Eastern Partnership and Association Agreement countries face many challenges when transposing, adjusting and adopting the environmental acquis, among them, the crucial ones concerning water sector directives (water package), including the Water Framework Directive in particular.
The Water Framework Directive, introducing integrated water resource management and river basin management, is being considered as one of the most substantial and ambitious piece of European environmental legislation. The directive overall goal is to get Europe’s waters cleaner while get the citizens involved via integrated and holistic water management approach, drawing on the guidelines based targets and mutually endorsed peer-comparative standards and measurement methodology or inter-calibration formulas (rather than one fit all, over-imposed institutional settings).
Source: mapio.net
Ready to kick-off project financed by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum objectives are to identify challenges and opportunities in local water governance and management, conflicts and overlaps of competencies between institutions responsible for water management and local authorities, financial deficits, feasible formulas of cooperation among waters users, role of CSOs and local communities and to strengthen competencies, practical skills and engagement of local stakeholders involved in water management. Project envisages sharing EU & Eastern Partnership know-how and best practices enabling local stakeholders to effectively and tangibly address water sector directives implementation, focusing on three areas of the issue: water resources inventory, water monitoring standards, open and public access to water data as basis for proper water management (i.a. free or cheap inventory applications, free maps usage, information unification, automatic access and exchange of information), sustainable water resources management as a next step: distribution of competences among different stakeholders, financial deficits and costs division (who pays for what), collective planning & strategy drawing (i.a. developing formulas of water tenancy and tenants’ responsibilities, flood prevention strategies), formulas of cooperation and CSOs role (Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) and Local Action Groups (LAGs), River Basin Councils, public consultations).
Source: mapio.net
Project idea elaborated by the Development Policy Foundation in cooperation with EcoContact (Moldova), International charitable organization ‘Environment-People-Law’ (Ukraine), Foundation Caucasus Environment (Georgia), Ecohome (Belarus) and Azerbaijan Ornithological Society (Azerbaijan).
Podcasts
ACS – Przemysław Karwowski
An interview with Przemysław Karwowski from ACS Poland by Sylwia Szparkowska from Development Policy Foundation about ACS technology, bioremediation.
Microbiological bioremediation (bioaugumentation) consists in inoculating the appropriate zones of the tank with microbiological preparations, in accordance with the environmental conditions. This will lead to the fact that microorganisms direct various chemical and biochemical reactions and indirectly physical parameters and will stack all biological processes taking place in the environment.
ACS Poland Sp. z o. o. is a Polish company specializing in innovative, ecological technologies in the field of environmental protection. They are the number one for 100% biological treatment of aquatic ecosystems. They are the only ones who can clean selected parts of water reservoirs, e.g. bathing areas. As the only one, they naturally desludge water reservoirs from organic silt without the use of heavy equipment, they only naturally block the growth of fecal bacteria in bathing areas (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus). As the only company in the industry, they do not use any chemical agents in the process of cleaning water tanks.
Prote FOS
An interview with Prof Ryszard Wiśniewski from PROTE Technologies for Environment by Wojciech Szpociński from Development Policy Foundation about PROTE-FOS.
The leading method of reclamation proposed by their company is the PROTE-FOS method, innovative on a global scale, consisting in blocking (inactivating) phosphorus directly in bottom sediments, using appropriate chemical substances (coagulants), leading to a reduction in the amount of phosphorus in the water, available e.g. for cyanobacteria or phytoplankton algae that can generate blooms.
The PROTE-FOS technology is a modified Riplox method [Ripl, 1976]. The similarity between the methods is that in both cases air and a coagulant are simultaneously applied to the bottom sediments of the water reservoir. An innovative modification in their method is on the induction of intensive but controlled re-suspension of sediments and the application of the coagulant directly to the bottom sediments.
PROTE Technologies for our Environment is a company that has been operating in aid of water quality improvement and environment protection in Poland since 1995. The company renders services at the highest level, implementing projects connected with soil and water protection. Full satisfaction of their clients is their primary goal in the process of building the PROTE brand. They have earned the reputation of a reliable and trustworthy commercial partner offering a complete range of services related to a particular product.
Prote MOS
A presentation of Prote-MOS technologies by Mr Jerzy Ślusarczyk, Prote Technologies for Environment z firmy Prote, with Wojciech Szpociński from Development Policy Foundation.
PROTE-MOS is a versatile, easily replicable, low entry costs sludge reduction technology, requiring no investment in hard infrastructure, focused on the fast and measurable results and tangible beneficial side-products.
Biological wastewater treatment plants, including their activated sludge category, have commonly been perceived as sequences of devices within which certain biological, chemical and physical processes need to take place, the general purpose of which is to reduce the biodegradable organic pollution load and remove settleable suspended solids from wastewater.
PROTE Technologies for our Environment is a company that has been operating in aid of water quality improvement and environment protection in Poland since 1995. The company renders services at the highest level, implementing projects connected with soil and water protection. Full satisfaction of their clients is their primary goal in the process of building the PROTE brand. They have earned the reputation of a reliable and trustworthy commercial partner offering a complete range of services related to a particular product.
EcoProm
An interview with Adam Leszczyński from EcoProm with Sylwią Szparkowską from Development Policy Foundation about their technology, Biohydrophyte Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The Biohydrophyte Wastewater Treatment Plant operates in a mixed system of biological and hydrophyte wastewater treatment plants. The initial part of the treatment plant is a bioreactor, in which the processes of oxygen purification by the activated sludge method take place. In the first chamber of the bioreactor, the process of highly loaded activated sludge takes place, and in subsequent chambers, the process of low-loaded activated sludge takes place. The bioreactor can be flow-through or operating as SBR, which means that all cycles follow one another at a time strictly defined by the Manufacturer. A modern and reliable controller watch over the correct operation of the SBR bioreactor. It regulates the times of aeration and pumping of treated sewage. The regulation of aeration takes place according to the schedule or the need to pump out the treated sewage before the time indicated in the schedule, e.g. in the case of unexpectedly higher sewage discharge.
The company Ekoprom has a wide range of services specialized in the design performance of sewage treatment plants. Most of the sewage treatment plants they make are home treatment plants, they also make local treatment plants, for example for schools, nursing homes, small towns. Basically, they operate in the region of Podlaskie Voivodeship, but they have built several dozen sewage treatment plants in various parts of Poland and Europe.
Milex: Drip Irrigation
An interview with Sławomir Sositko talking about the systemic approach to the drip irrigation with Sylwia Szparkowska from Development Policy Foundation.
The most popular and effective method of delivering water to farmland is drip irrigation, which is carried out with the use of drip lines and drip tapes. The main advantage of drip irrigation is high efficiency. In this case, the water losses occurring are low, which makes drip irrigation very economical. In order to provide plants with optimal growth conditions, it is necessary to precisely supply both water and fertilizers. Tapes and drip lines guarantee precise irrigation of field crops by supplying water directly to the root zone of plants. In addition, drip irrigation eliminates the risk of mechanical damage caused by drop impacts and minimizes the risk of contamination by fungi or other diseases. In the case of fruit and vegetables, the most frequently chosen system is the drip tapes, ensuring the outflow of water from emitters spaced at regular intervals for a given liter. Drip lines are a more expensive, but also more durable solution. Thick-walled cables are recommended for multi-season cultivation. Chokeberry or blueberry should be irrigated with drip lines. The company MILEX Professional Irrigation Systems offers a large selection of drip lines and tapes.
The MILEX company offers automatic irrigation systems for green areas and all agricultural applications . They have been producing elements for irrigation systems since 1983. Continuous striving to improve quality, modern machinery, carefully selected raw materials and the implementation of the latest technologies make the products of their company enjoy the trust of their customers for many years. They are pleased to represent the world leaders in the production of irrigation system components – Hunter Industries (since 2009) and Rivulis (formerly John Deere Water) – and, as the sole distributor in Poland, Tefen and Nelson Irrigation Corporation. In addition, the offer of irrigation systems is supplemented by direct import of products from companies such as: Elysee, Dosatron International, Galcon, Automat, Irritec and many others. Direct cooperation with world producers of irrigation systems allows them to maintain attractive prices.
Featured photo by Elena Dyatlova.