Following on from the first five phases of the Waste Water Master Plan for Warsaw, a large-scale investment programme launched in 2004 and aimed at modernising the Polish capital’s sewerage and drinking water systems to bring them into line with EU standards, phase 6 is now underway. Supported by EU funds, work is being carried out within the city of Warsaw itself and in the municipalities of Pruszków and Serock.
- 22 June 2018
The scope of phase 6 of the programme includes the construction of 15.9 km of sewers and 23.2 km of drinking water mains, leading to the connection of a further 5 700 inhabitants to the waste water network and 6 720 to the drinking water network.
Large combined sewers – which collect rainwater run-off, and domestic and industrial waste water in the same pipe – will also be laid for the purposes of making hydraulic improvements to 14.6 km of the existing combined sewerage network on the left bank of the Vistula River.
Additional elements of the work comprise the modernisation of the Południe (south) waste water treatment plant, the Zakład Północny (north) water treatment station and 4 km of the existing sewerage network, as well as the purchase of maintenance vehicles and laboratory equipment.
Extensive work under previous phases
Phases 1-5 of the master plan received total EU funding of over EUR 1.34 billion. Work under phase 5 – which is ongoing – comprises construction of 1 km of supply infrastructure and 40 km of sewage network, modernisation of 26 km of existing sewage network, rebuilding of five sewage pumping stations and the building of a new one from scratch. This will connect 13 200 people to the waste water network and 4 200 to the supply network.
Other elements of phase 5 are the creation of a 78 000 m³ capacity sewage reservoir on the site of the Czajka waste water treatment plant and modernisation of the Zakład Północny waterworks. A geographic information system and energy efficiency measures are also being introduced, with the latter to cut carbon dioxide emissions by around 11 500 tonnes a year.
Further benefits include less leakage from and infiltration into the networks, increased retention capacity which will reduce storm discharge into the Vistula and contamination of the Baltic Sea, greater security of supply and reduced occurrence of flooding thanks to even distribution of waste water in the system.
Better service and environmental protection
Although it is fully complementary to the previous phases, phase 6 is functionally, technically and financially independent of them. The budget for the project comes to around EUR 282 million, of which more than EUR 146 million is supplied through the EU’s Cohesion Fund.
The main objective of phase 6 is the continued modernisation of Warsaw’s sewerage and drinking water systems, resulting in better service for residents in terms of natural resource management and environmental protection.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Water supply and wastewater management in Warsaw – Phase VI” is EUR 282 479 388, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 146 407 000 through the “Infrastructure and Environment” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.