Residents of Kotovo spent New Year's Eve without water and heating.

On the night of January 1, water, heat, and mobile phone service were again cut off in the city of Kotovo in the Volgograd Region. Dispatch services and city administration employees did not answer residents' phone calls.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Kotovo residents have repeatedly complained about problems with the water and heating supply, citing the severe deterioration of the city's networks, frequent accidents, and the authorities' refusal to modernize the water supply system.

Residents of Pobeda, Sverdlova, Lavrova, Gubkina, and Mira Streets in the district center of Kotovo in the Volgograd Region complained about water and heat outages on New Year's Eve.

Temporarily unemployed Kotovo resident Andrei Ivanov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his mother-in-law lives on Sverdlova Street. When he called her to wish her a Happy New Year, the woman said that hot and cold water had been shut off in her building on December 31, 2025. "There was no water at all during the day, then it seemed to trickle. She managed to fill the bathtub. "And just before midnight, the water disappeared from the taps again," the man complained.

Andrey said his mother-in-law always stocks up on water. She uses 10 five-liter containers. When the water supply is cut off, relatives bring her the water they collect from the pumps.

"We've had a terrible water supply problem for five or six years now. It's understandable that residents are trying to cope. They're always stocking up on water," the man described the situation.

Andrey Khanbekov and his family traveled from Kamyshin to Kotovo to visit relatives for New Year's. He also reported problems with the water supply. Andrey noted that water was trickling into houses on Sverdlova Street.

"The radiators were barely warm." "Can you imagine what it's like to sit at the holiday table knowing there's no water in the taps? And in the cold, too. We had to turn on the electric heater," Khanbekov complained. In his relatives' apartments, the temperature dropped to 16 degrees Celsius on New Year's Eve. "The dispatcher hangs up. They don't want to talk to us. We're sitting in the cold and without water. The authorities had previously assured us that the water pipes had been replaced. And this is how the new year starts. We can't wash the dishes, do our laundry, or bathe the children," said Elena Ponomareva, who lives on Mira Street. According to her, there were also interruptions in mobile phone service and internet in Kotovo.

All respondents interviewed by a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported that water delivery was not provided on December 31st, and utility dispatchers did not answer phone calls.

A "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was unable to reach the utility's dispatch service. The city administration also did not answer calls.

It should be noted that the municipal unitary enterprise "Kotovo-Vodokanal," established in May 2022, is the water and wastewater supply company in Kotovo. The city administration is the founder of this enterprise. In addition to residents and businesses in the district center, "Kotovo-Vodokanal" supplies drinking water to the villages of Yefimovka and Nizhnie Korobki. Water is collected from underground wells at the Filinskoye field, located 38 kilometers from Kotovo. TsNS-300 pumps are used for pumping water. Their service life is over 50 years, according to the response of Acting Deputy Head of the Kotovo Administration, Aram Avanesyan, to an appeal from an activist to the Russian government office on July 7.