Pilot Project

Environmental Remediation of Urban Area and the Nemyshlia River Floodplain-Pond System

Ukraine, Kharkiv, Nemyshlianskyi District

Indicative Budget
1 650 000 EUR

implementation period
2026-2028

Funding Secured
43 000 EUR

Ukraine’s commitments under the EU Water Framework Directive
indicator 34, Goal 1, Water Strategy of Ukraine
priority environmental issue No. 2 of the Kharkiv City Territorial Community

Partners

Donors

Institutional Partner

Kharkiv City Council, Department of Construction and Road Infrastructure

Expert Partners

Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Ecological Problems, Siverskyi Donets Basin Water Resources Administration

Conceptual Site Model (CSM)

In February 2024, an attack on an oil depot in Kharkiv resulted in a spill of 4,000 tonnes of diesel fuel and petrol.

Petroleum products entered the soil and groundwater beneath low-rise residential development and, through the municipal stormwater drainage system, reached the floodplain of the Nemyshlia River.

Two years after the incident, persistent systemic contamination of the Nemyshlia, Kharkiv, Lopan and Udy rivers with petroleum products is still observed.

2800tonnes

petroleum products in soils

23years

negative impacts on human health and the environment

+135%

increase in malignant neoplasms in the community from 2022 to 2024

Start of Implementation

A key feature of the contamination is that it extends beneath residential buildings and urban infrastructure. Under these conditions, soil excavation is technically challenging and carries a risk of compromising building stability. At the same time, removing bottom sediments from the floodplain would lead to renewed large-scale contamination of the river system and recreational water bodies.

The pilot project involves the use of electrokinetic bioremediation, enabling in situ removal of petroleum product contamination without excavating soils or removing bottom sediments.

As the technology will be applied for the first time in a densely built-up urban area, pilot trials under real-world conditions are planned to adapt it to Ukraine’s natural conditions, confirm its effectiveness and verify its compatibility with underground urban infrastructure.

Comprehensive assessment of impacts on soils, groundwater, surface water and bottom sediments

Identification of the mechanisms by which contamination affects human health

Remediation Strategy for Contaminated Areas and Protection of Water Bodies in the Don River Basin

Inclusion of the Project in the Unified Public Investment Project Portfolio of the Kharkiv City Territorial Community

Socio-environmental assessment of impacts on human health

Inclusion of the project in the Medium-Term Priority Public Investment Plan of the Kharkiv City Territorial Community

Investment Feasibility Study for the Project in DREAM

Inclusion of the Project in the State Sectoral Portfolio “Environment”

Conceptual Site Model (CSM)

Exploratory Investigation of the Contaminated Site

What's Next

Phase I

2026 - 2027

Funding required:

125 000 - 200 000 EUR

Become a Partner

Pilot Site 1 Wetland Remediation Model
Pilot Site 2 Urban Area Remediation Model
Pilot Site 3 Groundwater Contaminant Plume Barrier Model

Phase II

2027 - 2028

Funding required:

Become a Partner

Повномасштабне відновлення забрудненої території Немишлянського району м. Харкова і заплавно-ставкової системи річки Немишля

Project Results

70000m³

of remediated soils

220000m³

of restored surface waters

780000m²

of protected river ecosystems

60000m³

of remediated bottom sediments

76000m²

of restored wetlands

43900

residents with reduced health risks

40000m³

of remediated groundwater

protection of drinking water supply systems in the Siverskyi Donets River basin from the cumulative impact of long-term petroleum product contamination