What is the reason for the water supply interruption in the residential quarters of Mladost 2, 3 and 4?

On 1 February two stop valves were installed on the strategic facility which supplies water to the residential quarters of Mladost, Gorublyane, Poligona, Darvenitsa, and Musagenitsa, as well as the neighboring areas of Tsarigradsko shose Blvd., between G.M. Dimitrov Blvd. and Copenhagen Blvd. You can see that the zone supplied with water through this water main is very large. And the water pipe has a big diameter – the diameter of the pipes is ф900 and ф700. The size of the two stop valves is ф1000 and ф600 (for comparison – the pipe is almost 1 meter wide). Their installation is part of the first stage of the overall reconstruction of the water connection, which is on the Ring Road; the replacement of almost 400 meters of water mains and their connection in a new way is envisaged.  The water supply is to be interrupted again on 15 February when some of the existing connections will be disconnected and at the beginning of March one more water supply interruption will be necessary to disconnect the last existing connection.

I can tell you that this is one of the largest projects over the last 10 years. The objective is to replace the entire connection and construct it in a new more efficient way.

If this is the first stage of the repair, what is to be done on this connection in the future?

At present, we carry out activities related to the construction and rearrangement of the connections which at the next stage the constructed new water mains will be connected to. They will replace the existing water mains constructed 30 years ago with very low-quality materials, unfortunately, which requires their replacement. As I have mentioned, the total length of the newly-constructed water mains will be around 400 meters and I should note that they are completely new strategic water mains.

Will the reconstruction improve the water supply in the area?

This is what we want – continuity of the service. When the reconstruction is completed, the possibilities for failures will be eliminated, and we will also create alternative routes for water supply. This means that the water network will become “more flexible” as we will expand its abilities for water supply through different schemes. On the one hand, the water supplied to these residential quarters will pass through a completely new facility, and on the other hand – it will be constructed much more efficiently.

How much does the reconstruction cost?

The reconstruction of the water connection is planned in the investment program of Sofiyska Voda and its total cost is more than BGN 1.1 million.

Will the planned activities mentioned by you require again water supply interruption? 

At present, the area is supplied directly from strategic water mains. The repair works on them require longer technological time because first, the facility must be emptied from the water to carry out the repair works – dismounting, mounting, connecting, etc., and afterwards, it has to be filled with water again before restoring the water supply to the customers. We are talking about big pipes underground and stop valves. We try to make the reconstruction with high quality and within the necessary technological time, although sometimes we have to extend the time period of water supply interruption. Like in any construction activity, sometime unexpected situations and complications arise.

We understand how unpleasant it is to have no water at home, as we are also customers of the company. Therefore, I would like to assure the customers of Sofiyska Voda that our field teams work extremely intensively with the aim of restoring the water supply within the set period.

The customers will be informed in due time for any water supply interruption related to this reconstruction. I would like to remind that the updated information on the planned or emergency repairs is available in the Information Center on the website of Sofiyska Voda AD on: https://www.sofiyskavoda.bg/water-stops