„A change is needed in the overall management model of the Water and Sewerage sector. The first step that we have already taken is the preparation of a comprehensive analysis of the state of the Water and Sewerage operators. After it, we will conduct a certification of each company, which will serve to determine the real risks and the necessary management investment measures.“
This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, arch. Pavleta Pelovska. She participated in the annual BULAKVA conference under the motto „Smart Water: Investment in the Future“. The event is organized by the Bulgarian Water Association and is attended by Bulgarian and international experts, representatives of institutions, municipalities and water and sanitation operators.
„We want to build an analytical environment that would unite all systems in terms of technical operational and resource status. This would allow us to examine the problem spatially, to determine where the critical sectors are, the settlements that are at risk and what investments are needed“, said the deputy minister. And he added: „But the most important thing is that the system allows for forecasting and comparing different development scenarios. This will help in making informed management decisions. We want to be able to model what will happen in 5, 10 or 20 years if we maintain the current trend“.
According to Pelovska, the water and sanitation sector should be considered as an interconnected system, and not as a set of separate problems, as has been the case in recent years. According to her, today a significant part of the efforts are aimed at responding after problems, accidents, interruptions in water supply or the need for urgent repairs.
„At the same time, information about the state of the systems is distributed among different institutions and operators, which makes a comprehensive assessment difficult“, explained the deputy minister and emphasized that her team is working on „a new approach in which problems are identified in advance, investments are prioritized according to risk and the results are summarized after the facilities are put into operation.“
Currently, the MRDPW is developing a unified information database and an interactive geoinformation platform for the water risk and sustainability of the water supply and sanitation sector, it became clear from her words.
„We need to start investigating what happens after the facility is put into operation, have water losses actually decreased, how has the accident rate changed, have the costs for operation and maintenance decreased, "has the quality and continuity of service improved," Pelovska also said. According to her, it is these indicators that will show whether an investment has had a result.
“Financial resources are extremely limited, so there must be a clear methodology that allows determining where the need for intervention is greatest and where investments will achieve the most significant result“, emphasized Pavleta Pelovska.
Therefore, work is being done to improve the management of operating costs, reduce water losses, optimize energy consumption and, last but not least, own electricity production. The goal is to gradually free up part of the financial resources, which are currently spent inefficiently, for investments, maintenance and retention of qualified specialists, i.e. to be directed at the real needs of the system.
„We need to build a permanent mechanism for interaction between the state, water and sanitation operators, professional organizations, the scientific community, designers, technology companies“, said the deputy minister.
She proposed a structured expert dialogue between the responsible institutions, the idea being to work together on methodologies for assessing the technical condition of the infrastructure, water loss management, investment efficiency and operational risk, as well as subsequent pilot implementation of practical solutions.
„For us, it is important that the expertise of the people who design, build and operate water and sanitation systems on a daily basis participate in the development of solutions, and not only in their implementation. Sustainable change is possible only through consistent interaction and shared responsibility between all participants in the sector“, concluded architect Pelovska.