There are people for whom work is a daily test, and there are those to whom to work – as a holiday. Tamara Stupakova does not imagine her life without an enterprise, which has been working for over 40 years. Tamara spoke unknowingly about her title “Honored Worker of the Sphere of Services of Ukraine,” and did not mention anything about the President’s distinction in the form of a personal watch that she received for selfless work for the benefit of Zhytomyr. Because her interview – this is not a story about her, this is a confession in the feelings of the company, with whom it was fate
“I wanted to study in ” cult enlightenment “(ed., The former name, now the College of Culture and Arts named after Ivan Ogienko) because he dreamed of being an artist. But I did not manage to enter, because at the time of the admission campaign I fell ill, was very coughing and could not do anything as it should. I was offered to go to the director’s department, but I did not want to. At that time, one of the labors of the water channel was in an accident, and I was asked to work temporarily in its place”
“When I came to work, Larysa Vargaliuk was the chief of the vodokanal, who, at a glance, determined how this or that person would work. If she saw the potential of someone, then she immediately sent him to study in specialty. Actually, she directed me to study further on the specialty. I’ve been working on a water channel for more than 40 years – I came here in 1975. Already in the second year I was appointed a repair technician, then – a senior master, then a technologist. Even a bacteriologist I was. I headed the workshop for a water pipe some 25 years”
“In the workshop of the water main there are people who became my relatives. All of them are very responsible and love to study. We hold classes for them, they go for advanced training courses, participate in so-called “exchange programs” between employees of water utilities in different cities”
“My duties include water treatment for drinking water and feeding it to the city. This is a very interesting process. River water from our water reservoir is not exactly what it would be desirable for it to be. Our reservoirs in Denishy and Vidsichne are the only sources of water supply for the city of Zhytomyr”
“Water from our wells, wells are not suitable for drinking. The bacteriological, chemical and radiological composition of such water is dangerous – it can not be drunk. It contains harmful ingredients: E. coli, nitrates. In addition, in such a large amount of water there is radon – radioactive gas. Water saturated with the rhodonine is not suitable for drinking. When I see people who carry water from the well, I ask them: “Please do not drink it right away. Or, leave the water for several days in an open dish, and then only eat, or use boiled (to leave the rhodon)”
“Water supplied by the water supply canal, suitable for consumption, meets state sanitary rules and norms … Water treatment plants have remained old, and water is getting worse every year, and therefore it is becoming increasingly difficult to clean it. But we always tried to do it well, because we ourselves, our families use this water. We decided to introduce an additional filtration step that allowed us to improve the quality of water. Last year we reloaded 20 filters, the area of 4 of them – more than 100 m2. Two-stage water filtration is a very complicated process that requires frequent washing, which results in the removal of fence-regulating valves, and, consequently, the volume of maintenance is increasing. But we are constantly working to ensure that the quality of drinking water is high”
“Phosphate detergents destroy our rivers. They provide a nutrient medium for phytoplankton, which multiplies and deprives oxygen of all life, which leads to the death of fish, the death of the reservoir itself. The river suffocates without oxygen, it becomes cloudy, ugly, militia. Every person should be honest and understand that we have no other source of water supply: what will we pollute our water – and we will drink”
“I am mature enough. I could have been able to retire for a long time. But luckily, I’m still working. In my work I like everything: a high level of responsibility (I have to do everything to make the water good), positive changes that are always happening during the reconstruction. I remember the day we launched the water purification unit. It was a holiday for us! You do not convey. After all, we were assured that he would not work, but we decided to fight for him. And when the drought began and the water level in the reservoirs fell to a critical point (from 4.20 m to 1.80 m), we were forced to do something to keep the city from getting waterless. We reanimated the water purification unit, which allowed us to save more water and, besides, to save energy – thus we reduced the pressure on the environment”
“I would like to say about our new project, over which we have been working for several years. During this time, studied about 10 projects and chose the one that is most suitable for our water. This project is economically very correctly selected, ecologically – absolutely perfect. As a result of its implementation, we will receive water of great quality, because we took into account everything. Two-stage water purification is planned, installation of sediment ponds, which does not accumulate the precipitate. The cleaning facilities will be placed very compact, which will allow them to maximally use their potential – there will be no one meter, which could lose electricity. The work of pumping units will “manage” the software, and not the driver, and this will contribute to optimizing water purification. Zhytomyr citizens from this project only win. In February, we already have to start a direct implementation of the project, but for a moment we do not cease to work on it, we discuss all the trifles. I like it, life is for me”
Translated by Aliona Matushevich
