ApaSan+, Integrated water supply and sanitation in Moldovan villages

Description of the Project:

Project objective

The project’s intended impact is: The rural population in Moldova (women and men, including vulnerable / disadvantaged groups) residing in the project’s target villages and beyond have sustainable access to safe drinking water and household sanitation.

The project aims at the following expected outcome:
(a) Local public authorities (LPAs) and regional operators respond to the needs of the population (women and men, including vulnerable/disadvantaged groups) in target villages for adequate and sustainably managed water and sanitation services.
(b)Decentralized sanitation solutions are successfully introduced, tested, and sustainably managed in the target villages and are made available countrywide.

Expected results

Output 1: a) The population of Vărăncău (approx. 1’700), including women, men and vulnerable / disadvantaged groups, has access to potable water through water supply systems built, connected to the Nistru river catchment at Zaluceni, and operated through service delegation contracts by the regional operator (”Servicii Comunale Florești” JSC).
b) The people in the town of Floresti (approx. 12’000) and the villages of Varvareuca (approx. 2’860) and Alexeevca (approx. 566) in the Floresti raion have improved potable water supply services after rehabilitation of a 2’000 m3 potable water reservoir.
Output 2: Decentralized sanitation systems (septic tanks, including the collection/ treatment/ disposal system for the sludge) are set up and used by an initial number of at least 300 households (100 per village) in pilot villages (Cioresti, r. Straseni; Micleuseni and Dolna, r. Strașeni; Varancău, r. Soroca). Results are monitored, documented, and widely disseminated in Moldova.
Output 3: Regional and local water supply and sanitation operators have the necessary technical and managerial capacities and equipment to provide adequate and sustainable water supply and sanitation services to their clients.

Target group/Beneficiaries/Partners/Location

The project’s direct beneficiaries are 17126 women and men living in selected rural localities of Moldova. Water supply systems are designed and built to reach every household and an initial connection rate of a minimum of 75% is secured by the mandatory local contribution. Under these conditions, it is considered that the whole population of a village has access to potable water. The sanitation intervention initially targets directly a minimum of 100 households (most of which already have flush toilets installed) per village, additionally, the project will ensure adequate sanitation conditions in schools.

Activities

Activities under Output 1 are geared to support the construction and operation of safe, inclusive and sustainable water supply systems in selected rural localities.
Under Output 2 the project will support pilot village-wide decentralized sanitation models in several rural localities.
The activities under these two outputs include, amongst others, project socialization, assessment of baseline situation and conditions, design and procurement of construction works and supplies, and quality management of construction works including site supervision, technical and managerial support to operators, coordination with relevant stakeholders, and knowledge management (exchange and dissemination of the experiences made).
Output 3 related activities will focus on capacity development and equipment support to regional and local water and sanitation operators involved in the target localities.

Context

The water and sanitation situation in rural Moldova is characterized by many challenges: Local public administrations have little means and awareness to fulfill their responsibility for providing water and sanitation to the population. There is not enough funding for rural water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Small and large operators of water systems have too weak capacities to ensure sustainable operation of systems. There is not enough learning and innovation in the sector. So far, universities have shown little interest in developing water-specific curricula that are key for a country under water scarcity.
The present project builds on the understanding of the water and sanitation situation in rural Moldova and the needs and opportunities for tangible improvements gained through the Swiss and Austrian co-funded “Water and Sanitation Project in the Republic of Moldova” was implemented in three phases until September 2019