STRENGTHENING THE COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND PERFORMING JOINT ACTIVITIES FOR REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTIVE ACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (LT-PL)

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A Lithuania-Poland

Date of latest update: 2025-02-03

Description

Description (EN):

Probably in the last three decades, Europe and the whole world have been paying more and more attention to solving environmental protection problems and fighting with climate change. Most pollutants are generated in urbanized areas where the industry is developed and the population is concentrated. More and more water is used every year and the used water is discharged into the environment (mostly to surface waters). Wastewater discharged to surface water without treatment or proper control can pollute rivers and lakes, and even groundwater. The wastewater and rainwater in Alytus city are discharged to Nemunas River, in Suwałki city – to river Czarna Hańcza, which is the largest river of the Suwałki Region and a tributary of the river Nemunas. So, in both project cities wastewater is discharged to river Nemunas which finally flows into the Baltic Sea. The fewer pollutants get into the river, the clearer the sea will become. Therefore, the overall objective of the project is to reduce the pollution in discharged wastewater and to create an effective monitoring system for pollution control, especially for priority hazardous substances. That will be reached by cooperation between Lithuanian and Polish partners in dealing with the wide range of activities. A lot of attention is paid by project to improve wastewater management in private houses, which are not connected to the sewage network. Quite a big number of private houses are not joined into the sewage network systems. The number of such houses in Suwalki city is about 343, and in Alytus city – 643. Also, there are a big number of houses in the surrounding areas. The situation of local home sewage systems is not good, about 31 percent of wastewater is discharged to the environment without any treatment. The installation of automatic devices for sewage utilization and awareness raising activities (i.e. seminars, open-door days, publicity measures) will help to encourage the transportation of sewage from private houses to wastewater treatment plants by vehicles or implementation of local treatment. According to the preliminary calculations, the amount of pollutants less to be disposed of will be (per year): biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) – 14,4 tons, total suspended solids – 9,6 tons, total nitrogen (N) – 1,46 tons, total phosphorus (P) – 0,2 tons. In the wastewater treatment plants of the Alytus and Suwalki cities the sludge, formed during the treatment process is composted using an anaerobic waste digestion system. During this process, biogas is produced, which is used to generate electricity. Later, the sludge is dried and finally used in agriculture. Thus, the project will also contribute to the promotion of the circular economy. The implementation of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system will help to control, monitor, and analyze wastewater treatment processes. This will increase the treatment effectiveness by 3 percent preliminary. That means fewer pollutants will be discharged to the surface water too. Also, that will impact the reduction of electricity consumption. Also, an effective monitoring and controlling system of pollutants in the wastewater discharged to the sewage network will be developed. A methodology will be created and the necessary equipment (laboratory equipment, wastewater samplers, etc.) will be purchased for that purpose. That will help to control and prevent discharges of the increased pollutants into urban wastewater, especially of hazardous substances. The project will be implemented by 2 partners. 1 partner from Lithuania (JSC “Dzūkijos vandenys”) and 1 partner from Poland (Water Supply and Sewerage Company in Suwalki). As the project is focused on improving the environment, all residents will benefit the most, especially the private houses resident of the Alytus and Suwałki regions. The project partner organizations professionals, ensuring stable and effective wastewater control and maintenance of treatment plants in Alytus and Suwałki cities will benefit as well. Also, more stakeholders will be involved in the project, such as environmental protection institutions, municipality administrations, etc.

Actual Achievements (EN):

During the first reporting period project partners provided these activities: 1. Organized the Practical seminar in Alytus, Lithuania, concerning possibilities and opportunities in the automatization of the wastewater treatment plant processes, and the impact of environmental pollutant reduction. 2. Organized the Practical seminar in Suwalki, Poland, concerning problems and challenges in controlling pollutants and taking samples of sewage from local (private) wastewater systems, ensuring necessary wastewater treatment quality in these systems, and taking the right sewage and surface water samples. 3. Conducted public procurement and signed the contract for the preparation of the methodology to control pollution of the wastewater discharged in the sewage network and transported by vehicle. 4. Conducted these public procurements for the reinforcement of the technical base: 4.1. Project Lead partner (DZV): - purchase and installation of fully automated devices for sewage utilization. - purchase and installation of ICP-OES Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometer. - purchase and installation of the Closed Microwave Digestion/Extraction System - purchase and installation of stationary automatic waste water sampler - purchase and installation of mobile automatic waste water sampler - purchase and installation of Laboratory fume Hoods 4.2. Project Partner (PWiK): - purchase and installation of a device for sewage utilization transported by vehicles. - purchase and installation of washing and disinfecting machine - purchase and installation of monitoring system (SCADA ) for WWTP - purchase and installation of stationary automatic waste water sampler 5. Both project partners published the information on the partner’s website and social media. The information is continuously updated here. Also, the Communication Strategy and the Events & Activities Plan were prepared. The Plan is continuously updated to be relevant in time and useful for managing with a project. Regarding the project management, the project execution team (PET) have been established. The PET have 2 meetings during the reporting period. The PET members continuously communicate via email or phone.

Project outputs: Solutions roll out and promotion(EN)
Cooperation & partnerships(EN)

Thematic information

Waste and pollution

Priority: (VI-A_Lt-Pl_1) Promoting environmental wellbeing

Priority specific objective: RSO2.7. Enhancing protection and preservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing all forms of pollution

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO2 A greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, risk prevention and management, and sustainable urban mobility

Type of intervention: 064 Water management and water resource conservation (including river basin management, specific climate change adaptation measures, reuse, leakage reduction)

Partners (2)

Lead Partner: UAB „Dzūkijos vandenys“

Partner’s ID if not PIC: LT495668410

Address: Pulko, 62135 Alytus, Lithuania

Department address: Pulko, 62135 Alytus, Lithuania

Legal status: private

Organisation type: Infrastructure and (public) service provider

Website: http://www.vandenys.lt

Total budget: EUR 502 986.37

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 402 389.09

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 100 597.28

Contractors:

Name: JSC "Linea Libera"
VAT registration or tax identification number: LT221457716
Name: JSC "Boreus"
VAT registration or tax identification number: LT100012346117

Water Supply and Sewerage Company in Suwalki

Name: Water Supply and Sewerage Company in Suwalki

Partner’s ID if not PIC: NIP 844-000-41-99

Address: gen. W. Sikorskiego, 16-400 Suwalki, Poland

Department address: gen. W. Sikorskiego, 16-400 Suwalki, Poland

Legal status: private

Organisation type: Infrastructure and (public) service provider

Website: https://www.pwik.suwalki.pl/

Total budget: EUR 468 034.87

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 374 427.89

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 93 606.98

Contractors:

Name: ATER LOGIC Spółka z o.o.
VAT registration or tax identification number: 7393866638
Name: POL-EKO A.POLOK-KOWALSKA
VAT registration or tax identification number: 6472162687

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Water Supply and Sewerage Company in Suwalki

STRENGTHENING THE COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND PERFORMING JOINT ACTIVITIES FOR REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTIVE ACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (LT-PL)

Partners and Projects info

Municipality enterprise "Dzūkijos vandenys"

STRENGTHENING THE COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND PERFORMING JOINT ACTIVITIES FOR REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTIVE ACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (LT-PL)

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): STRENGTHENING THE COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND PERFORMING JOINT ACTIVITIES FOR REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTIVE ACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (LT-PL)

Project acronym: SENSORIMOTOR

Project ID: LTPL00107

Project start date: 2024-02-01

Project end date: 2025-07-31

Project status: closed

Relevant linked projects:

The project "Improving the quality of water mechanisms in Suwałki" 2000/PL/16/P/PL/021 from "ISPA 2002-2005 and ISPA 2007-2008 by PWiK. (EN) | Feeding from the Water Treatment Plant built earlier under the project along with monitoring of the groundwater intake. (EN), The project "Modernization of the sewage treatment plant and development of water and sewage infrastructure in Suwałki - stage I" from "POIS.01.01.00-00-086/09" and POIiŚ 2007-2013" by PWiK. (EN) | Building upon the capacities of the sewage treatment plant and infrastructure built under the aforementioned project. (EN), The project "Modernization of the sewage treatment plant and development of water and sewage infrastructure in Suwałki - stage II" from "POIS.01.01.00-00-165/09" and "POIiŚ 2007-2013" by PWiK. (EN) | Building upon the capacities of an installation for drying sewage sludge built under the aforementioned project. (EN), The project "Modernization of sludge management and renovation of the sewage system at PWiK in Suwałki” from "POIS.02.03.00-00-0030/17" and POIiŚ 2014-2020" by PWiK. (EN) | Building upon the modernized sludge mixing system in fermentation chambers enhanced under the aforementioned project. (EN), Project “The improvement and reconstruction of water supply and sewage networks systems of Alytus city“ by DZV. (EN) | Building upon improved the water and sewage networks of Alytus city and increased environmental safety of these networks under the aforementioned project. (EN), Project “The improvement and reconstruction of rainwater drainage network and treatment systems in Alytus city“ by DZV. (EN) | Building upon improved rainwater drainage networks of Alytus city and reduced pollutants by building rainwater treatment plants under aforementioned project. (EN), Project “Clean water and environment - healthy society” (LLB-2-140) by DZV. (EN) | Building upon satisfaction of needs of the final beneficiaries (Alytus city and Grodno city inhabitants and organizations using water supply companies’ services) by providing them with necessary services, high quality water, and continuous stable operation of the system under the aforementioned project. (EN), Project “Reinforcement of states’ cooperation and creation of prerequisites for solving common environmental challenges“ by DZV. (EN) | Building upon successes in preventing environmental damage from the sewage network failures in Lithuania - Belarus cross–border regions cities Alytus and Grodno under the aforementioned project. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 971 021.24

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 776 816.98

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 80.00%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 776 816.98. Co-financing rate, 80.00%.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Deliverables:

Event attendance list
Event attendance list
Methodology document
Internal technical report
Set of equipment purchased
Tests reporting
The pollution risk map (LT)
The pollution risk map (PL)
Educational materials for open-day training/awareness raising activities.
Event attendance list in Poland
Event attendance list in Lithuania
Local news outlets publications
TV reports
Conference program
Event attendance list
Communication Strategy
Events & Activities Plan

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

EUStrategyBalticSeaRegion The EUSBSR has three objectives: Save the Sea, Connect the Region and Increase Prosperity. As was mentioned in previous parts of the application, the wastewater and rainwater in Alytus and Suwalki regions are discharged to river Nemunas which finally flows into the Baltic Sea. Therefore, the discharged pollutants fall into the Baltic Sea as well. The fewer pollutants will be released in the regions, the less of them will reach the sea and the water in the Baltic Sea will become clearer. The activities planned to be implemented by the project will create circumstances and reduce the pollution in discharged wastewater. Especial regard will be paid to hazardous pollutants. Thus, the project fulfills the main objective of the strategy. Also, the project will contribute to the promotion of communication between the Alytus and Suwalki regions and climate change adaptation, and risk prevention as well.
Other Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban wastewater treatment.
This directive is designed to protect water resources and public health by ensuring that urban wastewater is properly collected, treated, and discharged. Looking at project activities, the control and collection of sewage from local (private) wastewater systems are one of the main purposes. The project partners are planning to install fully automated devices for sewage utilization, which are to be used to collect sewage transported by vehicles and ensured proper treatment. Also, the methodology to control pollution of the wastewater discharged in the sewage network and transported by vehicle will be developed. This methodology and the laboratory equipment planned to be purchased will help to monitor pollutants and to prevent discharges of hazardous substances into urban wastewater. The SCADA system will reduce the amount of the discharged pollutants as well.
Other Water Framework Directive
The Water Framework Directive is a European Union directive that aims to protect and improve the quality of water resources across the EU. The main purpose of the directive is to promote international cooperation for the protection of transboundary water resources. The Directive involves the identification and monitoring of priority hazardous substances that threaten human health. The methodology to control pollution of the wastewater discharged in the sewage network and the laboratory equipment planned to be purchased will help to contribute with the requirements of the directive. The SCADA system will help to reduce the concentration of pollutants (phosphorus, total nitrogen, etc.) in the discharged wastewater. As the project will be implemented by joint actions in Lithuania and Poland countries, international cooperation in environmental protection will be also be fulfilled.
Other ISO 5667-10:2020 Water quality — Sampling — Part 10: Guidance on sampling of waste water.
One of the main purposes of this standard is to ensure that wastewater samples are collected and handled in a manner that prevents contamination or alteration of the sample. This includes guidance on the selection of sampling equipment, sample containers, and preservation techniques. The project partners are planning to purchase stationary and mobile automatic water samplers. They will be used for taking composite samples of wastewater. The composite samples are more accurate and reliable, so that they can be used for effective wastewater quality management and decision-making, and can ultimately contribute to the protection and improvement of water resources.
Other Directive 1996/61 - Integrated pollution prevention and control.
This directive is a European Union law that aims to prevent and control pollution from industrial activities and requires to establish of a regulatory framework for the control of pollution from industrial installations across the European Union. As we mentioned in over parts above, the methodology to control pollution of the wastewater discharged in the sewage network will be developed and the pollution risk maps will be created. These tools and the equipment to be purchased will ensure the necessary monitoring system for environmental protection and will help to minimize the impact of industrial activities on the environment and human health.
Other The Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992.
The Convention is an international agreement signed in 1992 by the countries bordering the Baltic Sea and the European Union. The main purposes of the Helsinki Convention are to protect and conserve the marine environment of the Baltic Sea area, to prevent and eliminate pollution in the Baltic Sea area, particularly from land-based sources, including agricultural and industrial activities, sewage treatment plants, and shipping. The convention is very similar and corresponds to the EUSBSR objectives. Therefore, the project contributes to the realization of its goals as well.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 087 - Organisations cooperating across borders, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 084 - Organisations cooperating across borders after project completion, Measurement unit:
RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSBSR

EUSBSR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSBSR Degree of compliance:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A Lithuania-Poland

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2025-02-03

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

53 / 53 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

123 / 123 (100%)

Notes on the data

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STRENGTHENING THE COOPERATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND PERFORMING JOINT ACTIVITIES FOR REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTIVE ACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (LT-PL)

Description

Thematic information

Partners (2)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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