30 billion leva is needed to replace the outdated water supply network in Bulgaria, according to the latest analysis of the World Bank.
This was announced in an interview for the program “This Sunday“ Vladimir Bibov, member of the management board of “Bulgarian Water Supply Holding“. The holding was created after the water crisis in Pernik, with a capital of 1 billion leva.
According to Bibov, the funds are spent only on projects of the subsidiary water supply companies that support the implementation of European programs.
“If these funds had not been provided in recent years, the problems in the country would have been much greater“, commented the representative of “Bulgarian Water Supply Holding“.
In the Pleven region, where the problem is most serious, 70% of the water is lost in the network and only 30% reaches the taps. The reason is a combination of outdated infrastructure and theft, Bibov announced.
“The Pleven Water and Sewerage Company has introduced measures such as zoning and pressure reduction, which have managed to limit losses by 60-70 liters per second, but this does not compensate for the lower inflow from wells and water sources“, he added.
The crisis headquarters is discussing additional actions - researching new water sources and including them in the system if they are suitable for drinking needs.
Climatologist Prof. Emil Gachev from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences commented that the problem is two-sided - a combination of poor management and climate change.
“In the last five years, four of the summers have been among the driest in the last two decades. We are observing an accumulation of dry periods, which is slowly draining the water resource“, he pointed out.
According to him, infrastructure is the key – losses in the network must be reduced, because we can no longer rely on heavy rainfall to compensate for the gaps.
According to him, the most threatened by water shortages remain Northern, Northeastern and Eastern Bulgaria, but the water crisis may also affect other parts of the country.
“We must not waste any more time. European funds need to be targeted at the most critical areas“, urged Prof. Gachev.