Parts of Bishkek will have no running water for much of Monday, October 27, as the city's utility company carries out scheduled maintenance. The cut-off runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time, according to an announcement from City Hall, and covers a swath of residential and commercial districts on the city side defined by Kultegin, Gidrostroitelnaya, Dordoi, Ibraimov, Kurmanjan Datka, 12th Street, Naberezhnaya Street and 8th Street.

The disruption is tied to preventive works at the Enesai water intake facility and repairs on the surrounding supply network — routine infrastructure work rather than an emergency, but with real day-to-day consequences. The affected zone includes apartment blocks, schools, kindergartens and medical facilities, so expect cafes, guesthouses and small hotels in the area to feel it too.

Bishkekvodokanal, the municipal water company, is asking everyone in the zone to stock up on drinking water in advance. Locals can track scheduled and emergency cuts through the My City mobile app, which sends notifications — handy if you're staying in the neighbourhood and want a heads-up before it happens.

If you're travelling in Bishkek that day, the practical steps are simple. Fill a kettle or bottles the night before if your accommodation falls inside the boundary streets listed above. Assume the taps in your guesthouse will run dry from mid-morning and plan around it: use hotel facilities early, carry bottled water (cheap and widely sold across the city), and don't count on restaurants in the affected zone serving a full menu at lunch. Public water fountains are not a given in this part of town, so a filled bottle in your daypack is the easiest fix.

Why does this matter to travellers? Bishkek is the main gateway for trekking and horse-riding trips into the Tien Shan mountains, and many visitors pass a night or two in the capital between buses, shared taxis and flights. A single-day outage is a minor blip — but the city does run periodic maintenance shutdowns like this one, especially outside peak tourist season, so it's a good habit to ask your host whether any works are planned during your stay. October is late season in Bishkek: the summer trekking crowds have gone, the weather is cool and crisp, and city infrastructure gets its annual attention before winter. A little forewarning goes a long way.

For the boundary streets in detail, or to check future outage schedules, the My City app is the official channel locals use.