Inspiring Ukraine: Modern Wastewater Plants

Czech wastewater treatment plants will also help reduce pollution in Ukrainian rivers. In early November, 16 Ukrainian participants of the Partnership Foundation's internship for Ukraine's sustainable recovery visited two Czech treatment plants owned by the Water Company – one in Náměšť nad Oslavou, the other in Třebíč. These plants may influence the design of planned facilities in Ukraine, which will likely follow new European regulations.

Preventing polluted water from flowing into rivers

“Wastewater plants and sewers in Ukraine were built in the 1960s and 70s, so they are now approaching a critical state,” described Inna Kolodych, one of the interns. “Plants here operate on a similar mechanical and biological treatment principle as ours, but the quality of treated water is much higher and treatment occurs in several stages. They remove substances that, unfortunately, remain halfway in the water after standard treatment processes in Ukraine,” Inna explained after visiting two plants of the Water Company.

Ukraine is a candidate for EU membership. The EU recently adopted new directives requiring wastewater plants to achieve carbon neutrality or tertiary treatment, including nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Any new plant will have to meet these standards. Ukraine currently needs to upgrade many existing plants.

“The Třebíč plant has a three-stage biological treatment system, which is not common in Ukraine,” confirmed another intern, Tamara Kundelska, who was also impressed by the aesthetic design of the covered plant in Náměšť nad Oslavou. “I hope these technologies will soon be implemented in Ukraine.”

Czech plants may inspire many future plants in Ukraine. “We can study these technologies here, learn from them, and get it right in line with new EU directives,” Inna Kolodych concluded. We thank the Water Company for enabling the visit and Vojta Doležal for introducing our interns to the topic.