Project titled „Konopnica-Terebovlia – cross-border cooperation for the protection of water resources” (acronym WaterProtect) is implemented under the Interreg NEXT Poland – Ukraine Program 2021-2027 under the ENVIRONMENT priority, and its co-financing from the Program amounts to EUR 2,195,191.66. The project implementation period is September 16, 2024 – September 15, 2026.
Project partners:
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Lead Partner
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The mainobjective of the projectis to supportaccess to cleanwater and sustainablewater management in the Polish-Ukrainian region and to improve the quality of life of peoplethrough the development of sewageinfrastructure and improvement of sewage management.
The mainobjective of the projectwill be achievedthrough the implementation of the followingspecificobjectives:
- betterprotection and prevention of environmentaldegradation by reducingwaterpollution and protectingnaturalecosystems, as a result of reducing the load of municipal and householdpollutantsdischarged to surfacewaters and soil,
- increasing the investment and economicattractiveness of the townthanks to the development of the area,
- improving the livingcomfort of the inhabitants, raising the level of civilization.
The project assumes the implementation of the following activities:
- Creation of a cross-border platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of water andsewage management,
- Development of a practicalguide on waterprotectionissues and goodpractices in thisarea,
- Construction works and constructionsupervision,
- Project promotion.
The results of the implemented activities will be:
- Number of supported municipal sewage treatment plants – 1 pc.,
- Length of new or modernized sewage networks as part of collective sewage disposal systems – 2.461 km,
- Participatsof the joint cross-border activities – 60 people,
- Jointly developed solutions(1. cross-border platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience in the field of water and wastewater management, 2. practicalguide on waterprotectionissues and goodpractices in thisarea) 2 pcs.,
- Populationconnected to collectivesewagetreatmentsystems of atleastseconddegree – 3,905 people. (3,750 in Ukraine, 155 in Poland).
News from the project implementation:
Signing the partnershipagreement
Visit to Ciechanki
On May 15, 2025, thanks to the courtesy of the Puchaczów Commune authorities, representatives of the Konopnica Commune had the opportunity to visit the Creative Work Center functioning in the Lachert Manor in Ciechanki, restored as part of the project entitled „Restoration of common culture heritage as a base for youth and creative groups from Poland and Belarus cross-border cooperation” implemented within the Cross-Border Cooperation Program Poland – Belarus – Ukraine 2014-2020. During the visit, Ms. Katarzyna Choma, Head of the Department of Local Development and Commune Promotion and Ms. Bożena Warzyszak, regionalist and Creative Work Center in Ciechanki instructor, presented in detail the experiences of the Puchaczów Commune in cross-border cooperation and the history of the Manor and the Lachert family.
Cross-border seminar in Okuninka
On May 16, 2005, a cross-border seminar was held in Okuninka on Białe Lake, realized in the frame of the project „Konopnica-Terebovlia – cross-border cooperation for the protection of water resources”. The seminar was attended by, incl. Mr. Tomasz Jędrzejewski – Deputy Head of the Joint Secretariat, Ms. Kinga Szafran – Deputy Director of the Department of Strategy and Development of the UMWL, Ms. Magdalena Fotek-Kułak – Deputy Member of the Monitoring Committee of the INTERREG NEXT Poland-Ukraine 2021-2027 Program, Sylwia Sipińska – Chojnacka – Representative of the Lublin Regional Contact Point and representatives of the Konopnica Commune and the Terebovlia City Council.
The seminar was opened by Mr. Kazimierz Smal, Deputy Mayor of the Ruda-Huta Commune, who acted as the moderator of the seminar, and then the floor was taken by representatives of the Partners – Mr. Mirosław Żydek, Mayor of the Konopnica Commune, Mr. Olech Prodan, Mayor of the City of Terebovlia and Mr. Tomasz Jędrzejewski – Deputy Head of the Joint Secretariat. The lectures given by the experts concerned issues related to water and sewage management and its importance in the context of climate change, control of the functioning of sewage treatment plants, exchange of hydrological and meteorological data within the framework of cooperation of the Polish-Ukrainian Commission for Transboundary Waters and cross-border environmental projects. During the seminar, lectures were given by Grzegorz Łagód, EngD, Assoc. Prof.- Faculty of Environmental and Energy Engineering of the Lublin University of Technology, Mr. Mariusz Brodziak, Head of SHM Lublin-Radawiec, Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – State Research Institute, Mr. Marcin Troć, Director of the Regional Water Management Board in Lublin and Ms. Galina Grabarczuk, Director of the Association of Local Governments of the Euroregion Bug.
During the seminar, the experiences of local governments in the implementation of cross-border and environmental projects were also presented by Ms. Anna Czajka, Deputy Mayor of the Włodawa Commune and Mr. Jarosław Walczuk, Mayor of the Ruda-Huta Commune, after which the event was summed up.
