Cross-border development of water supply and sewerage system - Good Water Tyczyn - Pustomyty

The common goal and the expected change is to improve the quality of residents’ lifes and adapting Tyczyn (TM) and Pustomyty (PST) to changing climatic conditions by increasing the availability of good water and protecting the natural environment of the borderland from pollution through the development of the sewage system. Poland (SDG report 2022) has very poor renewable freshwater resources (1600 m³/person/year). This is one of the lowest values in the EU (3 times less than average). The situation in UA is even worse - 1240 m³/person (State Water Resources Agency - 2019). According to the UN, less than 1700 m³ means water security threat.The most important problems diagnosed in the border area include underdeveloped water/sewage infrastructure which negatively affects the environmental, social and economic spheres. The low degree of water supply (about 66% in TM and 53% in PST) and sewerage (62% in TM and 35% in PST) adversely affects not only the comfort of life, but also the level of sanitary safety, as the risk of gastrointestinal diseases increases, due to the consumption of water with undetermined parameters, mainly by the uncoordinated creation of domestic water intakes (wells), as well as through the large number of domestic septic tanks (which cause groundwater contamination through leaks). Both cities have become convenient places for settlement, as they are adjacent to large and important urban centers (PST = Lviv, TM = Rzeszow). This has an impact on the steady population/clients growth (TM: 10,499 people in 2019 to 11,397 in 2022; PST: 2019 - 20,410 clients to 20,604 in 2022), which translates into increases in water consumption and more wastewater. Insufficiently developed and often outdated water/sewage infrastructure isn’t able to meet these challenges, that’s why significant increases in failures have been observed (TM own data for water: 2019 - 15 failures, 2022 - 20 failures = 33% increase + sewerage 18 and 23 respectively = 27.8% increase) and in PST (own data for water: 2019 - 32 failures, 2022 - 79 failures = 146.9% increase + sewerage 98 and 312 respectively = 218.4% increase). The ongoing war in UA also has had a significant impact on the catastrophic changes in access to water. The investment is of strategic importance for the border provinces (Rzeszow and Lviv), which also face the problem of inadequate amount of water for supplying residents during periods of drought (and due to the ongoing war). The well-developed networks belonging to the Partners can also serve as an emergency water supply for these cities. PL/UA common challenges: droughts/climate changes, water supply interruptions and/or significant reductions in water pressure, environmental pollution due to lack of sewerage, increasing number of failures, low awareness of residents about the need to save water. In response to the above, the partners identified the main objectives of the project as: - Increase availability and ensure good quality water for newly connected 210 Poles and 3544 Ukrainians (+3923, which are already connected to this pipeline) through the construction of new water pipeline PL-3,8 km, UA-1,2 km. - protecting the environment through the development of an improved public sewage system: PL – 2,76 km (connecting 207 Poles) and by modernizing sewage system for 7361 Poles and 6731Ukrainians. - Adaptation to changes by increasing awareness of saving and obtaining drinking water in emergency situations among 1200 Poles and Ukrainians A cross-border approach is necessary, as both partners have different experiences, thanks to the exchange of which (by joint training, creation of joint procedures – 10 PL/UA employees) the UA partner will gain the necessary knowledge on modern solutions and technologies used in water and sewage systems and the PL partner will gain knowledge on how to respond more effectively in crisis and critical situations. The above will benefit the residents of TM, PST - indirectly also Lviv and Rzeszów