March 2024 Archives

“Clean Serbia” is building a wastewater treatment plant in Svrljig

Posted on 29. March 2024. by administrator

As part of the “Clean Serbia” project, the construction of the first wastewater treatment plant has begun in the municipality of Svrljig. These works are carried out by the company “Millennium Team”, and upon their completion, one of the most important ecological and urban problems will be solved and the river Svrljiški Timok will be preserved, as well as the environment in that area.

The facility will purify wastewater from the territory of the entire municipality of Svrljig, and the capacity of the facility is equivalent to 7,000 inhabitants. Wastewater treatment will be carried out according to the latest European standards, after which completely clean water will be released into the river Svrljiški Timok.

The facility will be SBR Technologies and within it will be found 2 SBR Reactors, an equalization pool, a tank for excess sludge, an administrative building, a technical facility, access roads and other facilities that will make up the entire facility. It is expected that the works will be completed by the end of this year.

It should not be forgotten that in Serbia, less than 60% of the population is connected to the sewage network, while less than 10% of waste water is treated at plants. The solutions to the mentioned two problems are the main goals of the “Clean Serbia” project.

Gojković: We are not giving up even one meter of the sewage network

Posted on 20. March 2024. by administrator

The Mayor of the City of Valjevo, Lazar Gojković, at the session of the City Assembly, particularly emphasized the importance of the construction of sewerage within the “Clean Serbia” project. Gojković stated that Valjevo will not give up even one meter of the sewage network.

“We made a cadastral topographic plan (KTP) and what was up to us, which was necessary. The city of Valjevo has signed the Annex to the contract of the second phase of the project for the construction of the sewage network in the industrial zone and Popučke, and the second part is in Lelić,” said Lazar Gojković.

The mayor of Valjevo said at the aforementioned session that Valjevo will not give up even one meter of the sewage network due to the very importance of the project.

“We are not giving up a single meter of the sewage network, and I am sure that after what I mentioned, the City of Valjevo will continue with further implementation,” said the mayor of Valjevo.

Within the mentioned Annex, for the realization of the “Clean Serbia” project, the ministry allocated 11,830,000 euros for Valjevo, and the construction of 25,416 meters of sewage network and two wastewater treatment plants is planned.

Subotica prepared the necessary documentation for the project

Posted on 20. March 2024. by administrator

The preparation of the necessary documentation for the “Clean Serbia” project is coming to an end, with which the City of Subotica will fulfill its part of the obligations, said Radoslav Vukelic from the Secretariat for Communal Affairs, Energy and Traffic for RTV. Thanks to that project, part of Subotica, but also larger part of Bajmok and Cantavir will receive a sewage network.

“Since it is the largest infrastructure project of such scope and type that will be done in Subotica, everything related to the project-technical documentation took time, but now it is in the final phase and with that the City of Subotica will fulfill its obligation to prepare the documentation.

” The start works depends on the Ministry of Construction and Traffic Infrastructure, which is the holder of the entire project, and we expect that they will contact us, and that some deadlines will be defined more closely. Of course, in accordance with that, we will also inform the citizens because it is extremely important for us that, due to the serious projects that are already in our city – such as the high-speed railway – the dynamics of the works on the ground should be coordinated with the ongoing project – asserts Radoslav Vukelic, secretary of the Secretariat for Communal Affairs, Energy and Traffic, as reported by RTV.

The two main programs are the construction of sewerage networks and wastewater treatment plants and rehabilitation, reconstruction, recultivation and the construction of regional centers for the management of municipal solid waste.

Photo: printscreen/RTV

Kučevo: Continuation of the “Clean Serbia” project in the new budget

Posted on 20. March 2024. by administrator

The councilors of the Kučevo Municipal Assembly adopted the municipal budget for 2024 in the amount of 686 million dinars, which includes the continuation of the “Clean Serbia” project in that municipality.

The mayor of the municipality, Nenad Mikić, stated that funds are planned for environmental protection, which are implemented through the Budget Fund for Environmental Protection in accordance with the Program approved by the competent Ministry. “This program also includes the continuation of the “Clean Serbia” project,” he emphasized.

The total planned funds for the program have increased compared to 2023.

The “Clean Serbia” project is also a solution for the Danube and Sava

Posted on 17. March 2024.17. March 2024. by administrator

RTS reports that Austria and Hungary take care of the water quality in the Danube, but also the words of Sandra Dokić, State Secretary in the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Serbia, who stated that with the “Clean Serbia” project, Belgrade is also planning to build new facilities so that wastewater no longer goes to Danube and Sava.

European countries invest significantly more funds in the processing of wastewater, and with the treatment and protection itself, experts admit, they started much earlier than Serbia.

As reported by RTS, good examples are Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands, which treat 100 percent of their municipal wastewater. In addition to protecting the environment, often by processing waste water, they also provide part of the city’s energy for electricity and heating.

When it comes to the Danube River, Austria and Hungary are making sure that good quality water reaches Serbia.

“The quality of surface water in Austria is generally of good quality. Somewhere around 40 percent of surface waters are of very good and good quality, 30 percent are of moderate quality, 10 percent are unsatisfactory, and only four percent are of poor quality. And the Danube in Austria is of good quality, we have a lot of bathers here during the summer,” Dr. Bogdanka Radetić from the Austrian Environmental Protection Agency told RTS.

In Hungary, 53 percent of waste water is treated in accordance with the legislation of the European Union. “The purified water discharged into the Danube is analyzed regularly,” Laszlo Debreceni, director of the Budapest waterworks “Vizmuvek”, confirmed for RTS.

In the process of accession to the European Union, Serbia needs to fulfill the requirements from Chapter 27 that relate to the environment, and there are also standards that relate to the treatment of municipal waste water.

“In the coming period, what we need to do is to have 359 operational, functional waste water processing facilities and constructed or reconstructed sewage network. I can say that at the moment we have four billion for this area, and three billion from the Chinese loan. This is for the “Clean Serbia” program, which, in addition to the plants and sewers, should also build certain regional centers for waste management,” she said.

Sandra Dokić, who as an example of Belgrade’s intention to maintain the quality of water in the Danube at a satisfactory level, cited the preparation of project and technical documentation for the plant in Veliko Selo.

Wastewater as a source of energy in Serbia: Challenges and opportunities

Posted on 14. March 2024. by administrator

When water is purified in wastewater treatment plants, sludge is produced, which is also called biological sludge or sewage sludge. This sludge contains particles that have been removed from wastewater during the treatment process, including organic matter, microorganisms, impurities, and sometimes heavy metals.

Sludge treatment is an important component of wastewater treatment plants, as it is necessary to properly manage this by-product in order to reduce negative impacts on the environment and human health.

In Serbia, the most common resort is to dispose of sludge in landfills, which will be prohibited from the moment of harmonization with the European directive on water and its implementation.

In the world, there are more and more examples of the production of thermal energy from waste water, and also the production of electricity from waste sludge.

In Europe, there is a significant implementation of technologies for the production of heat energy from waste water. Denmark is known for its advanced wastewater treatment plants that use anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, which is then used to generate heat and electricity. Similar examples exist in others

European countries like Sweden, Holland and Germany. Such examples can be found all over the world.

This method of energy production is a sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources because, as it has already been proven, the application of this practice reduces the greenhouse effect and promotes the preservation of the environment.

Estimates are that one wastewater treatment plant in an average-sized city can produce from several dozen to several hundred megawatt-hours of thermal energy per year.

The necessary components and systems required for sludge processing and energy production can be integrated into an existing wastewater treatment plant or can be built as part of a new plant.

Sludge can be used for other purposes through various processing treatments. Great Britain is leading the way in using processed sludge as fertilizer, which is then distributed to farmers. Experts claim that there is a lot of phosphate and natural phosphorus in the mud, and there is a shortage of these elements in the world. By using this fertilizers in agriculture, natural nutrients are returned to the soil and it is refined. Sludge has the value of a multivitamin preparation for soil depleted of nitrogen compounds.

In Serbia, for now, there is no such method of using sludge, but according to experts, there is interest and potential for using waste water as a source of energy.