EU funds for the hydraulic improvements of the water system on the coast
Ljubljana, 15 May 2012 – Ministry of Economic Development and Technology as the Managing Authority issued a decision granting EU funds for the project hydraulic improvements of the water system on the coast, namely in the municipalities of Koper, Izola and Piran. The project, which is worth 12.5 million Euros, is part of the Operational Programme of Environmental and Transport Infrastructure Development for the period 2007–2013. It is financed by the Cohesion Fund in the amount of 7.2 million Euros.
The realisation of the project, which is foreseen to be completed by December 2014, will improve public drinking water supply, over 21 kilometres of primary pipelines will be built, two water retentions will be upgrade and one water retention extended. Consequently, more than 55,000 people will access safer drinking water and the dependence on the supply of water from neighbouring Croatia will be reduced. Also the uncontrolled loss of water and breakage of pipelines within the individual subsystem will be eliminated.
In addition to the hydraulic improvements, interconnection of primary pipelines and subsystems into a unified system of care and reduction of supply disruption due to malfunctions in the pipeline system, the project will also contribute to improving health and living conditions of local inhabitants.
The existing water supply system is not adequate due to poor quality and continuous failures of pipelines. Due to hydraulic inadequacy of supply system and distribution system leaks there is a risk of intrusion of impurities in the water supply system. This would compromise the health of the inhabitants. One major instance of pollution occurred with the intrusion of sewage into the supply system in Piran and the area of Bernardin with health risk to 2000 inhabitants.
Also, supply bottlenecks occur in the summer months and especially during the tourist season when water consumption surpasses the available capacity of water resources. In addition, the existing water retentions are too small to cover the negative water balance. Consequently, the water retentions are emptied and the hydraulic conditions in the water supply are worsened.
A particular problem in water supply is the lack of water quantity from its water source and the dependence on external supplies from Croatia. The latter is, according to the chemical composition, of lower quality and, due to its Karst origin, very heavy. Therefore, the increased deposition of calcareous deposits on the walls of pipelines reduces their permeability and, in extreme cases, also causes complete blockage.
Funds of the Operational Programme of Environmental and Transport Infrastructure Development, which is worth 1.57 billion Euros, are primarily intended for the modernisation or new infrastructural constructions in the area of environment and transport, and, to a lesser extent, also for sustainable energy projects.
