Strategic Moves - Regional Environmental Center for Central and ...

Introduction
The differences among individual countries are huge in terms of physical environmental
infrastructure. In general, the water supply infrastructure is at a relatively
satisfactory level, while the sewerage, wastewater treatment and waste
management infrastructure show deficiencies. Croatia is far ahead of other countries
in the region regarding physical infrastructure, especially wastewater treatment
infrastructure. In Kosovo (as defined under UNSCR 1244) and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, there is a huge margin for improvement. Serbia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have made the biggest progress in project
preparation for regional sanitary landfills, while Croatia has been successful in closing
and remediating non-sanitary landfills.
The status of the water and waste infrastructure in the region is directly correlated
to the investments that need to be made in order to reach full compliance
with EU legislation. The poorer the quality of the infrastructure, the higher the
investment required to bring the infrastructure first to an acceptable level, and later
to full compliance. This chapter provides an overview of the situation with respect
to water and waste infrastructure, summarising some of the key parameters. It draws
to a large extent on the PEIP manuals on water and waste produced earlier this
year (REC, 2009a and b).
Infrastructure status in the water sector
Investments are urgently needed in the water infrastructure in SEE in order to
provide all members of the population with drinking water, to improve the quality
of drinking water, and to reduce pressure on the environment through the treatment
of wastewater.
Some of the common problems facing the water sector in SEE countries are:
• the relatively low level of drinking water supply for the population in rural areas;
• big water losses due to ageing water supply infrastructure;
• significant unaccounted-for water (Uf W), at between 60 and 70 percent; and
• the poor operating efficiency of the utilities.
Figure 1 shows that Croatia and Montenegro have the most developed water
supply infrastructure in the region, while in Kosovo (as defined under UNSCR
1244) the connection rate is almost half that of the best performers. Where separate
data are available, it can be seen that rural areas have a far less developed water
supply infrastructure than urban areas.
As shown in Figure 2, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (urban
areas) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (urban areas) have a connection rate to sewerage
networks of around 70 percent of the population, while in Kosovo (as defined under
UNSCR 1244) the connection rate is only 28 percent of the population.
The greatest disparity in the region can be seen in the number of wastewater
treatment plants (WWTPs). With 89 plants, Croatia has the highest number, cov-
S T R AT E G I C M O V E S 47