"The Sienkevych collector" was flooded again: after a heavy downpour, the center of Mykolaiv went underwater again
The mayor came down, the municipal workers were cleaning, but the water still came back
In Mykolaiv today, 21 May 2026, after a short but very intense downpour the city center was flooded again. One of the problem spots was again the “Dormashyna” area on Central Avenue — the same stretch where the stormwater collector has already been cleaned, reconstructed, inspected many times and even personally checked by the city mayor Oleksandr Senkevych.
According to the Mykolaiv Regional Hydrometeorological Center, a significant amount of precipitation fell in the city in a very short period of time. The rain lasted 1 hour 17 minutes, and the precipitation totaled 28.4 mm. This is 59% of the monthly norm — virtually almost 60% of the norm in just over an hour.
The Mykolaiv Regional Hydrometeorological Center reported the intensity of today’s rain.
“Today in Mykolaiv there was significant rain lasting 1 hour 17 minutes. The precipitation totaled 28.4 mm, which is 59% of the monthly norm”, – the Mykolaiv Regional Hydrometeorological Center reported.
However, for residents of Mykolaiv the scene proved familiar again: after the heavy downpour water began to accumulate on the roadway, and the “Dormashyna” area, which for years has been called one of the most painful points of the city’s stormwater system, again could not withstand the large flow of water.
https://t.me/korabelov_info/113224
This stretch can long be called not just problematic, but politically symbolic. As early as 28 April 2023 the mayor Oleksandr Senkevych assured that after the reconstruction of the stormwater collector at “Dormashyna” there should be no serious flooding. At that time it was reported that the stormwater collector on Central Avenue in the area of the “Dormashyna” stop had been reconstructed.
Back then local media publications suggested that the 60-year problem had supposedly been solved. But already after those statements “Dormashyna” was repeatedly flooded again during downpours.
In particular, on 20 July 2023 after a heavy rain the center of Mykolaiv was again underwater. Then korabelov.info wrote that the long-suffering “Dormashyna” area was traditionally flooded despite authorities’ assurances that such a thing would not happen after the collector’s repair.
Particularly illustrative was the story of the mayor’s personal inspection. On 10 July 2024 Oleksandr Senkevych descended into the city’s main stormwater collector No.4 to check its condition. At that time he stated that there are problems that need to be worked on, including illegal connections to the system and increased water volumes due to paving and asphalting of roads.
It was after this that an unofficial term effectively appeared in the city — “Senkevych’s collector”. Not because it formally belongs to the mayor, but because this object was repeatedly shown by the authorities as a problem personally controlled by the city mayor.
Later the municipal services again reported cleaning this system. In November 2025 it was reported that about 108 tons of debris had been removed from the stormwater collector on Central Avenue in the “Dormashyna” area. The head of the Municipal Enterprise “ELU Avtodorih”, Vitaliy Shevchenko, then admitted that this place remains one of the most problematic in the city, because the collector clogs more often than others.
So the story looks very simple: the authorities announced a reconstruction, the mayor personally went down into the collector, municipal workers reported tens of tons of cleaned debris, but after another powerful downpour “Dormashyna” was flooded again.
Of course, today’s rain was indeed heavy: 28.4 mm in 1 hour 17 minutes — this is a serious burden on any urban stormwater system. But it is precisely such cases that show whether the infrastructure works after reconstructions, cleanings and loud statements.
For residents of Mykolaiv the problem is not that a lot of water fell during the downpour. The problem is that the “Dormashyna” area has been flooded for years, and after each new inundation the city again hears explanations: either the rain was too strong, or the grates were clogged, or there was debris, or illegal connections, or the need for another round of systemic work.
Today’s downpour again posed an uncomfortable question to the city authorities: if the collector was reconstructed, cleaned, inspected and controlled, why does the center of Mykolaiv again turn into a “little Venice” after a heavy rain?
