Omsk Residents Baffled by Widespread Heating Pipe Bursts
Burst heating pipes have become a common sight across Omsk this winter.
Residents of Omsk— readers of NGS55.RU actively responded to information about the causes of accidents on the heating networks in the city. The problem was previously discussed in the city council. As it turned out, heating mains are bursting all over the city due to chronic under-repair. It is possible that the situation will improve over the next few years— if funds are allocated annually for network reconstruction.
However, Omsk residents do not understand what they are paying utility companies for, if their homes are cold:
«At Volochayevskaya 15a, it»s 18°C (64°F) in the apartment, outside it«s -30°C (-22°F), when will you fix the heating networks? What kind of norm is 18°C when it»s -30°C outside? Walk around dressed at home? Can«t let the child on the floor! We warm up with heaters and even that doesn»t help, the electricity bills are huge! What are we paying for?«
«Since 1990, they only collect money and did nothing, so now it»s starting to burst everywhere. Utility workers only want to rake in money, and for everything else, they just hope for the best.«
«We pay so much money for heating and water, and where does it go? Companies profit from us, and repair work isn»t done. Call the prosecutor«s office on them.»
«And there haven»t even been proper frosts yet, but we have bursts everywhere. And if it hits -40 to -45°C (-40 to -49°F), what then? Nothing will change until the prosecutor«s office gets involved.»
Others recalled that in the fall of 2025, Omsk received a readiness passport for the heating season.
«Yet in the fall, they signed an act on Omsk»s readiness for the heating season. What were they hoping for, that it would be another warm winter and everything would slide by?« writes another reader.
Omsk residents are also puzzled why even after repairs, heating mains still burst:
«At the intersection of Herzen and 8 Severnaya, they repair the heating main every three years, with proper repair, the service life is twenty years.»
«Judging by the responses, no one is even replacing the pipes, only digging trenches. But the amounts spent on this are becoming more impressive every year. The question arises: how long will Omsk residents be charged tariffs higher than all in Siberia and the Urals and continue to replace only 2 km of pipes per summer, considering the allocated federal funds?»
Among the readers, there were also those who remembered how difficult it is for workers who, in -30°C (-22°F) frost, eliminate bursts— so as not to completely freeze the apartments of city residents:
«I really feel sorry for the guys who worked all night in -30°C (-22°F) to fix the malfunctions!»
Earlier we reported on complaints about cold in apartments, which Omsk residents flooded the governor with.
