A number of settlements in Cluj and Sălaj counties in north-west Romania can look forward to improved drinking water supplies and better sewerage services thanks to a project supported by the EU’s Cohesion Fund. This project aims at improving water supply infrastructure in locations with more than 50 inhabitants, and also ensuring that settlements with more than 2 000 people equivalent get their wastewater collected and treated.
- 30 October 2019
An extra 239 389 inhabitants will benefit from better quality drinking water and better service reliability on completion of the project. In addition, wastewater will be transported and treated for an additional 71 461 population equivalent (p.e).
Through this investment, the supply of drinking water will be extended using sources that are microbiologically controlled. The project will increase the water supply connection rate in the designated area to 95 %, covering in the end a total of 764 830 inhabitants. The connection rate in 2016 was 79 % for drinking water (65 % when taking into account compliance with quality parameters). Improving the water supply infrastructure will ensure operational safety, reduce water losses and provide capacity to increase connections to more people.
Work aimed at improving water quality includes modernising and optimisation of treatment parameters at the water treatment plant at Gilău and the rehabilitation of the underground water source Florești, in Cluj. These developments will help provide quality drinking water and optimise the operation of the treatment plant so it can deal with the extension of the supply system.
Other key activities to improve and extend the water supply network include:
Constructing a 317 km-long water transport main network and rehabilitating 21 km of the existing main networkConstructing a 1 090 km distribution network and rehabilitating 120 km of the existing networkProviding 78 new storage tanks and rehabilitating 21 existing tanksDelivering 67 new chlorination stations, andBringing 72 new pumping stations on line and refurbishing three others.Better wastewater treatment
Regarding wastewater, presently connection rates reach a total of 91.34 % for agglomerations above 10 000 p.e. and only 37.01 % for agglomerations between 2 000-10 000 p.e.
Work to improve wastewater collection and treatment will include rehabilitating collection infrastructure to lower pollution risks and to ensure increased health and safety of the local population. In addition, a new wastewater treatment plant will be built and three existing plants modernised to provide more capacity and improve services. Sludge resulting from the wastewater treatment process will be more efficiently managed by creating a sludge drying and energy recovery installation.
Other activities that will improve wastewater services include:
Bringing 97 new wastewater pumping stations on lineExtending the wastewater collection network with a 262 km-long network and 46 km of discharge pipelines, andRehabilitating about 70 km of the existing wastewater collection network.Pollution and limited water sources
The project addresses a number of issues that have hindered the provision of good quality water. In Cluj, groundwater sources are limited and subject to permanent or accidental pollution. It is difficult to control water quality due to nitrate infiltration in soil and groundwater.
Meanwhile, in some parts of Sălaj county, the deep water has a natural ammonium, iron and manganese content, and there are areas polluted with petroleum or saline layers. Water sources across the county are vulnerable to climate change, which could lead to a drop in water quantity and a deterioration in quality. This makes it necessary to find water supplies from less vulnerable sources.
The project offers opportunities to create new jobs in both the implementation and operational phases. It is estimated that the regional operator will need to fill 90 posts to help operate the new infrastructure.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Regional project for the development of water and wastewater infrastructure in Cluj and Salaj counties” is EUR 421 964 965, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 275 788 935 through the “Large Infrastructure” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Preserving and protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency”.