Water supply in Bălți, Soroca, Sîngerei and Florești restored

The Government of the Republic of Moldova

Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu visited the municipality of Bălți and the districts of Soroca and Dondușeni, where he discussed with local public authorities, representatives of medical and social institutions, as well as citizens, about the measures taken by the authorities to ensure residents have access to water. After several days of interruptions following the pollution of the Dniester River, the municipality of Bălți and the districts of Soroca, Sîngerei and Florești were reconnected to the water supply system yesterday.

The decision to resume water supply in the north of the country was taken after the collected tests confirmed that the water is within safe limits for consumption. During the first 48 hours, the supplied water may be used only for household purposes and is not safe for drinking or food preparation.

During his visit to the north of the country, the prime minister went to the locality of Arionești, where 7 dams for capturing pollutants have already been installed. The official highlighted the work of the teams that labored intensively to restore the water supply and thanked people for their patience during these difficult days.

“People’s health has been and remains our priority. The interventions at the Cosăuți station and in the localities have yielded results. The installed filters remain in operation, and the teams remain on the ground for continuous monitoring and rapid intervention, if necessary,” underlined Munteanu.

The pollution of the Dniester River by fuel leaks was caused by the attack of the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian hydropower plant in Novodnestrovsk. On 16 March 2026, the Government declared environmental state of alert on the Dniester River basin for 15 days.

The interventions to stop the downstream transport of fuel were carried out through a consolidated effort of the Army, rescuers from the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU), carabineers, employees of the Agency for Material Reserves, and the National Crisis Management Center (CNMC), in order to ensure a coordinated and rapid response in the affected localities. Important support was also provided by teams from Romania, and the Ukrainian side intervened on their bank of the Dniester.

The teams worked non-stop in the field, using all available resources, to restore the water supply. Several absorbent dams were installed on the Dniester River: 2 dams in the village of Cureșnița, Soroca district; 4 dams to secure Cosăuți water intake station, Soroca district; the water intake station for Chișinău was secured with 2 absorbent dams installed by the Ministry of Environment and 2 by Apă Canal; 2 dams in Coșnița and 7 dams in Arionești, Dondușeni district. Work continues in the field – another dam is being installed at Dubăsari reservoir.

At Cosăuți water treatment station, a new filtration system with granular activated carbon was installed to secure the water treatment process that supplies the districts of Florești, Sîngerei, Soroca and the municipality of Bălți.

The water quality has been constantly monitored, with water samples taken on site using a mobile laboratory. Since 16 March, 7 artesian wells have been put into operation in Soroca, in Florești wells pumping groundwater have been used, and in Sîngerei most localities were already using their own wells.

The Government has provided support to the local administration in Bălți, mobilizing over 300 employees from law enforcement and emergency structures to ensure the population’s access to water. To cover current needs, more than 150 tons of drinking and technical water have been made available to local residents.