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 Fig. 1.18. Technical equipment for adding coagulants (photo by Marina Ilyasova). The analysis of many years of experience of Mykolaivvodokanal leads to the conclusion that the classic three-link scheme — coagulation, filtration and chlorination — which was the reference in the twentieth century, began to exhaust its potential in the twenty- first century. This was not only a problem for Mykolaiv; This is a nationwide challenge for all water utilities of the Dnipro cascade. The main reasons were as follows: 1. The water quality in the river gradually deteriorated due to industrial discharges and outdated wastewater treatment systems in upstream cities. 2. Traditional coagulation did a good job of turbidity, but was less effective against modern contaminants — pesticides, drug residues, and microplastics. 3. Chlorine remained the most reliable disinfectant, but when interacting with organic compounds in river water, it could form by-products that required additional control. Mykolaiv sewage treatment plants worked at the limit of their capabilities, trying to bring the quality of water to hygienic standards. However, history decreed otherwise. Instead of the planned modernization that the city hoped for, the war came. And the very "fragile balance" that was maintained by the specialists of the water utility was destroyed on one day, when, instead of problematic, but fresh Dnipro water, aggressive salt water from the estuary had to be released into the system. 30