PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Ukraine’s water supply and wastewater treatment (WS&WWT) sector faces significant challenges due to outdated and high energy consuming infrastructures, inadequate regulatory frameworks, limited financial resources, ineffective management practices, and the unprecedented impact of the full-scale Russian war.
Most WS&WWT facilities were constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, using technologies that addressed only basic pollution indicators—Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Suspended Solids (SS). Additionally, 95% of the sludge generated by these facilities remains untreated, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation.
National legislation and regulations primarily focus on large urban WS&WWT systems, with centralized utility services governed by national laws. For smaller facilities, the 2018 tariff reform shifted responsibility for tariff-setting to municipal councils. These councils follow an outdated tariff methodology, lack regular reviews, and often apply tariffs that fail to cover actual costs. This is because, there is a knowledge gap in setting tariffs that accurately reflect operational expenses and incorporate environmental considerations.
The LIFE-U-SPRING project is designed to tackle these challenges by identifying, piloting, and mainstreaming technical, financial, and managerial solutions aligned with EU Water Directives and feasible best practices.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE-U-SPRING project aim is to strengthen water supply and wastewater treatment (WS&WWT) systems in Ukraine, aligning them with EU standards. The project will address critical challenges in the WS&WWT sector by identifying, piloting, and scaling up technical, financial, and managerial solutions.
To achieve this, the project will conduct a baseline assessment of WWT facilities across Ukraine, identifying technological and management gaps. Pilot projects, including 200 kW solar panel installations on selected facilities will be implemented to demonstrate innovative approaches to resource efficiency and war risks resilience. Furthermore, the project will provide stakeholders with the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to improve water management practices in urban areas, support compliance with EU directives, and strengthen Ukraine's capacity for sustainable water management in the context of post-war recovery and EU accession.
The specific objectives are to:
1. Assess and identify viable technical, financial, and managerial solutions.
2. Develop and implement technical, financial, and management pilot solutions for WS&WWT facilities in the Western Bug and Syan River Basins.
3. Mainstream sustainable solutions and engage key stakeholder groups to ensure effective water management in the context of post-war recovery and EU accession.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Develop an online solutions catalogue featuring over 100 proven technical, financial, and managerial water management solutions from both Ukraine and Europe. This catalogue will be continuously expanded through an open call process and will serve as a central resource for Ukrainian municipalities to access scalable and financeable solutions.
- Develop a comprehensive baseline report to assess the current state of Ukraine’s water supply and wastewater treatment (WS&WWT) facilities. This report will identify gaps and opportunities for improvement, while also providing information to foster partnerships with European companies and institutions.
- Organise four study visits for Ukrainian policymakers, utility managers, and technical experts to learn from European best practices.
- Promote the adoption of effective water management solutions, the project will pilot three key solutions (managerial, technical, and financial) in the Lviv region and scale them to other oblasts (regions) through regional coordination mechanisms and targeted study visits.
- Organise hackathons at selected WS&WWT facilities, bringing together experts to co-create innovative solutions tailored to local challenges and to develop technical, financial, and managerial pilot solutions for WS&WWT facilities in the Western Bug and Syan Rivers Basin.
- Develop pilot projects in the Western Bug and Syan River Basins, to demonstrate practical applications. These projects will include establishing a platform for regional stakeholders, revising local water management systems, conducting feasibility studies, designing technical and construction upgrades, installing solar panels.
- Create replicable models for other regions, address local governance and operational deficiencies, and pilot hands-on training to strengthen local capacities, as well as develop an Urban Water Management Online Training Programme.
- A series of explainers and thematic briefs on various aspects of urban water management will be produced, along with a self-assessment toolkit, a service providers catalogue, and a capability assessment service.
- A comprehensive online training programme will be developed and a professional network of 200 industry experts will be established to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and alignment with EU standards.
- A robust Urban Water Management (UWM) portal will be developed, featuring a solutions catalogue, a repository of service providers, a knowledge base, and training materials.
- A roadmap for the WS&WWT Alliance and reach 150 local communities, enabling broad engagement, capacity building and the dissemination of water management practices in line with EU directives will be developed.
- Two solar panel installations at wastewater treatment facilities will allow for reduction in energy consumption and decrease in CO2 emissions (target: 112 tonnes per year).