Pilot Project
Kharkiv, Nemyshlianskyi District
Indicative Budget
1 650 000 EUR
implementation period
2026-2028
Funding Secured
51 000 EUR
Kharkiv City Council, Department of Construction and Road Infrastructure
Ukrainian Scientific Research Institute of Ecological Problems
Siverskyi Donets Basin Water Resources Administration
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
scale of petroleum contamination
23years
duration of negative impact on people and the environment
+135%
rise in cancer incidence in the community, 2022–2024
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.
Phase I
2027
Funding required:
125 000 - 200 000 EUR
Become a PartnerPhase II
2027 - 2028
Funding required:
Become a PartnerПовномасштабне відновлення забрудненої території Немишлянського району м. Харкова і заплавно-ставкової системи річки Немишля
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
Every year of delay means another year of exposure to petroleum contamination