More than 77 000 people in north-west Poland are enjoying cleaner, safer drinking water and an improved sewerage system thanks to a major scheme backed the EU’s Cohesion Fund. Improving water and wastewater treatment facilities in the Parsęta River Basin also benefits about 30 000 tourists who visit the area each year.
- 18 November 2014
The work, which was spread of over six neighbouring towns and municipalities, has brought drinking water quality up to EU standards for human consumption. It has also created an integrated system for the collection of wastewater by building a new network of sewers and upgrading certain existing sections. In tandem, several wastewater treatment plants have been upgraded to increase capacity and to make them capable of serving nearby areas that do not have their own plants.
Wide-ranging scheme
The investment provided the following:
Construction of a gravity sewerage network, that is 130 km in length;Construction of a 251 km long pressure sewerage system;Replacing 8 km of the existing sewer network;Building a 238 km water supply network, while replacing 51 km of the existing network.In addition, five wastewater treatment plants were upgraded and extended at Szczecinek, Barwice, Biały Bór, Borne Sulinowo and Grzmiąca. More than 200 pumping stations were built as part of the project, which also called for the upgrading of several water purification plants. A number of treatment and purification facilities were decommissioned and closed as the building programme developed.
The project has created 16 jobs since its completion in 2012.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Integrated Water and Waste Water Management in the Parsęta River Basin – phase II” is EUR 130 398 175, of which the EU’s Cohesion Fund is contributing EUR 83 312 358 from the Operational Programme “Infrastructure and Environment” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period. Work falls under the priority “Water and Wastewater Management”.