The project
Since 2021, German and Ukrainian water utilities have been working together on topics such as tariff calculation, asset management, and drinking water supply. The goal is to make better use of existing infrastructure. Despite facing similar challenges, conditions vary depending on the size and location of the utility. The focus lies on cost-covering tariffs, energy-efficient processes, and tackling leakage. Close cooperation, including with the Ukrainian water association, is essential for sustainable solutions. The war has significantly hindered operations – technical support and professional exchange help to maintain supply even in times of crisis. Human resource management has taken a back seat; what matters most is ensuring safe operation with existing staff, despite emigration and conscription.
Work Packages of the Partnership
There are three work packages that the partnership is focusing on: asset report, environmental safety and laboratory, and drinking water supply.
Asset Report
- The focus on the asset report was chosen to create transparency regarding the condition and value of facilities at sewage treatment and pumping stations.
- The aim is to establish a standardised reporting system by the end of the project, bringing together technical, operational, and financial data to serve as a basis for identifying investment needs.
- Regular online meetings are supplemented by in-person working sessions in Germany.
- A practical Excel spreadsheet, jointly developed during the pilot phase, serves as both a tool and a foundation for more detailed analyses, and can be scaled up as a template.
Drinking water supply and well technology
- A webinar series on well rehabilitation and maintenance is being conducted. The aim is to train 4-5 colleagues from Lviv to independently carry out well analysis and servicing (regeneration/rehabilitation). The focus is on providing theoretical fundamentals on techniques for assessing well condition, regeneration, and rehabilitation.
- Additional topics are also planned: the planning and implementation of new well construction in unconsolidated rock, as well as an overview of the well construction standards of Berliner Wasserbetriebe in the context of new well projects.
Environmental safety and laboratory
- The self-monitoring responsibilities of wastewater treatment plants are often inadequately implemented internationally, particularly when it comes to monitoring indirect discharges from industry.
- The goal is to establish laboratory structures to ensure environmental safety based on relevant parameters, aligned with the European framework.
- Through trainings, job shadowing, and working meetings in Germany and Ukraine, specialist knowledge is shared, laboratory processes are improved, staff are trained, and testing procedures are implemented.
- Exchange of best practices
- Regular monitoring of industrial discharges is intended to be carried out independently in the future and to contribute to compliance with legal standards.
The work packages are complemented by demand-oriented individual workshops and expert presentations.
Activities
As part of the operator partnership, a consortium of German water utilities supports Ukrainian Vodokanals (municipal water supply and wastewater utilities) in stabilising and further developing their infrastructure, especially under the challenging conditions of the war.
Knowledge transfer takes place both theoretically through keynote presentations and consultations, and practically through working meetings and targeted job-shadowing activities in Germany. Additionally, networking among Ukrainian partners is promoted to leverage synergies and strengthen their own initiatives.
Impressions
As of August 2025
