Pumping stations hit by rockets, power cuts and collapsed telecommunications have been ongoing challenges for Ukrainian operators since the start of the war. Vasyl Lytvynyuk from the Nadvirnavodokanal water and wastewater company in the small town of Nadvirna in western Ukraine makes it clear: "Without the help of our German partners, we would not have been able to keep the waterworks and sewage treatment plant running."

But who are the "German partners" that Vasyl Lytvynyuk is talking about? The lead partner is Stadtentwässerung Dresden, which has Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln and Berliner Wasserbetriebe at its side as additional project partners. "Water knows no borders," summarises Kristin Michalek-Götz, International Projects Officer at Stadtentwässerung Dresden. "Pollutants are distributed worldwide through rivers, evaporation and groundwater. If we want to act sustainably, we have to work together with our neighbours. This is another reason why we enter into partnerships with water and wastewater companies from other countries, and one of these countries is Ukraine."

Since 2019, the three German companies have been working together with the company Lvivvodokanal from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. It is the largest water supply and wastewater disposal company in the region. In 2019, Lvivvodokanal supplied around 730,000 people and 10,000 companies. The partnership grew at the end of 2021: Nadvirnavodokanal and Ternopilvodokanal. The municipal company Nadvirnavodokanal provides water supply and wastewater disposal for the city of Nadvirna with around 21,000 inhabitants and four companies. Ternopilvodokanal supplies the citizens in and around the city of Ternopil with around 240,000 inhabitants and 4,000 companies.

At the start of the partnership, the focus was on developing a model for a cost-covering tariff system so that the Ukrainian operators can cover the actual costs of water supply and wastewater disposal from the water fees collected. In addition, processes and systems were to be optimised and modernised, also in order to attract qualified young people to work for the water supply and wastewater disposal companies.

From modernisation to crisis mode

Just as the cooperation had really picked up speed in 2021, the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. "We put our plans to one side for the time being and switched to emergency aid mode," says Kristin Michalek-Götz, describing the situation since 24 February 2022. In the first few days after the Russian full-scale invasion began, German companies started collecting donations. Volodymyr Bilynskyy from Lvivvodokanal remembers it well: "Our German partners contacted us as soon as the war started and asked what we needed. Just three weeks later, we had the first equipment on site. This enabled us to maintain the water supply and wastewater disposal." Over the past two years, the Ukrainian companies have received vehicles, cables, pumps, motors, transformers, frequency converters, hose connections, emergency power generators, satellite telephones, radios and much more.

Since January 2023, the German utilities have been using the logistics service provider Go Local, with which the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), to deliver the goods to Ukraine. Kristin Michalek-Götz looks back: "There were special funds for Ukraine for the Utility Platform from BMZ, which we used as participating operating companies to set up a procurement structure outside of our core tasks. This enabled us to supply our three Ukrainian partners with the most important components." Kristin Michalek-Götz explains: "We register the transport of goods, prepare the necessary documentation and the transport and customs service provider engaged by GIZ takes care of the logistics. That's a huge help."

For Volodymyr Bilynskyy, this support is a blessing: "Our population has grown by 150,000 people due to the internally displaced persons. We have connected the emergency shelters to the water supply and sewage disposal systems. A large proportion of the necessary materials came from our German friends. With the emergency power generators supplied, we can also compensate for the power cuts caused by Russian attacks and continue to supply the people here."

Although the Ukrainian companies constantly have to work in crisis mode, they have not lost sight of their vision for a peaceful future. For example, eight employees from the Ukrainian operators' water laboratories were able to take part in a laboratory training course organised by the German Association for Water Management (DWA) thanks to the partnership. In Nadvirna, this expertise is being incorporated into the planning of the new wastewater treatment plant, which is also being supported by the Technical University of Dresden. Volodymyr Vodoviz from Ternopilvodokanal explains: "We have learnt about new technologies and equipment in training courses, seminars and on study trips to Germany. We want to use this knowledge for our upcoming modernisation work." The modernisation plans of the three companies in Ukraine are still lying dormant, but Kristin Michalek-Götz makes it clear: "As soon as the situation in Ukraine allows, the three companies will get their plans out of the drawers and get started. They are well prepared and can count on our support."

Further Ukraine activities of the Utility Platform

Ukraine is also supported by a logistics hub for Ukrainian water companies. On behalf of the BMZ and implemented by GIZ and VKU, this hub has been supporting German water companies in the delivery of technical supplies to Ukrainian water companies since January 2023. In cooperation with the logistics partner GoLocal, the German water suppliers can send urgently needed water technology to Ukraine free of charge and without much effort on their part.

Information on the other solidarity utility partnerships with Ukraine can be found here. The partnership between Stadtentwässerung Dresden and Lviv, Ternopil and Nadvirna is presented here. Further information on the utility partnerships of Stadtentwässerung Dresden can also be found in the video from Sachsen Fernsehen from 9 July 2024, which reports on the visit of Federal Minister Svenja Schulze.