The Tsyrkuniv Community
PilotThe Kharkiv River, the Vyalovskoye Reservoir, small water bodies, and wetlands. The base area for developing and testing the approach.
In Brief
The project standardizes the collection of environmental data and integrates it with digital and geospatial tools. The pilot area is the Tsyrkunivska community in the Kharkiv region. Going forward, the approach may be expanded to communities connected to it by a shared system of water bodies in the Siverskyi Donets River basin.
The Problem
Why individual surveys are not enough for the community
A comprehensive assessment of water systems requires a significant amount of time and the ongoing involvement of specialists from various fields. For each new community, information about water bodies, infrastructure, environmental risks, and the specific characteristics of the territory must be gathered from scratch.
The example of Tsyrkuniv has shown that assessing wells, networks, or water bodies in isolation is insufficient for decision-making. The community needs a unified spatial overview that reveals the connections between water resources, infrastructure, damage, environmental risks, and natural areas.
How We Identified the Need
From previous stages of this initiative—assessments of communities’ water management systems—it became clear how much time and expertise a comprehensive assessment of a single territory requires. This is most acute in areas where some information has been lost due to the war, individual sites are damaged or mined, and access to the territories is restricted.
The Tsyrkunivska Community: A Pilot Project
A de-occupied, frontline community where issues with damaged water supply and wastewater systems are compounded by concerns regarding the condition of groundwater, small water bodies, the river system, and hydraulic structures. The community’s water system includes over 270 hectares of water surface, 8.5 km of the Kharkiv River channel, and approximately 240 hectares of floodplain meadows and wetlands connected to the Vyalovskyi Reservoir. This describes the community and the condition of its infrastructure, rather than the scope of work carried out by the foundation.
Project Logic
Goals, Objectives, and Their Benefits
The goal is to standardize the collection of environmental data and integrate it with GIS and digital models of water bodies so that the community has a tool for planning restoration.
| Objectives | What We’re Doing | Result |
|---|---|---|
| GIS mapping | We are consolidating water bodies, coastal protection zones, hydraulic structures, water intake and discharge points, damaged infrastructure, and dependent natural areas into a single spatial layer | A set of base spatial layers created during the development of the digital methodology |
| Digital model of a water body | We compile survey results, locations, characteristics, damage, ecological dependencies, and data reliability levels | Information can be updated after each survey, allowing you to view the history of changes in the area |
| Role Distribution | Some of the raw data can be collected by trained local operators, while specialists participate in the analysis remotely | An advantage for frontline communities with limited access to the territories |
| Cluster of communities within a single watershed | We are preparing to expand this approach to interconnected communities | Potential Kharkiv cluster: Tsyrkuny, Chuhuiv, Staryi Saltiv, Pechenigi, Zmiiv |
Method
How the Work Is Organized
Standard field data collection
Uniform data collection rules apply to all sites.
GIS mapping
All sites and damage in a single spatial layer.
Digital model
Accumulates survey results and shows changes over time.
Remote assessment
Experts verify the collected data without visiting the site.
Solutions for the community
The map shows which sites require priority attention and serves as the evidence base for projects.
Digital data is valuable because the community relies on it when planning the restoration of water supply and wastewater systems, work on hydraulic structures, the restoration of water bodies, and investment decisions.
Geography
Pilot and communities for scaling the approach
The Tsyrkuniv community remains the pilot area. Other communities are being considered as areas for further expansion of the approach within the shared watershed system.
Chuhuiv Community
Siverskyi Donets River Basin. Key issues include surface water conditions, water supply, riparian areas, and the impact of military and man-made factors.
Starosaltiv Community
Linked to the Siverskyi Donets River and the Pechenizke Reservoir. Allows for the consideration of water bodies outside a single community as part of a shared watershed system.
Pechenez Community
The Pechenizke Reservoir and its associated hydraulic and natural systems.
Zmiiv Community
Areas along the Siverskyi Donets River and the associated natural ecosystems.
Scope
What this project does not cover
From the project description
Only the Tsyrkunivska community is currently participating in the full cycle. The Chuhuivska, Starosaltivska, Pechenizka, and Zmiivska communities are included in the project as potential areas for expanding the approach, and work there is still ahead.
Context
Place within the environmental initiative
The foundation’s environmental initiative consists of sequential stages: each stage addressed the question raised by the previous one.
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Environmental restoration of communities affected by the war
Transition from responding to destruction to analyzing long-term risks to water, soil, and natural areas in these communities.
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Restoration of natural ecosystems and environmental sustainability in communities
The state of the environment began to be considered alongside infrastructure and people’s needs.
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Comprehensive assessment of water resources and environmental risks in communities
Pilot project in the Tsyrkunivska community: water supply, wastewater management, groundwater, and ecosystems as a single system.
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Comprehensive assessment and modernization of community water supply and wastewater systems
Field surveys and water testing. Key finding: An environmental assessment must be conducted prior to any investment decision.
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Comparative assessment of water management in Ukrainian communities
A comparison of different types of communities showed that a unified assessment methodology is needed.
Ongoing -
Digital Monitoring and Mapping of Municipal Water Ecosystems
Standardized field data collection, GIS mapping, digital model of the water body, remote engagement of experts.
This project -
LIVING WATER
Transition from individual territories to a network of communities using a common methodology.
The concept has been submitted
Verification
Documents
Public
Available upon request
- Project description and team working materials
- Photos from field trips to the Tsyrkunivska Community
- Foundation policies and compliance documents
About the Organization
Charitable Organization “International Unity Movement Foundation,” EDRPOU 44797809. Compliance management system in accordance with ISO 37301:2021. Confidential inquiries: [email protected]. The complete partner verification package is available on the partners’ page.
Discuss participation in the project
The project is ongoing. We are looking for partners to expand this approach to communities in the Siverskyi Donets River basin: access to territories, scientific expertise, and joint submission.
