ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF INVESTMENTS IN WATER TREATMENT AND WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEMS IN UKRAINE
Abstract
The article focuses on assessing the economic efficiency of investments in water treatment and water purification systems in Ukraine. Water treatment is considered as an investment choice between alternative ways of providing an enterprise with the required volume and quality of water under limited investment resources. The study examines the economic effects of technological modernization through changes in capital expenditures, operating costs, resource consumption, and the cost of treated water. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX), water consumption, and equipment utilization. The structure of fixed and variable costs is analyzed, and the role of average and marginal costs in determining the economic feasibility of technological solutions is substantiated. Traditional water treatment technologies are compared with membrane technologies, particularly reverse osmosis with preliminary purification. The study demonstrates that the economic advantage of a technological alternative cannot be determined solely by its initial investment cost, since higher CAPEX may be offset by lower operating costs and a reduction in the unit cost of treated water at an appropriate level of capacity utilization. The influence of energy consumption, chemical reagents, maintenance, preliminary purification, membrane cleaning, and replacement on total operating costs is considered. The effect of scale is identified as an important factor determining the average cost of treated water. A methodological approach to investment assessment is proposed that combines CAPEX and OPEX analysis with average and marginal costs, equipment utilization, and the scale of water treatment. The approach makes it possible to determine threshold parameters at which the economic advantage of alternative technologies changes and to assess sensitivity to changes in water, electricity, and chemical reagent costs. The methodology can be applied by Ukrainian enterprises to compare technological alternatives and substantiate investment decisions concerning water treatment systems.
References
Апостолюк О. З. Адаптація міжнародного досвіду до реформування системи державного регулювання ринку житлово-комунальних послуг України // Економіка і суспільство. – 2017. – Вип. 13. – С. 169–174. URL: https://economyandsociety.in.ua/journals/13_ukr/28.pdf.
Варналій З. С., Білик Р. Р. Інституційні засади та організаційні механізми політики регіонального розвитку: завдання реформ європейського зразка // Соціально-економічні проблеми сучасного періоду України. – 2014. – Вип. 3 (107). – С. 3–14. URL: https://irbis-nbuv.gov.ua/cgi-bin/irbis_nbuv/cgiirbis_64.exe?C21COM=2&I21DBN=UJRN&IMAGE_FILE_DOWNLOAD=1&Image_file_name=PDF%2Fsepspu_2014_3_3.pdf.
Запатріна І. В., Лебеда Т. Б. Удосконалення політики тарифоутворення у системі фінансового забезпечення розвитку комунальних систем централізованого водопостачання та водовідведення // Наукові праці НДФІ. – 2009. – № 3 (48). – С. 73–80. URL: https://npndfi.org.ua/docs/NP_09_03_073_uk.pdf
Педько А. Б., Ємельянов О. В. Аналіз економічних інтересів основних стейкхолдерів сфери водоочищення і водопостачання // Науковий вісник Міжнародного гуманітарного університету. Серія: Економіка і менеджмент. – 2025. – № 62. – С. 60–66. – DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2413-2675/2025-62-9.
Педько А., Ємельянов О. Компаративне дослідження моделей бюджетного фінансування водопостачання в Україні та деяких країнах G7 // Підприємництво та інновації. – 2025. – № 37. – С. 104–109. – DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2415-3583/37.16.
Apostoliuk O. Z. (2017) Adaptatsiia mizhnarodnoho dosvidu do reformuvannia systemy derzhavnoho rehuliuvannia rynku zhytlovo-komunalnykh posluh Ukrainy [Adaptation of international experience to reforming the system of state regulation of the housing and communal services market in Ukraine]. Ekonomika i suspilstvo, vol. 13, pp. 169–174. Available at: https://economyandsociety.in.ua/journals/13_ukr/28.pdf (in Ukrainian).
Varnalii Z. S., Bilyk R. R. (2014) Instytutsiini zasady ta orhanizatsiini mekhanizmy polityky rehionalnoho rozvytku: zavdannia reform yevropeiskoho zrazka [Institutional principles and organizational mechanisms of regional development policy: tasks of European-style reforms]. Sotsialno-ekonomichni problemy suchasnoho periodu Ukrainy, vol. 3 (107), pp. 3–14. Available at: https://irbis-nbuv.gov.ua/cgi-bin/irbis_nbuv/cgiirbis_64.exe?C21COM=2&I21DBN=UJRN&IMAGE_FILE_DOWNLOAD=1&Image_file_name=PDF%2Fsepspu_2014_3_3.pdf (in Ukrainian).
Zapatrina I. V., Lebeda T. B. (2009) Udoskonalennia polityky taryfoutvorennia u systemi finansovoho zabezpechennia rozvytku komunalnykh system tsentralizovanoho vodopostachannia ta vodovidvedennia [Improvement of tariff policy in the system of financial support for the development of municipal centralized water supply and wastewater systems]. Naukovi pratsi NDFI, no. 3 (48), pp. 73–80. Available at: https://npndfi.org.ua/docs/NP_09_03_073_uk.pdf (in Ukrainian).
Pedko A. B., Yemelianov O. V. (2025) Analiz ekonomichnykh interesiv osnovnykh steikkholderiv sfery vodoochyschennia i vodopostachannia [Analysis of the economic interests of key stakeholders in the water treatment and water supply sector]. Naukovyi visnyk Mizhnarodnoho humanitarnoho universytetu. Seriia: Ekonomika i menedzhment, no. 62, pp. 60–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2413-2675/2025-62-9 (in Ukrainian).
Pedko A., Yemelianov O. (2025) Komparatyvne doslidzhennia modelei biudzhetnoho finansuvannia vodopostachannia v Ukraini ta deiakykh krainakh G7 [A comparative study of models of budget financing of water supply in Ukraine and some G7 countries]. Pidpryiemnytstvo ta innovatsii, no. 37, pp. 104–109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2415-3583/37.16 (in Ukrainian).
Copyright (c) 2026 Валерій Грицюк
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
