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Energia - Środowisko
Dodatek promocyjno-reklamowy do "RZECZPOSPOLITEJ".
15 listopada 2005 r.
 
Ecoinvestments co-financed from the European Union funds
Improvement of water and sewage management system in the municipality of Bytom
 Like all other European Union member states, Poland has to comply with the EU legislation on drinking water quality and environmental protection by the year 2011. About 50 million euros in financial aid obtained from the Cohesion Fund creates a unique opportunity for Bytom to implement "Long-term plan for the development and modernization of water and sewage facilities for the years 2002-2007", and thus to bring the town's water and sewage infrastructure up to the European level.
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Ecology
is priority
Krzysztof Wójcik
the Mayor of Bytom
 Bytom has always been an industrial town. The first period of its dynamic development begun several centuries ago - and let me remind you that we obtained municipal rights 751 years ago - and was connected with iron ore and silver mining. At that time Bytom was much alike any other town in Poland. When 200 years ago hard coal mining and metallurgy began to be developed here, Bytom turned into a typical industry centre.
For a long time, the town's economy was based on mining and metallurgy industry. However, the restructuring of the industry sector carried out by subsequent governments led to liquidation of nearly all mines and ironworks in Bytom. Not long ago the town had seven mines and two ironworks, today only one mine remains in operation. The social consequences of restructuring was liquidation of 20 thousand workplaces. Another important issue is connected with extensive areas of environmental degradation. By that I mean former industrial areas, contaminated environment and mining impacts. That is why, after I was appointed Mayor of Bytom, I decided that it was necessary to adopt a development strategy which would prepare Bytom to turn from a town of industrial monoculture into a modern, "inhabitant-friendly" one.
One of our priorities, apart from education, health care and culture, is ecology. Ecology occupies an important position in all economy programmes developed in Bytom. We could say that Bytom breaks with its industrial past through ecology.
A few years ago we won a "battle" against the so-called low emissions. Thanks to financial assistance from Bytom environmental funds, we managed to eliminate nearly all small, environmentally harmful boiler rooms. As a result, municipal buildings in Bytom are now heated in a modern and ecologically-friendly manner. At the same time, the municipality provides financial support to households which switch to ecological heating systems through partial reimbursement of expenses.
The next step is connected with sewage treatment. Last year, a new modern sewage treatment plant "Centralna" was put into operation in Bytom. The plant was co-financed by the European Union grant of around 8 million euros. Moreover, Bytomskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunalne Sp. z o.o. (Bytom Public Utilities) has launched a comprehensive modernization project for water and sewage management system. This is a huge and important investment for which we have been awarded 50 million euros in EU aid. Due to mining impacts and it being worn out with age, the sewage system in Bytom is in a bad the technical condition. The modernization investment will thus help us to avoid considerable penalties which would have been otherwise imposed by the European Union.
Ecology means also war against pollution and damage caused by heavy traffic. This year the execution of the second stage of the Upper Silesia Agglomeration Northern Beltway has began. The investment was possible thanks to over a 70 million euro EU grant. A few days ago we have signed an agreement for engineering services. Moreover, a tender process is now underway to select the main contractor for the project. After the completion of the second stage of the investment, the town centre will be closed to heavy vehicles. The beltway will help reduce low emissions and minimise damage caused to beautiful secession houses which, apart from mining impacts, are exposed to vibration generated by heavy vehicles every day. Anyway, in a few months the streets of Bytom will look differently as we have received 2.5 million euros from the European Union to modernize 9 streets. All modernization works will be completed by the end of October next year.
Currently, we are also establishing Bytom Industry Park, were 260 hectares of environmentally degraded land will be turned into investment land. At first, however, we need to reclaim the land and take inventory of its technical infrastructure facilities, then we need to provide additional service infrastructure and connect the area to communication networks. According to our estimates, we should obtain 21 million zlotys from the European Regional Development Fund for the first phase of the investment. The industry park creates an opportunity for Bytom to attract new investors bringing new and, what is important, ecological technologies. We are already preparing new projects which will be co-financed by the European Union. There is, among others, a project for development and modernization of the heat supply system in Bytom and Radzionkowo and an improvement programme for sewage management in Bytom municipality. n
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Bytomskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunalne (Bytom Public Utilities), a company wholly owned by the municipality of Bytom has placed strong emphasis on access to European funds, including both pre-accession financial assistance programmes and grants which became available on 1 May 2004.
When talking about pre-accession funds we should mention the 8.2 million euro grant obtained from PHARE for modernization and development of the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bytom - an investment which the company alone would otherwise not have been able to implement. The EU aid was used for construction of sewage force mains and "Śródmieście" wastewater pumping station as well as for modernization of the plant's mechanical section.
It is worth mentioning that before the investment was completed in 2004, all sewage in Bytom had been treated in the town's seven treatment plants, of which only three held water and sewage disposal permits. This meant that only 25% of sewage disposed into the sewage system was satisfactorily treated. In order to comply with the European Union requirements on wastewater treatment - which became a priority task for Bytomskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunalne - the company constructed an ultramodern wastewater treatment plant which meets the most stringent treatment standards. Thanks to the construction of the new plant we could close four old and inefficient treatment plants.
"Central" wastewater treatment plant, which was put into operation in April 2004, constitutes a basis for the implementation of the programme aimed at improving the water and sewage management system in Bytom municipality. The objectives of the programme is to develop comprehensive solutions for water supply and sewage collection and treatment as well as to help implement environmental standards. Bytomskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunalne and Bytom municipality managed to obtain around 80 million euros for this purpose from the Cohesion Fund. The EU grant will cover about 80% of the qualified expenses of the investment which is made up of 14 tasks. Improvement in reliability of water supplies and reduction of water losses - i.a. minimizing the difference between water purchase quantities and water sales quantities - is a priority in the area of water management.
Undoubtedly, the newest technologies and modern fittings which we plan to install as part of the investment are needed in Bytom where mining activities caused severe environmental degradation. New water lines will allow us to optimise network water pressure and will ensure supplies of high quality drinking water. It is worth mentioning that the comprehensive programme for water and sewage system improvement envisages also modernization of the town's water supply network to reduce water losses. As well as that, the programme includes development of a telemetry system - which is being implemented since 1995 - to measure quantities of water purchased. Telemetry offers a possibility to regulate, and thus optimise, water purchases and it brings substantial benefits in the area of both water purchases and electricity consumption. Telemetring facilities send data on water use and network pressures to the water supply dispatching centre where it is then recorded on a computer. They also warn of possible emergency situations.
As regards sewage management, the key task is to comply with EU requirements on sewage treatment systems. We want to rehabilitate the existing and construct new sewage system in Bytom in order to create a separate sewage system wherever it is technically, economically and legally feasible. Sanitary sewage will thus be conveyed to modern treatment plants where it will be treated to attain required parameters, and stormwaters will pass through separators and will be discharged into surface receivers. For many years Bytom has been exposed to intensive mining activities. Moreover, the technologies applied in the construction of its sewage network over a decade ago were inadequate and did not take into account the town's topographic features. Now, thanks to the programme we will be able to eliminate the acute problem of wastewater overflows from clogged sewers which often cause house or basement flooding. n
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Bytom is a town with municipal rights situated in Silesia voivodeship. It has an area of 69.43 sq km and is inhabited by 189.535 people.
Over the last two months the municipality obtained 632 million Polish zlotys in financial assistance from the European Union. The EU aid will be used i.a. for the following investments:
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extensive modernization of water and sewage system - UE grant of ca. 50 million euros, investment value close to 300 million Polish zlotys,
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construction of the second stage of the Upper Silesia Agglomeration Northern Beltway - EU grant of 72 million zlotys,
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reconstruction and modernization of 9 streets - EU grant of 2.5 million euros,
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repair of the water supply system in Miechowice - EU grant of 623 thousand zlotys,
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modernization of technical infrastructure in Bytom Industry Park - EU grant of 26.2 million zlotys. n
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