Chernivtsivodokanal – MVV Netze GmbH Mannheim

The project participants

International partner
German partner

Chernivtsivodokanal

Chernivtsivodokanal (Chernivtsi, Ukraine) is a municipal enterprise owned by the city of Chernivtsi. It has been providing water supply services to the city of Chernivtsi since 1895. The provision of water supply and wastewater services in Ukraine is a municipal responsibility and Chernivtsivodokanal is licensed by the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission to provide these services. As a municipal enterprise, Chernivtsivodokanal reports to the City Council and the director is appointed by the City Council. Nevertheless, the company has autonomy in the day-to-day operational and management activities. Chernivtsivodokanal is expected to finance its activities through the tariffs they charge consumers plus additional financial support from the city budget for a portion of the capital investment needs. The activities include primarily: The collection of raw water, treatment, distribution and delivery of wholesome water to the consumers in the service area, The collection, treatment and safe disposal to the environment of wastewater from the consumers that are connected the company's wastewater network, Billing of customers and collecting payments.

MVV Netze GmbH

MVV Netze GmbH (Mannheim, Germany) is a regionally active grid operator for the Mannheim supply region and surrounding area and a subsidiary of MVV Energie AG. MVV Netze GmbH has its headquarters in Mannheim. Around 500 employees ensure a reliable and secure supply of water, district heating, gas, electricity and street lighting for approx. 350,000 inhabitants. MVV Netze GmbH also provides technical services for customers and partners. These include, in particular, services in the fields of planning, construction, operation, maintenance, advice and project support for technical projects in the water, district heating, gas, electricity and street lighting divisions. MVV Netze also offers technical services in the areas of network and plant inspections, fault acceptance, network data management with a geo-information system and training.

The project

The city of Chernivtsi has about 260,000 inhabitants and is located in the west of Ukraine directly on the Romanian border. In the current war situation, the city is a humanitarian centre for war refugees within Ukraine. Currently, more than 60,000 refugees are accommodated. The city of Mannheim has maintained partnership ties with Chernivtsi since 2015. On 05.04.2022, the Mannheim City Council voted unanimously in favour of an official city partnership with Chernivtsi.

MVV Netze would like to support Chernivtsivodokanal in overcoming the current challenges through a non-profit, low-threshold partnership cooperation. The primary aim is to provide collegial advice. It is also planned to supply technical material and equipment as well as to provide technical support for the commissioning and use of the technical equipment.

Activities

The solidarity utility partnership will focus on the following activities:

Procurement of materials to maintain water supply
Procurement of equipment and vehicles that can be used in particular by staff working in the areas of network operation, fault clearance and repairs
Providing technical advice on options for maintaining or restoring the water supply in the short term.
Improvement of the technical prerequisites for the reduction of water losses through water leakage detection and the use of zone measurements
Improvement of maintenance and servicing strategies, e.g. through the development of operating manuals and work and operating instructions
Further development of project management competence among staff with project management tasks in the technical field
Support in setting up a rehabilitation strategy as well as competence development for the planning and implementation of multi-year rehabilitation programmes
Support in competence development in the area of asset simulation
Support in competence development in the field of the use and benefit of geographical information systems (GIS).

The collaboration between the partners will start online, followed by possible face-to-face meetings and training sessions at MVV Netze’s headquarters in Mannheim.

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Photo above: repairing a sewer line | Photo: Chernivtsi Vodokanal

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 …

Project profile

Duration

October 2022 – June 2024

Focal topics

Maintenance of the water supply

Water losses

Maintenance and repair strategies

Project management skills

Geographical Information Systems (GIS)