Water Resource Management Employees Day in Ukraine Date in the current year: June 2, 2024

Water Resource Management Employees Day is the professional holiday for all Ukrainians who work in water resource management. One of its goals is to highlight the significant contribution that the workers of Ukraine’s water resource management and land reclamation complex make to the development of water management and land reclamation, as well as to meeting the needs of agriculture, industry and the population as far as water resources are concerned.

The State Water Resources Agency of Ukraine is the main government authority responsible for the state control in the field of water resource management and government reclamation. It reports to the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine.

The Agency’s mission is to implement the state policy in the field of the management, use and replenishment of surface water resources, development of water resource management and land reclamation, and operation of state water facilities, irrigation and drainage systems. The Agency is also tasked with contributing to the development of the said state policy by making relevant proposals.

Its main tasks include:

• developing river basin management plans in order to achieve and maintain the optimal environmental status of water resources
• ensuring that the needs of the population and industry in water resources are met
• implementing measures for ecological rehabilitation of surface waters
• forming basin councils
• ensuring flood protection of rural settlements and agricultural lands
• implementing state surface water monitoring
• monitoring the reclamation condition of irrigated and drained lands, as well as soils in areas affected by land reclamation systems
• ensuring the operation of state water management facilities, irrigation and drainage systems
• ensuring the design, construction and reconstruction of flood protection systems, water supply and sewerage systems in rural areas, hydraulic structures and canals, land reclamation systems, and certain engineering infrastructure objects
• and more.

The Agency has a number of regional offices and subordinate organizations such as basin water resources administrations and canal administrations. They ensure the operation of a total of more than 5 million of hectares of land reclamation systems across the country, water pipelines that supply drinking water to hundreds of settlements, over 1,100 reservoirs with a total capacity of about 55 cubic kilometers, about 50,000 ponds, and seven large canals.

Although the official date of Water Resource Management Employees Day is the first Sunday of June, celebrations usually take place on the preceding Friday or following Monday. On the occasion of their professional holiday, Ukrainian water resource management employees accept congratulations from government officials. Those of them who’ve distinguished themselves during the past year are awarded departmental awards, letters of recognition, and monetary bonuses.