In Ukraine, there is still some ambiguity regarding the roles of various government bodies in the water supply and sanitation sector. In particular, this concerns the procedures for setting drinking water quality standards and tariffs. A specific law, which was passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 15 September, will finally clarify who is responsible for what.
EcoPolitics outlines the key provisions of the document.
This is Bill No. 13578 “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of Legislation in the Field of Drinking Water Supply and Wastewater Disposal”. It was initiated by the previous Cabinet of Ministers. The document was registered on the Verkhovna Rada’s portal on 31 July 2025 and recognised as relating to European integration.
The expansion of the role of the government and central authorities
The document grants the Cabinet of Ministers new powers in the field of drinking water and water supply. Thus, in accordance with the amendments to Article 10 of the Law ‘On Drinking Water and Drinking Water Supply’, the government will also:
- to approve the procedure for assessing the technical condition of centralised drinking water supply facilities;
- to establish the procedure for connecting to the relevant networks;
- to approve the procedure for granting sector-specific enterprises temporary exemptions from drinking water quality standards.
The relevant central executive authority — namely, the National Commission for Energy and Public Utilities (NKREKP) — will also be granted additional powers. Following amendments to Article 11 of the aforementioned law, it will be able to approve:
- methods for calculating the costs and losses of fuel and energy resources to be taken into account in the tariff for the centralised water supply service;
- the procedure for drawing up and approving technical specifications for connecting facilities to centralised drinking water supply systems;
- a methodology for assessing and managing risks in the centralised drinking water supply system.
Changes in the field of wastewater management
In this regard, the provisions of the document primarily concern the clarification and extension of powers and introduce amendments to the Law ‘On Water Drainage and Wastewater Treatment’.
The Cabinet of Ministers will be able to approve the procedure for identifying a business entity engaged in decentralised wastewater management.
The central executive authority will be granted the power to approve the methodology for calculating the consumption and wastage of fuel and energy resources, to be taken into account in the tariff for centralised wastewater disposal services. However, it will no longer be responsible for approving the procedures for the collection, transport and treatment of wastewater in settlements from facilities not connected to centralised wastewater disposal systems.
Certain provisions have also been clarified, in particular those relating to primary metering and the organisation of decentralised wastewater disposal. The definition of this will be slightly refined.
EcoPolitic previously analysed draft law No. 16054, which is set to introduce new offences relating to wastewater disposal into the Administrative Code.
