Three Ukrainian water utilities launched a new UN-backed initiative to strengthen their capacity through Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs), a peer-to-peer approach linking utilities to share expertise and improve performance.
The project, introduced at a two-day inception workshop in Dnipro from 14–15 July, brought together Zaporizhzhia City Vodokanal, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Vodokanal and Kryvyi Rih Vodokanal with mentor utilitiy Aguas de Portugal Internacional and the public water operators’ partnership of the Netherlands, WaterWorX, identified through a global call for interest.
Facilitated by UN-Habitat’s Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) and convened by UNICEF Ukraine, the pilot WOPs support the three Ukrainian utilities in addressing urgent challenges such as high levels of non-revenue water, energy inefficiency and conflict-related infrastructure damage.
“There is a lot of interest in this model across the sector,” said Nicolas Osbert, UNICEF Chief of WASH in Ukraine. “These WOPs are a flagship initiative for us because they show how direct collaboration between utilities can bring tangible results – and we want to see this approach scaled up.”
The launch of the UNICEF-funded WOPs comes at a critical time for Ukraine’s water and sanitation sector. Since 2022, the conflict has caused an estimated $4.6 billion in physical damage and $12.7 billion in losses to water and sanitation systems. Many utilities operate under severe constraints, maintaining essential services despite damaged infrastructure, rising energy costs and security risks.
“These partnerships will help Ukrainian utilities turn immediate crisis response into sustainable service improvements,” said Anne Bousquet, Programme Management Officer at GWOPA. “Through targeted peer-to-peer exchange, they will gain the skills, tools and experience to deliver stronger, more resilient services for their communities.”
Participants spent the workshop mapping out each utility’s priority needs and setting a roadmap for the 18-month cooperation. The action plans cover technical, managerial and operational measures to improve performance despite the difficult operating environment.
Oleksandr Vlasiuk, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Vodokanal, representing a mentee utility, welcomed the collaboration, noting, “We face enormous technical and operational challenges every day, but through this partnership we now have colleagues who can walk with us and share the experience we need to keep improving services for our communities.”
The mentor utilities are expected to provide targeted technical guidance on areas such as leak detection, energy efficiency, asset management and customer service. Exchanges will include both on-site missions and training visits to Portugal and the Netherlands.
Carla Correia, CEO of Aguas de Portugal Internacional, representing a mentor utility, added, “Working side by side with Ukrainian teams is an opportunity to share knowledge and tools, but also to learn from their resilience. This is a two-way exchange.”
Despite frequent interruptions due to air alerts during the workshop, participants advanced on concrete next steps. The resilience and commitment of the teams underscored the determination to move forward with the partnership.
Ukraine’s water and sanitation sector has suffered extensive damage since the escalation of conflict in 2022, with nearly 40 per cent of water networks classed as critical and more than a third of treatment facilities in urgent need of rehabilitation. The WOPs will help restore service delivery, strengthen operational resilience and contribute to long-term recovery.