Energia - Środowisko
Dodatek promocyjno-reklamowy do "RZECZPOSPOLITEJ".
15 listopada 2005 r.

Improvement of the water and sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze

Pursuant to Decision C(2004)5485 of 21 December 2004 and on the basis of the application of the municipality of Zabrze registered in Brussels on 13 August 2004 under the number CCI2004/PL/16/C/PE/027, the European Commission granted financial support from the Cohesion Fund for the project on "Improvement of the water and sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze".

The municipality of Zabrze is one of the 22 beneficiaries of the Cohesion Fund assistance granted by the European Commission in 2004 for environmental protection projects. Under the European Commission's decision, Zabrzańskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji Sp. z o.o. (ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.) is a designated entity to participate in the project implementation and to act to the benefit of the beneficiary.

The Zabrze project is the fourth largest project in Poland. Its value is estimated at 91 020 696 euros. The support for the project from the Cohesion Fund amounts to 58 28 351 euros and accounts for 65% of its qualified expenses of the total of 89 672 847 euros. The remaining 35% of the costs will be covered by Zabrze municipality and ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.

The project will include the following seven tasks:

• Five tasks related to construction works:
  • Task 1: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - districts of Grzybowice and Rokitnica - signing of agreement scheduled for August 2006.
  • Task 2: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - districts of Pawłów, Kończyce, Józefa residential district, Janek residential district and the town centre - signing of agreement scheduled for September 2006.
  • Task 3: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - districts of Zaborze, Makoszowy and Biskupice - signing of agreement scheduled for September 2006.
  • Task 4: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - districts of Maciejów and Mikulczyce - signing of agreement scheduled for September 2006.
  • Task 5: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - reconstruction of "Śródmieście" Wastewater Treatment Plant - signing of agreement scheduled for July 2006.
• Two tasks related to services:
  • Task 6: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - Engineer - signing of agreement scheduled for May 2006.
  • Task 7: Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze - Tender Consultant - signing of agreement scheduled for January 2006.

Agreements will be signed with contractors selected through tender procedures carried out in accordance with Public Procurement Law.

The primary aim of the project is to comply with quality norms specified in the European Union legislation.

The material scope of the project includes:

1. replacement of the existing water piping of the total length of 86.000 linear metres
2. construction of transmission water pipelines of the total length of 12.185 linear metres
3. construction or reconstruction (including renovation by trenchless methods) of sanitary sewers of the total length of about 112.913 linear metres, including:
   • gravity sewage system - about 94.107 linear metres,
   • pressure sewage system - about 18.806 linear metres,
   • sewage pumping stations - about 19.
4. construction or reconstruction (including renovation by trenchless methods) of stormwater drainage of the total length of about 63.489 linear metres, including:
   • gravity stormwater system - about 63.451 linear metres,
   • pressure stormwater system - about 38 linear metres,
   • stormwater pumping stations - 1.
5. road and pavement reconstruction after completion of works connected with construction or reconstruction of water and sewage piping
6. liquidation of wastewater treatment plant in Rokitnica, Grzybowice and Makoszowy (at Legnica Str. and at Gawrona Str.)
7. reconstruction of "Śródmieście" wastewater treatment plant
8. development (in compliance with binding legialation) of stormwater pre-treatment plant at storm drain outfalls to receiving bodies of water

The planned replacement of water piping will reduce the occurrence of emergency situations and will thus minimize water losses in the system.

Furthermore, the construction of water transmission pipelines will allow for greater usage of own water intakes which will lead to a reduction in purchases of more expensive water from outside of the municipality.

All these tasks will increase the reliability of water supply.

A major part of the investment is connected with improvement of surface waters quality.

The conversion of a combined sewage system into a separated system - as envisaged in the project - will eliminate inflows of untreated combined sewage to surface waters, while liquidation of illegal connections of stormwater drains to sanitary sewers will eliminate inflows of stormwater to sewage treatment plants.

Moreover, since the construction and reconstruction of the water and sewage system will be carried out with the use of materials providing tightness of the network, the risk of infiltration of surface waters into sewers and the occurrence of exfiltration of sewage into the soil will be eliminated.

At the same time, the construction of water and sewage system in areas not supplied with sewage system will allow for liquidation of leaky holding tanks (cesspools), and the conversion of the combined sewage system into a spearated system will lead to elimination of flow tanks (such as Dywidag, Imhoff etc).

The construction of a stormwater pre-treatment plant at storm drain outfalls will help improve the quality of surface waters.

Furthermore, the liquidation of small wastewater treatment plants and direction of sewage to big plants ("Śródmieście" treatment plant and a treatment plant in Zabrze-Mikulczyce) will enhance treatment processes and will result in greater stability of their parameters.

In view of the increasing volumes of sewage and the tightening regulations on the quality of sewage disposed to surface waters, it became necessary to reconstruct "Śródmieście" wastewater treatment plant. The plant's reconstruction will be carried out within the framework of the project.

The planned reconstruction of "Śródmieście" wastewater treatment plant will bring the following benefits:

1. Compliance with binding regulations on treated sewage quality (fulfilment of requirements set out in Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of 8 July 2004 on conditions for disposing of sewage into waters or into the soil and on substances hazardous to the water environment - O.J. no. 168, item 1763) - it is important to note that sanitary wastewater currently conveyed to the treatment plant is several times more contaminated than it was envisaged in the plant's construction project,
2. Stabilization of treatment processes thanks to reception of greater volumes of sanitary sewage from the districts covered by the project (creation of a capacity reserve through elimination of stormwater influx - instead of stormwater the plant will receive sanitary wastewater previously treated in plants under liquidation or discharged into receivers untreated),
3. Elimination of operating distortions (observed and defined during the plant's past operations) which may affect maintaining stable parameters of treated sewage.

The wastewater treatment plant in Zabrze-Mikulczyce is already prepared to operate in new conditions as it underwent a modernization in the years 2001-2003 (financed by ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.).

The President of the Board of ZPWiK Sp. z o.o., Dr. Eng. Gerard Hajda, was awarded the first prize in the "Modernization of the Year 2003" competition organized in co-operation of the Ministry of Infrastructure and held under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Mr. Aleksander Kwaśniewki.

On 23 September 2003, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFEPWM) in Warsaw signed an agreement with the municipality of Zabrze for the project co-financing. The agreement stipulates the parties' rights and obligations in connection with the implementation of the project co-financed from the Cohesion Fund and sets out principles for the transfer to the beneficiary of the financial aid granted to Poland under the European Commission's decision. For the beneficiary the agreement was signed by the mayor and the treasurer of Zabrze. The co-financing agreement was preceded by a pre-implementation control carried out on 29 August - 2 September 2005 by experts from the Department of Local Controls of NFEPWM. The aim of the control was to evaluate the level of preparation for the implementation of the project of the municipality of Zabrze and ZPWiK Sp. z o.o. and it took into account the planned division of tasks between the municipality and ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.

On 7 October 2005, a ceremonial conference of the Cohesion Fund beneficiaries took place in the offices of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Environment and the NFEPWM. It was attended by 22 representatives of the Cohesion Fund beneficiaries who received financial support from the European Commission in 2004 and by media representatives. During the conference representatives of the Ministry of Environment and of the NFEPWM extended their congratulations on the signing of co-financing agreements. The event sought also to provide a platform for discussion on the current needs, problems or doubts of the beneficiaries connected with preparations for the implementation of projects. The municipality of Zabrze was represented by Dr. Eng. Jarzy Gołubowicz, the Town Mayor and Measure Authorising Officer for the project, who received official thanks and a certificate of merit from Mr. Jerzy Kędzierki, Vice-President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. The event was attended also by the President of the Board of ZPWiK Sp. z o.o. Dr. Eng. Gerard Hajda - Deputy Measure Authorising Officer.

The signing of the co-financing agreement is an end effect which crowns the efforts not only of those directly engaged in the preparations of the project but mostly of the inhabitants of Zabrze who expressed their support for the project and actively participated in meetings organized in district councils in 2003 - when the application for co-financing was being prepared - and in 2004 - when a series of meetings between inhabitants and councillors took place in individual districts. The meetings were well received by inhabitants who showed their keen interest. The role of the councillors was to inform the biggest possible number of people about the project, to arrange meeting venues and to prepare all necessary documents. The meetings were attended by representatives of construction design companies responsible for the preparation of design documentation as well as by representatives of ZPWiK Sp. z o.o. and the Town Office in Zabrze. Beside raising social awareness on the role of the European Union, these assemblies sought to present the town's inhabitants with project solutions. Each meeting included a presentation of the project by the President of the Board of ZPWiK Sp. z o.o. and a discussion of proposed solutions by construction designers. The inhabitants were given access to maps created for the purposes of the project and could directly ask the project lead designers specific questions concerning the system design. Project designers met individually with inhabitants to obtain necessary consents to enter private grounds in order to carry out construction works. On inhabitants' request, in some districts, for example in Maciejowo, several meetings were organized.

The "Improvement of the water-sewage management system in the municipality of Zabrze" project was also discussed during numerous sessions of the Town Council in Zabrze. The councillors passed resolutions under which the town mayor could file an application to the European Commission and sign the co-financing agreement.

Moreover, the Town Council delegated some of its rights, obligations and responsibilities to ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.

The project implementation team consist of:

• Measure Authorising Officers, appointed on 21 September 2005 by Sectoral Authorising Officer of the Ministry of Environment:
  • Measure Authorising Officer - Dr. Eng. Jerzy Gołubowicz (Mayor of Zabrze)
  • Deputy Measure Authorising Officer - Dr. Eng. Gerard Hajda (President of the Board and Managing Director, ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.)
• The Project Implementation Unit (PIU), created in ZPWiK Sp. z o.o. on 19 May 2005.

For the current needs of the PIU, ZWPiK Sp. z o.o. rented office space on the premises of Telekomunikacja Polska SA in Zabrze at 2, Targowa Str.. The offices were equipped with office furniture and computer hardware. Currently, the PIU has 8 employees (the target employment in the PIU will be 13 people).

The project will be fully implemented on the basis of 50 design documentations commissioned by the municipality of Zabrze (27 project documentations) and by ZPWiK Sp. z o.o. (23 design documentations).

Thanks to the financial support from the Cohesion Fund, it will be possible to accomplish all construction works in 2005-2008. If the financial aid had not been granted to the municipality, it would take 19 years to realize all of the above mentioned investments.

The project, co-financed by the European union, contributes to reduction of social and economic disparities in the European Union.

ZPWiK Sp. z o.o.
Jednostka Realizująca Projekt
sekretariat tel. (032) 277-62-80
fax (032) 277-62-81
e-mail: [email protected]
www.fs.zabrze.pl