Based on press release by Klara Westling/Svenskt Vatten, The Swedish Water and Wastewater Association

 

In an innovative project, Sweden, Poland, and Ukraine have embarked on a collaborative effort to tackle pressing water management challenges in the cross-border Vistula River basin. The initiative titled Clean Baltic Source - Wastewater Treatment in Lviv and Volyn Oblasts was started during 2023 with the help of PA Nutri coordinators and received funding from the Swedish Institute's SI Baltic Sea Neighbourhood Programme. The initiative aims to address the common challenge of improving the ecological status of water bodies in the region, particularly in Ukraine, where inadequate wastewater treatment poses a significant environmental risk.

 

Improvements to the ecological status of the Vistula River Basin and, consequently, the Baltic Sea is at the centre of a new multinational collaboration. Clean Baltic Source 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 Swedish and Polish expertise. Alarming statistics from 2021 revealed that 88% of sewage discharged into the Vistula River basin from the Ukraine was inadequately treated. Downstream regions of Poland depend on this river for their water supply, making proper wastewater management crucial.

Given Ukraine's candidacy status for EU membership and its commitment to implementing directives such as the Water Framework Directive and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive the need for transnational cooperation becomes evident. This project aims to equip local stakeholders in Ukraine with the knowledge and expertise needed for efficient water supply and wastewater treatment. By learning from the experiences of Sweden and Poland, which have modernized their infrastructure, Ukraine can make strides and avoid repeating the mistakes of other EU countries.

The project's results and policy briefs will be used to guide further cooperation, both through official channels and via cross-border partnerships. It is expected to open doors to future funding opportunities, including EU pre-accession operational programs and collaboration with multilateral financial institutions like EIB, EBRD, and NEFCO.

The project is lead by The Swedish Water and Wastewater Association and has project partners from Poland (The State Water Holding Polish Waters – the PA Nutri co-coordinator) and Ukraine (local hromadas, water management authority from the Vistula River basin area, etc).

For more information please contact PA Nutri-coordinators or Klara Westling from The Swedish Water and Wastewater Association.

Read more here (in Swedish).