The project aims to decrease nutrients reaching the Baltic Sea by strengthening the governance framework of the wastewater treatment plants in the Vistula River Basin in Ukraine using expertise from the Baltic Sea region.
In 2021, according to monitoring data, 88% of sewage discharged into the Vistula River basin was of inadequately treated status. This poses a significant challenge for downstream regions in Poland located in the lower Vistula River who are dependent on the river for its water supply needs. Due to unprecedented challenges that the Western regions of Ukraine are facing because of the war-inflicted migration of both people and businesses, a strengthened governance of wastewater plants is urgently needed.
Among the project´s activities are workshops and study visits. The primary stakeholders of the project activities are those working directly in the water sector on local and regional levels, both defining the technical and operational aspects of water supply and wastewater treatment, as well as the regional development policy support framework in all three partner countries. The information from workshops and outcomes of the discussions will be made public through an online resource centre. The project has the potential to build up a cross-border professional network and generate future initiatives of various scale and complexity that will be of interest to all partners involved.