Impressions of partners from ATU Gagauzia from the study visit to Germany on the construction and operation of wastewater treatment plants
On 16 – 20 May 2022, a delegation of water management experts from ATU Gagauzia participated in a study visit to Germany. The purpose of the trip was to get acquainted with the design, construction and operation of water supply and wastewater treatment plants based on different technologies, as well as to exchange experience with German colleagues.
The delegation included the mayor of Comrat municipality, representatives of water operators from Comrat and Ciadir-Lunga, as well as local engineers in the field of drinking water supply and wastewater treatment systems. The participants visited wastewater treatment plants in the cities of Berlin, Frankenberg/Saxony, SBR-based wastewater treatment plants in Lobetal-Bernau, as well as so-called biofilm-based plants, of which more than 60,000 are already in operation worldwide. The colleagues from Gagauzia are of the opinion that this type of plants is particularly suitable for decentralised systems with up to 3,000 connected inhabitants.
In the context of experience exchange with German colleagues, the specifications for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants according to the number of inhabitants connected were of particular interest. In this respect, municipal wastewater treatment plants with a number of between 50 and 1.2 million connected inhabitants were visited. The operators of these plants provided detailed information about the technologies applied and their plant operating experience.
The partners of “Su-Canal Comrat” and other water operators from Gagauzia saw practical examples of democratic organisation of modern municipal water management companies, their performance capacity and high-tech wastewater management facilities. President of Zweckverband Kommunale Wasserver- Und Abwasserentsorgung “Mittleres Erzgebirgsvorland” ZWA Hainichen noted on the progress in digitisation of wastewater technology: “Our volume of recorded and processed data is enough to fly once to Mars and back”.
The size of the wastewater treatment plant in Frankenberg/Saxony roughly corresponds to the estimated connection load for of Comrat and is of great interest for its organisation and economic integration into the local economy and politics.
At the end of the visit, the mayor of Comrat municipality, Mr. Serghei Anastasov, expressed the overall impression, saying that this study visit was the most interesting visit of his entire professional activity. “We sincerely thank the representatives of GIZ for the organisation and funding, and by implementing the gained experience, we should demonstrate that this exchange of information is a real way to contribute to the improvement of living conditions in Moldova.”
The study visit to Germany took place in the framework of the “Modernisation of local public services in the Republic of Moldova” project and was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
