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 • The sulfate level stabilized in the range of 100–170 mg/dm³, which corresponds to the MPC (250 mg/dm³). This is a drastic change, since it was these indicators that previously determined the impossibility of water consumption. • Calcium hardness at the beginning of 2026 is fixed at the level of 107-145 units, which indicates a softening of water compared to the peak loads of previous years. • There is a slight shift towards an acidic environment (6.1–6.6), which may be due to the peculiarities of technological water treatment at treatment facilities or the state of outdated in-house networks. Comparing current data with the results of 2023 allows you to estimate the scale of the path traveled. 2023 was a period of extreme hydrochemical anomalies. Based on the obtained "hydrochemical passport", the following forecasts can be made: provided that the current source of water intake is maintained, mineralization will continue to stay within normal limits. However, there remains a risk of "salt echo" - leaching of salt residues accumulated in the sediments of old pipes. The hydrochemical state of Mykolaiv's water resources as of 2026 indicates a transition from the phase of acute crisis to the stage of systemic stabilization. The city has gone from industrial water to water that is close to drinking standards in terms of chemical parameters. However, the systemic vulnerability of networks requires continued monitoring and further modernization of the infrastructure. The phenomenon of "constant turbidity" as stagnation of physical indicators of the network A special place in the hydrochemical portrait of Mykolaiv is occupied by the turbidity index. Unlike sulfates and hardness, which showed dynamics to decline in early 2026, turbidity turned out to be the most inert and problematic parameter. According to the monitoring results, in all districts of the city, the turbidity index during 2023-2026 was stable at the level of at least 7 NTU. This is 4.5–7 times higher than the established sanitary standards (DSanPiN 2.2.4-171-10), which limit turbidity to 1.0–1.5 NTU. This situation indicates that the replacement of the water intake source with a fresher one (which we can see from the drop-in salt levels) was insufficient to clean the distribution network itself. Indicator MPC 2023 End 2025 January 2026 System Status Turbidity (NTU) 1.0–1.5 > 7.5 > 7.2 > 7.0 Critically stable 84