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 had been dependent on every fresh well found for more than a year, it was a blow to the city's self-sufficiency system. The Kakhovka tragedy in Mykolaiv was perceived as another link in the chain of terror against the critical infrastructure of the south. While the townspeople continued their daily ritual of collecting water at osmosis points and transporting it by carts, the river next to them lived its own, now dangerous life. This was the paradox of the frontline city: it was surrounded by billions of cubic meters of water approaching the roads, but in its homes, every drop of fresh water remained the result of huge logistical efforts. The explosion of the hydroelectric power plant did not change the taste of salt water in the system, but it destroyed the very hope for the rapid restoration of the Dnipro water carrier, making the city's water independence a matter of strategic survival for years to come. Transformation and state of quality of the Buh estuary The man-made disaster caused by the explosion of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on June 6, 2023, provoked a cascade of hydrological, geochemical and biological processes that radically changed the state of aquatic ecosystems in the South of Ukraine. The Buh estuary, as an integral part of the Dnieper- Buh estuarine system, has become one of the main recipients of a colossal volume of fresh water saturated with alluvial sediments, organic residues and anthropogenic pollutants. The Buh estuary, immediately adjacent to the zone of mixing river and sea waters, experienced a sharp decrease in salinity. During the peak periods of June 2023, the salinity in the Dnieper-Buh estuary fell to the level of 0.2‰, which actually meant complete desalination of the water area. This phenomenon caused the mass death of stenohaline (marine) aquatic organisms, which could not adapt to the abrupt change in osmotic pressure. Simultaneously with desalination, large-scale pollution occurred: the total area of the affected water area, including the Black Sea, was more than 6800 km2 The most critical aspect of water quality in the Buh estuary near Mykolaiv was the state of microbiological indicators. During the summer period of 2023, the Mykolaiv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine recorded extreme exceedances of bacterial contamination standards. In particular, cholera-like vibrio was found in the water of the Buh estuary (the area of the Chaika beach and the Namyv recreational area). Although it was not a direct causative agent of Asian cholera, its presence indicated the presence of conditions favorable for the circulation of pathogenic strains and was an indicator of fecal contamination. Analysis of the content of lactose-positive Escherichia coli (LCP) revealed a catastrophic situation. At the permissible level of 5000 units/dm3, in the Dnieper-Buh estuary, the indicators varied between 6200 and 13000 units. However, these figures were relatively moderate compared to the Inhulets River, where the level of paintwork 50