The remarkable contribution of Ukrainian municipalities
Since the beginning of the decentralisation reforms, which also have been driven forward with German support since 2014, Ukrainian municipalities have been taking on increasing responsibility for local tasks and development. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian municipalities and municipal companies have been doing extraordinary work to protect the lives of the population […]
Continued support for Irpinvodokanal from the Zweckverbands Wasser/Abwasser Bornaer Land
Background The solidarity operator partnership between ZBL and Irpinvodokanal has been in place since summer 2023. It complements the long-standing town twinning between Borna and Irpin, in which ZBL’s managing director, Simone Luedtke, is heavily involved. Already in the pilot phase of the partnership, urgently needed technical equipment and materials for restoring the drinking water […]
Utility Platform at ReBuild Ukraine 2025
Trilateral Workshop on Tariff Setting in the Water and Wastewater Sector As part of the ReBuild Ukraine Conference, the German Association of Local Public Utilities (VKU) hosted a trilateral workshop on 12 November 2025 together with the Polish Chamber of Waterworks (IGWP) and the Association of Ukrainian Water Utilities (Ukrovodokanalekologiya). Supported by the KommuNe, Felicity II and the […]
Water connects: Operator partnership between Khersonvodokanal and BonnNetz secures supply in times of war
A solidarity operator partnership between the German company BonnNetz and the water supply company Khersonvodokanal from Kherson, Ukraine, has been in place since the end of 2023. The aim of this partnership is to promote the exchange of expertise and to support the Ukrainian partners in restoring and stabilising the drinking water supply. Personal exchange […]
8. Network meeting of the Utility Platform: an overview
More than 70 participants from 13 utility partnerships, including 16 German utilities and 13 international utilities from Ukraine, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, and Jordan, came together to exchange experiences and strengthen collaboration. After our map exercise to “connect the WOPs dots” on the world map, participants listened to an interview between Laura Mlynarek, Senior Policy […]
Practice meets partnership: Successful procurement and expert visit of LWG in Comrat
Modern pump technology strengthens Comrat’s sewage system Thanks to close cooperation with German partners, two modern sewage pumps were procured for the main pumping station in Comrat in September 2025. The previously installed pumps were over 15 years old, severely worn and only partially functional. For months, the entire sewage system ran on a single […]
Job shadowing of Zambian professionals at Gelsenwasser: a video report
Gelsenwasser and the Lukanga Water Supply and Sanitation Company have been in an operator partnership since 2021. In July 2025, two specialists from the Zambian utility company, Frank Kalumba (engineer) and Mainza Hamwaka (network operations manager), visited Gelsenwasser to gain insights into German water supply processes. These job shadowing programmes, along with trips to Zambia, […]
Sumy water utility enhances laboratory capabilities through operator partnership
For the past three years, the municipal enterprise Miskvodokanal in Sumy has been engaged in a successful international cooperation with the Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband (OOWV) in the framework of the Utility Platform project. This ongoing collaboration has significantly strengthened the technical and operational capacity of Miskvodokanal. Through consistent dialogue and exchange with the German partner, the […]
Strengthening intercultural cooperation: A review of our latest training courses
Successful international cooperation within the framework of operator partnerships is only possible with mutual understanding and cultural sensitivity. We are therefore delighted to have conducted two effective intercultural training courses this summer with the aim of strengthening cooperation between our international and German partners in the long term. “Germany at a Glance:” A global perspective […]
Working meeting between the operators EcoService-2022 and BAV
Biowaste management in practice – learning and exchange in a German-Ukrainian utility partnership EcoService-2022 was founded in 2022 by four municipalities in the Poltava oblast as Ukraine’s first waste management association. The founding municipalities received significant support from the ‘Export Initiative Environmental Protection’, which is promoting the development of sustainable waste management in Ukraine on […]