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This is Svetlana Bronnikova from the independent media outlet 7x7. Residents of at least four Russian regions lack access to clean water. Cloudy, foul-smelling water flows from their taps, but officials insist it is safe. Russians are collecting signatures, setting up online chats, and demanding inspections. Sometimes their complaints even lead to criminal investigations, but the water coming into their homes does not get any cleaner. Why is this happening? Read on to find out.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Brown Water and Expensive Deliveries: What Is Happening to Water Supplies Across Russia?

Residents of Kem, a town in Karelia, a republic in northwestern Russia, have been struggling with water supply problems for decades. Brown water flows from their taps, and locals complain that it smells like sewage. People have to buy drinking water in stores. In late October, they once again complained about dirty water, but this time it was delivered in tanker trucks, specialized vehicles equipped with large water tanks.

The situation is different in Bikey, a village in Irkutsk Oblast in eastern Siberia. There is no centralized water supply system, meaning no network of pipes delivering water directly to homes. As a result, residents have to buy drinking water delivered by truck. Recently, the cost of delivery rose to 2,000 rubles (around €17–22) per truckload. This is particularly difficult for pensioners, who cannot afford to spend such amounts regularly. In 2026, the average old-age pension in Irkutsk Oblast was 28,600 rubles (around €317), meaning that a single water delivery could cost a pensioner 5–7% of their monthly income.

Residents of several apartment buildings in Blagoveshchensk, a city in Russia’s Far East near the border with China, have been without hot water since late May. Utility services have taken longer than expected to repair the heating network, the system of pipes that carries hot water to buildings for heating and other household needs. By fall, the problem remained unresolved. In October, some residents also lost heating.

In Russia, many apartment buildings are connected to centralized heating and hot water systems. These are operated by municipal utilities, meaning residents cannot always resolve the problem themselves when water or heating services are cut off.

“Freezing temperatures are coming soon, and we still have no hot water,” residents complained to journalists from the local news outlet Amur.life.

In Kyzyl, the capital of the Republic of Tuva in southern Siberia, residents complained about a cold water outage. Utility services had not warned them about the planned work in advance, so people had no time to stock up on water. According to residents, a large part of the city was left without water for almost an entire day. Following their complaints, the prosecutor’s office launched an inspection into the actions of the utility services.

Petitions, Complaints, and Online Chats: How Residents Fight for Clean Water

In early March, residents of Kem and the nearby village of Rabocheostrovsk collected 1,620 signatures on a petition demanding the construction of water treatment facilities. They sent the petition to the head of Karelia, members of the regional parliament, and Vladimir Putin.

During a meeting with residents, activists handed the petition to the head of the republic, Artur Parfenchikov. According to locals, the authorities have been unable to resolve the water supply problem for around 30 years. They demanded that the town’s water supply system be modernized and that water drawn from the Kem River by the local utility be properly treated. Parfenchikov, however, did not support the demand to immediately build water treatment facilities. Instead, he suggested exploring the possibility of using underground water sources.

Residents of Tyumen, a major city in western Siberia, are also fighting for clean water. During the summer, they complained extensively about its quality, and in October, the problem returned. People posted photos of cloudy water and reported an unpleasant smell.

“I can’t even comb my hair. After washing it, there’s a layer of dirt, grease, or wax on it. I don’t know how else to describe it,” one resident told the local news outlet 72.ru.

Another woman compared the water to oil and said she had to scrub her bathroom fixtures every day.

Activists created an online chat called Right to Water, where participants shared photos, videos, and complaints. One woman said the skin on her hands had become cracked after just a few days in Tyumen. Another showed a shower filter that had turned light brown after less than 24 hours of use.

Following numerous complaints, Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation into the water supply problems.

Residents of Blagoveshchensk also tried to draw attention to the issue. They called property management companies responsible for maintaining apartment buildings, utility providers, and the prosecutor’s office.

Under Russian law, local authorities are responsible for organizing water supplies to residents. Water is usually delivered through the system by municipal enterprises or utility companies. Officials are required to take action if these organizations fail to fulfill their responsibilities. However, residents often have to push for repairs themselves and even explain to the authorities that the water in their homes fails to meet quality standards.

Officials Report Repairs, but Residents Continue to Complain

Karelian authorities say they are gradually upgrading Kem’s water supply system. Since 2022, more than 60 million rubles (around €665,000) have been allocated for repairs. In August, officials promised to clean the water storage tanks and prepare plans to modernize the water treatment plant by the end of the year. However, complaints filed in October show that residents are still dealing with dirty water.

In Tyumen, the local water utility attributed the deterioration in water quality to unusual autumn flooding. According to the utility, changes in the composition of the river water forced specialists to adjust the treatment process.

On October 24, Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian agency responsible for overseeing public health and sanitary standards, reported that water from the Metelevskaya treatment plant met safety requirements.

The agency suggested that aging pipes might be responsible for the deterioration in water quality by the time it reaches residents’ apartments. But people continued to complain about the smell, stickiness, and sediment in their water. In other words, testing the water at the treatment plant did not resolve concerns about what was actually coming out of taps in Tyumen homes.

Authorities in Blagoveshchensk are also reporting repairs to the water supply network. In October, City Hall acknowledged numerous leaks and problems with water pressure in the pipes. According to the administration, utility workers repaired one of the burst pipes in Solnechny, a residential neighborhood, on October 23.

In Bikey, residents who complained about the high cost of water deliveries were advised to connect to the centralized water supply system. But according to locals, that option does not exist in their village.

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