The wear and tear of sewer networks in Russia reached 46% by the end of 2024, the If byt’ Tochnom project reports , citing Rosstat data. According to statistics, 94 thousand km of sewer pipes in the country are considered worn out.

The biggest problems are in the Jewish Autonomous Region (80% wear), Tuva (79%) and Kurgan Region (73%). Sewer wear and tear reaches almost 60% in Moscow. The situation is best in the sparsely populated Nenets Autonomous Okrug (2%), Altai (3%) and Chukotka (6%).

Rosstat data reflects the standard service life of pipes. If it has completely expired, then the pipe is considered to be 100% worn out. Sergey Sivaev, professor at the Higher School of Urban Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, explains that with an average service life of about 50 years, at least 2% of its length needs to be renewed annually, and to reduce accidents – about 3%. Now, only a little more than 1% is replaced. Sivaev notes that over 10 years, the growth of utility tariffs was 21% lower than inflation during this period, and utility companies lost 800 billion rubles per year. “That’s a lot. And this is perhaps the most important reason for the increase in the level of wear and tear of fixed assets of engineering infrastructure,” says Sivaev.

The rate of renewal of worn-out utility networks in Russia is half what is required, and therefore the number of accidents in the housing and utilities system will continue to grow in the country in the coming years, Alexander Yakubovsky, a member of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Utilities, previously admitted  . “Only about 1.9-2% of utility networks are renewed annually, while at least 4% is needed to stabilize the situation. Without an increase in the volume of work, the accident rate will only increase,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the wear and tear of utility infrastructure in Russian regions ranges from 40 to 80%. At least a third of the networks require urgent replacement. Even in the Moscow Region, equipment wear and tear reaches 29%. The most difficult situation is in North Ossetia and the Lipetsk Region, where more than half of the heating and steam networks are unsuitable for operation (57% and 56%, respectively). In Sevastopol, the figure exceeds 90%.

The standard service life of mass-produced houses in the country is ending, and if they are not renovated, “there will be a mass destruction of the housing stock,” Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who oversees construction, said in an interview with Vedomosti. According to him, the issue of safety is of primary importance in this regard. The “Khrushchyovkas,” which were built in the 1960s using equipment purchased abroad, were initially designed for 50 years of service, but the service life was later extended to 70 years. “Now their service life is ending,” Khusnullin stated. The deterioration of the housing infrastructure has already led to a series of hundreds of utility accidents that engulfed Russia in the winter of 2024–2025.

(c)THE MOSCOW TIMES 2025