Water supply promised to Merzhanovo after lighthouse fire
After years of delays and a devastating fire that destroyed a landmark lighthouse, a water pipeline project in Merzhanovo, Rostov Oblast, is set to be completed by summer 2026, promising normal water supply.
Apr 22, 2026 0
Residents of Merzhanovo faced weeks without water, and the iconic lighthouse burned down.
Source:
In Rostov Oblast, the water supply problem for the Merzhanovo hamlet and adjacent horticultural farms should be resolved by summer 2026. In the summer of 2025, water was absent for several weeks, and during that time, one of the region«s most recognizable tourist attractions — a lighthouse — burned down in a fire.
The water pipeline that was supposed to solve the problem began construction in 2019. The contract cost was 195.7 million rubles ($1,957,000 at current rates), with a completion deadline no later than July 1, 2023. The winner was OVK-Stroy from Volgograd Oblast.
The work was not completed on time, and in March 2023, the administration of Neklinovsky District unilaterally terminated the contract. The facility«s readiness at that point was 96%.
The contract to complete the work was only announced at the end of summer 2025, after all the water supply problems that 161.RU reported about. The amount needed for completion was relatively small — 9.9 million rubles ($99,000 at current rates). The contract went to Aksay-based LLC «Construction and Production Firm Roststroikontrakt». We recently wrote about this company in connection with the renovation of Gymnasium No. 36 in Rostov. The work must be completed by July 2026.
However, Minister of Housing and Communal Services of Rostov Oblast Antonina Pshenichnaya promised that centralized water supply in Merzhanovo and the SNT (horticultural non-profit partnerships) of Sinyavskoye rural settlement would come even earlier — at the beginning of 2026.
«We understand that water supply problems cause significant inconvenience to residents. The regional government tries to solve such tasks as quickly as possible. However, we acknowledge that it is not always possible to do this quickly. Implementing such projects, like the construction of new water supply networks, requires serious investment,» she said.
Until then, residents of Merzhanovo could only use technical water supplied from the Don River. In the summer of 2025, due to strong winds and a drop in the river«s water level, water supply interruptions began. At the same time, local residents, as 161.RU reported, point out that their water problems started after the launch of the water pipeline to Donbas.
Read more
