Mitryasova, O. CHRONICLES OF THIRST: DOCUMENTING MYKOLAIV'S WATER SECURITY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN A WAR-AFFECTED CITY: Monograph. Mykolaiv: PMBSNU, 2026, 124 p.

CHRONICLES OF THIRST: DOCUMENTING MYKOLAIV'S WATER SECURITY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS IN A WAR-AFFECTED CITY turned the Ukrainian harvest into a golden stream of exports. Hundreds of ships entered the estuary every year, linking Mykolaiv berths with the ports of Egypt, China and Europe. The third element is Aluminum and Resources. The Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, one of the largest in Europe, added weight to the city as an important node in the non-ferrous metallurgy chain. Mykolaiv has never been just an industrial zone. It was a city of universities, where science served the practical needs of life. The Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University and the National University of Shipbuilding have become the forges of the elite. Before the war, Mykolaiv was a comfortable southern city with chestnut alleys, a yacht club (the oldest in Ukraine) and a special rhythm of life, where the working day ended with a walk on the riverbank. The social stability of the community was tempered by the awareness of the importance of its work for the whole world. It is this foundation — geographical isolation, proud history and economic self-sufficiency — that has become the basis on which Mykolaiv residents will hold the defense when water from the source of life suddenly turns into an instrument of pressure and scarcity). Fig. 1.1. Mykolaiv from a bird's eye view (photo by Dmytro Berin). First steps to curb thirst Today, when Mykolaiv residents turn on the tap or stand in line at water distribution points, few people think that the history of our water supply system began long before the appearance of cast iron pipes, electric pumps and familiar columns. The highway, which gave life to the city, originated not from industrial zones and not from the Dnieper 9