainable provision of communal services, including water supply and sewerage.
Institutions
- The Ministry of Housing and Communal Economy (MHCE) is responsible for setting water and sanitation policies related to urban areas and centralized water supply and sanitation systems. It is also in charge of implementing state programmes to provide potable water and sanitation to urban settlements in Ukraine, and ensuring that all housing developments meet required standards for water supply and sanitation.
- The Ministry of Health, through its Department of Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance, is the central governmental body responsible for implementation of the policies in the field of health protection and sanitary and epidemiological well-being.
- The Ministry of Agrarian Policy develops and provides state-wide and other specific programmes for an integrated development of rural areas, including rural water supply and sanitation.
- Environmental policy, including water resources protection and use, falls under the Ministry for Environment Protection (MEP). The ministry determines and monitors environmental standards for water supply and sanitation, and coordinates the activities of the State Committee of Ukraine for Water Management.
- After independence in 1991, the previously state-owned utilities in Ukraine have been decentralized and transferred to municipalities. Municipal bodies set the tariffs for potable water supply and sewerage, while communal Water Utilities (WUs) operate the facilities.
