Photo: Facebook/ Krasimir Minev
Just 8 months after its official commissioning, Shumen’s new water supply system, worth 70 million leva, has gone out of service due to a breakdown. Within two days, two major failures occurred on the pipeline, which first left Veliki Preslav without water, and today Shumen as well. While residents of both cities have been without water for a full day during 40-degree heat, the Water and Sewerage company still has not explained what caused the failures in the new water supply system – whether it’s a matter of poor facility design or substandard construction.
The main water supply pipeline from Ticha reservoir to Shumen cost 68 million leva and was financed through a major European project under the “Environment 2014-2020” Operational Program. Even during the installation of the new pipes, there were suspicions of poor-quality execution, but the contractors rejected all complaints.
The European project signed in 2020 was worth 126 million leva and was supposed to solve two main water supply problems for Shumen: a new water pipeline from Ticha reservoir, because the old one leaks like a sieve, and construction of a drinking water treatment plant, since Shumen residents had been drinking untreated water from the reservoir for nearly 50 years. The project allocated 68 million leva for a new water pipeline from Ticha reservoir to Shumen, Targovishte and Veliki Preslav, and another 26 million leva for a drinking water treatment plant in Shumen.
All activities were supposed to be completed within two to two and a half years, but in practice, both facilities were put into operation 5 years after the project’s start. The city of Targovishte is still not connected to the new water supply system, and the pipeline’s launch in Shumen turned into a real nightmare for people.
The switch to the new water supply system began on November 4, 2024, and was scheduled to be completed the next day. However, when the water was turned on, a pump exploded in the main pumping station supplying Shumen. As the Water and Sewerage company later admitted, the pump broke due to the pipeline being full of dirt and stones. After replacing the pump, water from the new pipeline finally reached the taps, from which disgusting muddy-brown liquid flowed. While citizens flooded social media with photos of the murky water, the Water and Sewerage company pretended there was no problem. With some delay, the health inspectorate reacted and announced that the water was unfit for drinking and food preparation due to increased turbidity. The ban on water use continued for a whole week, as breakdowns in the ill-fated pumping station didn’t stop and pumps continued to “explode” due to mud and stones carried by the new water supply system.
It reached the point of a protest in front of the Water and Sewerage-Shumen headquarters, where citizens demanded the resignation of company manager Ivan Pushkarov. However, he hid from the citizens, and several days later justified himself by saying that according to documents, the water supply system was completely in order. “We have signed protocols from supervision that the pipes were cleaned,” Pushkarov stated at a meeting with citizens and councilors organized by Shumen mayor Hristo Hristov.
The 26-kilometer water supply system was built by two companies – “GP Group” and the “Ticha 2020” consortium, which includes “Building Comfort” Ltd., “Vodstroy VT” JSC, and “Set Engineering” Ltd. They were selected as contractors through a public procurement by Water and Sewerage-Shumen for design, construction, material supply, and author supervision of the water supply system. Three other construction consortiums were eliminated on grounds of non-compliance with the assignment. According to the project, the water supply system is built from cast iron pipes, and in the section crossing the Kamchia River – from polyethylene pipes. According to documents, the new pipes have a diameter of 800 mm and are smaller than the old ones (1000 mm), which according to Water and Sewerage employees creates major problems.
Eco-activist Krasimir Minev from Veliki Preslav, who has been monitoring pipeline breakdowns for years, showed a photo of a piece from the new pipe, which shows that the pipe’s internal diameter is 650 mm, not 800. “The old water supply system was 1200 mm, the new one is 650 mm, half as small,” Minev commented. He stated that there are two more breakdowns on the new pipe, besides today’s, which is in the area of Omurtag bridge.
Already at the beginning of the new water supply system’s construction in 2023, Krasimir Minev published photos on social media from the pipe laying near Veliki Preslav, which showed that the pipes are placed in a deep excavation directly on the soil and covered up, without any compaction or bedding.
A “Za Istinata” reporter conducted an on-site inspection, which confirmed what was happening and established that the new pipes are full of dirt. “The pipes are thrown into the excavation, after which they are ‘installed’ by the excavator pressing them down with the bucket from above and then immediately covering them with soil. With this method of ‘construction,’ the cast iron pipes can break and the new water supply system can fail at every meter,” Minev commented and predicted:
We will have plumbing, but we will not have water!
After the publication, the construction supervision temporarily stopped the site due to suspicions of poor-quality construction, and the next day several new excavators appeared on site, trampling the soil in the trench before laying the pipes.
Meanwhile, the public Radio Shumen was quick to refute the publication about the problems with the new water supply. “It is not true that there are violations in the construction of the new water supply from the Ticha dam to Shumen,” the radio announced, in a special section under the project for “radio fact-checks for a more reliable media environment” (#factcheckEI_BNR). The radio “denied” the case by giving the floor to the head of the supervision company, who announced that there were no violations. On the other hand, the head of the project management unit Nadezhda Petkova admitted that “there were minor remarks on the site regarding the excavation and tamping, and the contractor company corrected the activities.” However, the public radio concluded that “the claims that there were violations in the construction of the new water supply from the Ticha dam to Shumen, as well as that the pipes were installed incorrectly, are FALSE.”
A year and a half later, when mud started flowing from the taps, everyone realized that there was a problem with the water supply. However, the Shumen Water Supply and Sewerage Authority has not yet found anyone guilty of what happened. The head of the water monopoly, Ivan Pushkarov, announced that he was working on documents according to which the new water supply was cleaned of all sediments before being connected to the system. “There are signed supervision protocols,” Pushkarov justified himself.
In March 2025, three years late, the drinking water treatment plant in Shumen was put into operation, and several months of water “paradise” for citizens followed, without accidents or turbidity from the taps.
However, on July 21, an accident occurred in the new water supply system near Veliki Preslav, which left the city dry for a day. A video posted on social networks showed a powerful geyser of water gushing from the new water supply system. A little later, a message appeared on the Water Supply and Sewerage website that the accident was due to a damaged stopcock.
The next day, another section of the water supply system “burst”, due to which Shumen is without water today. According to Water Supply and Sewerage employees, the second accident was caused by a broken weld on the pipe. The repair is at the expense of the builders, since the water supply system is under warranty.
“Shuments, congratulations. Third accident of the new polyethylene water supply line from the Ticha dam. We are starting today to keep a register with dates and sequence of accidents to help Pushkarov cope with the fact that there will clearly be many. Yes, there will be, according to him, the fi was not important, and there would be no losses – lies, lies and more lies. But you can’t deny him – it’s beautiful, well done Pushkarov, and you pay 6 leva for water,” wrote eco-activist Krasimir Minev on Facebook.
