The third „Peer exchange on operation and maintenance of the wastewater treatment plants” was successfully implemented by Aquasan Network in BiH in Sarajevo on 5 November 2019 with the support of RCDN.
The objective of the peer exchange was to enable local self-government units (LGUs) and public utility companies (PUCs) from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to share experiences and thus improve operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The exchange was based on the capacity development product developed by Aquasan Network in BiH) through the RCDN Project.
Representatives from seven PUCs participated in the peer exchange and namely Bihać, Bijeljina, Gradiška, Ljubuški, Mostar, Sarajevo and Tešanj as well as representatives of the FBiH association of PUCs (UPKP), NALAS and GIZ. The event was moderated by Aquasan Network in BiH. Director of PUC “Vodovod i kanalizacija” Sarajevo Mr. Enver Hadžiahmetović welcomed the participants and underlined the importance of the WWTP construction in Sarajevo for protecting Bosna River and Black Sea basin, but also stressed the importance of systematic addressing of the sustainability of such investments.
The sector experts Ms. Sanja Horvat, Manager of Koprivnica WWTP (Croatia) and Mr. Kemal Hadžić, Engineer from Una Consulting Bihać (BiH) opened the exchange by speaking about the link between the “employer’s requirements” and its impact on WWTP operation and maintenance (O&M) and on key aspects of O&M, sludge management and energy efficiency primarily. The hosts Mr. Ahmed Busuladžić and Mr. Aljoša Dizadarević presented the case study on the WWTP Butile in Sarajevo. During the case study presentation, employees of Butile WWTP shared their good practices and experiences regarding O&M, especially the savings achieved through the energy cogeneration from gas to electricity.
The afternoon sessions continued with the field visit to Butile WWTP where the final session was also held. During this session, the conclusions were made, action plans developed for each team and strong message was sent to decision makers regarding the adoption of the national sludge management strategy and tariff model for financing the WWTP O&M for their long-term sustainability and protection of the drinking water and environment as a whole.
