Residents of a village near Volgograd complained about problems with the water supply.

After a pump breakdown, residents of the village of Tsaritsyn faced a prolonged water shortage. Repairs undertaken by authorities failed to resolve the problem, and water now only flows at night, they said. The villagers were forced to appeal to the head of the Russian Investigative Committee.

As reported by "Kavkazsky Knot," residents of the village of Tsaritsyn in the Gorodishchensky District of the Volgograd Region called on authorities in the summer of 2025 to declare a state of emergency due to water supply problems. The district administration attributed the problems to excessive water consumption due to the intense heat.

Village residents appealed to Bastrykin

The village of Tsaritsyn (until 1998, the Volodya Mikoyan Regional Experimental Station) is located in close proximity to Volgograd and the district center of Gorodishche. According to the 2021 census, the village has a population of approximately 1,500. The Pionerka River, gullies, and a small reservoir are located within the rural settlement. The village's water supply is provided by three wells with water towers. On May 21, the well with a pump (with a capacity of 40 cubic meters per hour) failed. The village's water supply has sharply deteriorated. Water is now supplied to homes only at night. District Head S.N. On May 26, Budnikov declared a municipal response level. However, the measures taken by the authorities proved insufficient.

On the morning of June 11, a group of local residents circulated a video message on social media addressed to Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. In it, the activists expressed their distrust of the district authorities: "We, residents of Tsaritsyn... are appealing to you with a cry for help due to the inaction of the executive authorities. Our settlement has a number of vitally important unresolved issues. The most serious is the water supply. This problem has existed for a long time. However, this is the first time the problem has reached such a catastrophic level," the message stated.

The activists told Bastrykin that the district authorities reported the results of emergency repairs carried out without tender documentation or a thorough inspection of the current state of the village's water supply system. Using 3.8 million rubles allocated by district authorities, emergency and construction crews drilled a new well 67 meters deep and installed a pump with a capacity far below the required capacity—16 cubic meters per hour (compared to the required 40 cubic meters per hour). Activists claimed these measures were insufficient and that local authorities were incompetent. They asked Bastrykin to "look into the situation." A "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learned from local residents. A woman who identified herself as Tatiana said she had lived in the village for about 20 years. The first problems with the village's water supply began 10 years ago. She explained that the village is primarily made up of "private households with their own gardens and livestock," so the villagers need water not only for their own needs but also for their own farming.

When there's no water, you can't do laundry, wash your children, or make borscht. The garden dries up.

"We've had a long-standing water problem, but the pump breakdown and the failure of this well have completely finished us off. It's understandable that when there's no water, you can't do laundry, wash your children, or make borscht. The garden dries up. Even the May and June rains don't help. The vegetables dry up. And many people here rely on their gardens for food. Some keep livestock. "What are we supposed to give her to drink if the people have nothing to drink?" the woman asked indignantly.

Tatiana's neighbor, who declined to give her name, said she was experiencing the same inconvenience. She has a pool on her property where she stores some water for watering her garden. She also collects rainwater from the roof of her house.

"For now, we'll survive on this reserve. But soon the summer heat and drought will begin. And all our crops will wither," she said.

The woman reported that local authorities have organized a drinking water delivery service. But its quality is poor ("it's unclear where they get the water"), and there's no delivery schedule. She also pointed out that in windy weather, amid the summer drought, the lack of water in fire hydrants could lead to the spread of wildfires, which are common in the area, to residential areas.

Andrey Kurilkov, a resident of the district center of Gorodishche, works as a mechanic in Volgograd. His retired relatives live in the village of Tsaritsyn. According to him, the elderly have been staying with him for two weeks.

"We took my aunt and her husband in with us. Our children are currently visiting my mother-in-law in Volgograd. We put the elderly in the children's room. I took them home on weekends. We watered the plants they planted in the garden with eggplants. But what kind of watering is this? They took them in because they can't do their laundry, cook for themselves, or take care of themselves. "They're barely moving," Kurilkov said.

They drilled a new well. But why did they install a pump three times smaller than the old one? What kind of solution is that?

The man expressed surprise at the measures the authorities are taking to solve this problem.

"The pump broke down. Okay, so they drilled a new well. But why did they install a pump three times smaller than the old one? What kind of solution is that? They spent about 4 million rubles on it. Wouldn't it have been cheaper to install a new pump and rehabilitate the old well? People have been without water for almost a month," Andrey was indignant.

Lawyer calls lack of water a violation of constitutional rights

Lawyer Sergey Ivaschenko learned about the situation in the village of Tsaritsyn. He cited Resolution No. 1145-n of the district head, S.N. Budnikov, dated May 26, 2026, "On the introduction of a high-alert regime for the functioning of governing bodies..." in the village of Tsaritsyn (available to the editorial staff). It refers to the failure of well No. 02555 in the village of Tsaritsyn and the "unfavorable situation" that has developed in the village.

According to Ivashchenko, the lack of a high-quality and sufficient water supply in the village poses numerous dangers to the population during the summer (epidemiological, fire, etc.) and reduces their quality of life.

"That is, the constitutional rights of citizens to health protection and a favorable living environment (Articles 41 and 42 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) are being violated. Activists have already appealed to the Investigative Committee. We are awaiting its response. "We should also contact the prosecutor's office (regarding the inadequacy of the authorities' measures) and Rospotrebnadzor. Rospotrebnadzor should be asked to conduct a survey of the drinking water quality and whether it is sufficient for the population," the lawyer advised the village residents.

The Gorodishchensky District administration told the reporter they would not answer his questions over the phone. An unnamed official suggested the journalist formally submit a request to the governor's press service. The head of the village, Pavel Vasilenko, was unavailable for comment.