Apă-Canal Chișinău – Stadtentwässerung Dresden – Fernwasserversorgung Elbaue-Ostharz

The project participants

  • International partner
  • German partner

Apă-Canal Chișinău

Apa Canal AG in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, was founded in 1892. After several name changes and restructurings, it is the oldest company of its kind in the country and can look back on over 130 years of history. The company is also the largest in the country, supplying drinking water to around 0.8 million residents and more than 13,000 non-domestic customers. Its main activities are the provision of public water supply and wastewater disposal services and the generation and supply of thermal energy. The total length of water pipelines operated is more than 3,800 km, of which 230 km are transmission water pipelines, 2,200 km are distribution networks and 1,400 km are supply networks.

Stadtentwässerung Dresden GmbH (SEDD)

SEDD offers comprehensive services in the areas of wastewater disposal, drainage and treatment, environmental analysis, and the planning and construction of wastewater infrastructure. The company's responsibilities include the approximately 1,850 km long sewer network and the central wastewater treatment plant in Dresden-Kaditz, which treats an average of around 55 million m³ of wastewater per year. SEDD serves around 670,000 customers in the eastern Saxony region, including residents and businesses in the Dresden metropolitan area and surrounding communities through wastewater transfer. With around 400 employees, annual revenue of €85 million and annual investments of around €30 million, the company is one of the largest in the industry. SEDD develops, utilises and shares its knowledge and expertise in the field of environmental protection and resource conservation in a variety of ways, both nationally and internationally. The modern Dresden-Kaditz wastewater treatment plant is a point of contact for many delegations from Germany and abroad. SEDD develops solutions for many regions of the world where drinking water supply and wastewater disposal are inadequate. For around 12 years, SEDD has been involved in various international projects, mainly on behalf of the BMBF, GIZ and GWP e.V., including in Ukraine and Vietnam. Particularly noteworthy is the establishment of a comprehensive vocational training programme for wastewater technicians in Vietnam, based on German standards.

Fernwasserversorgung Elbaue-Ostharz GmbH (FEO)

Fernwasserversorgung Elbaue-Ostharz GmbH is one of Germany's largest water suppliers. The company supplies municipal utilities, special-purpose associations, businesses and municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. It supplies drinking water to around 2.5 million people every day across an area of around 9,000 square kilometres. To do this, it draws surface water from the Rappbode reservoir system in the Harz Mountains and bank filtrate water from the River Elbe. The Wienrode (near Blankenburg in the Harz Mountains), Torgau-Ost and Mockritz (in the Elbe lowlands) waterworks can treat a total of up to 340,000 cubic metres of water per day, which is distributed throughout central Germany via a pipeline network more than 800 kilometres long. Around 235 employees at six locations ensure a reliable water supply. Sustainable management has always played a special role in water management. After all, it is essential to secure raw water resources for the long term and ensure that facilities remain viable for decades to come. Ecological and economic sustainability are fundamental corporate principles at FEO, which are implemented in a variety of ways and constantly promoted. This experience in numerous areas will certainly also be of great benefit to the project proposed here.

The project

As part of this grant-funded partnership project, the Moldovan water utility Apa Canal Chișinău will gain access to tried-and-tested practical knowledge and the technical and institutional expertise of German municipal water operators – in particular Stadtentwässerung Dresden and Fernwasserversorgung Elbaue-Ostharz.

The project aims to improve the performance of the Moldovan partner in a sustainable manner through targeted knowledge transfer, joint expert dialogues and practical training measures in the areas of water supply and wastewater treatment. In particular, it identifies potential for operational optimisation, shares examples of good practice and intensifies cooperation at the technical and organisational level.

Work Packages of the Partnership

Drinking water supply

The project addresses key issues relating to drinking water supply: analysing the operating regime of the water network – from extraction to distribution – provides a comprehensive understanding of the system structure. The main causes and influencing factors for water losses are identified. At the same time, the quality of the drinking water is assessed. A mobile laboratory supports rapid on-site determination at consumption points. In addition, optimal technologies and systems for drinking water disinfection are identified and evaluated together with the partner company. The aim is to achieve a sustainable improvement in supply security and water quality.

Waste Water

One focus of the project is on optimising the operation of existing sewage treatment plants and pumping stations and ensuring their efficient utilisation. Sewage sludge utilisation methods are being reviewed and adapted to modern requirements, taking existing EU standards as a technical guideline. Practical workshops will teach strategies for sewer rehabilitation and new construction. In addition, methods for dealing with industrial wastewater and industrial dischargers will be analysed to ensure that this wastewater is integrated into public wastewater treatment in an environmentally friendly manner.

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As of November 2025

Impressions

Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
The response team at work | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
The response team at work | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
Quality control of drinking water in the laboratory | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
Quality control of drinking water in the laboratory | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
Uncovering an illegal sewage disposal | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
Repairing the water network | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
Apă-Canal customer center | Photo: Apă-Canal Chișinău
Triumphal arch in front of a government building in Chișinău | Photo: Anze, Adobe Stock
Building of the Municipality of Chișinău | Photo: Rodion Gavriloi

Factsheets

Knowledge transfer and cooperation between Ukraine and Germany

Fact sheet about the cooperation between Kyivvodokanal and HAMBURG WASSER in the frame of a solidarity partnership and for the future of the City of Kyiv and the Free and Hanseatic City …

More info

PROJECT RELATED NEWS

First working meeting between Apa Canal Chișinău and Fernwasserversorgung Elbaue-Ostharz GmbH (FEO) to strengthen cooperation in the drinking water sector

25. April 2025

As part of the existing operator partnership, representatives of Apa Canal Chișinău (ACC) met with Fernwasserversorgung Elbaue-Ostharz GmbH (FEO) in Torgau from 22 to 24 April 2025. The meeting served as an opportunity for the German and Moldovan partners to get to know each other in person and to explore key areas for further cooperation.

Building bonds between Apa Canal Chişinău and Stadtentwässerung Dresden

2. October 2024

Lively exchange with the water operator in the Moldovan capital

Project profile

Duration

September 2024 – April 2027

Focal topics

  • Drinking water supply (including further development of the risk management system, investigation of the supply network, improvement of drinking water quality, maintenance and renovation of the pipe networks, reduction of water losses, support with the introduction and implementation of SAP in the company)
  • Wastewater disposal (including effective maintenance of wastewater networks, cost-covering tariff calculation, energy efficiency, environmental safety and quality control of sewage treatment plants, methods of sewage sludge utilisation)