Guesthouse owner in Ukraine convicted of piping untreated sewage into protected mountain river

A guesthouse owner in Ukraine has been convicted of repeatedly releasing raw wastewater into a mountain waterway near the Bukovel resort and fined 85,000 Ukrainian hryvnias (about $1,870).

Here's what to know

Ukrainian outlet ZAHID.NET identified the owner as Serhii Konstantinov. His property, the Karpatski Zori guesthouse in Polianytsia, was the subject of the case reported by EcoPolitic, citing the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Water fund lands within the protected area of the Prutets Polianytskyi River directly adjoin the property. Konstantinov has run the property's hotel and restaurant operations since 2006.

Repeated releases of untreated guesthouse wastewater into the riverbed were established by prosecutors in court.

Evidence from the property and its sewer pipes helped support the prosecution. Konstantinov was formally notified of suspicion in January 2026.

More background

The Prutets Polianytskyi River failed to meet permitted limits for phosphate, total iron, and ammonium nitrogen by a substantial margin.

Chemical oxygen demand, an indicator used to assess water quality, was also excessive in the tests.

Surface water quality had deteriorated, the findings showed.

What's being done?

Violations of water protection rules fall under Article 242, Part 1, of Ukraine's Criminal Code — the provision prosecutors used to secure the conviction.

The court imposed an 85,000-hryvnia penalty, calculated as 5,000 times the non-taxable minimum income.

An engineering and environmental expert assessment formed part of the prosecution's evidence against Konstantinov, alongside laboratory reports, inspection records, and liquid samples from the sewer pipes.

Separately, the prosecutor's office reported that Konstantinov made a voluntary contribution of 15,000 hryvnias ($330,500) to support Ukraine's Armed Forces, per EcoPolitic.

In addition to the criminal fine, he will be required to pay more than 30,000 hryvnias ($661,000) to cover the examinations used in the case against him.

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