| HIGHLIGHT
Aqua Publica Europea welcomes 2 new members : Régie de L'Eau Bordeaux Métropole and Piave Servizi S.p.A.
In June, we welcomed two new members: Régie de L'Eau Bordeaux Métropole and Piave Servizi S.p.A.
Régie de L'Eau Bordeaux Métropole was established in 2023, following the decision of Bordeaux’s metropolitan authorities to bring back water management in public hands. The newly created water operator is responsible for managing drinking water services (and soon also sanitation services) for the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, France, serving 793,000 inhabitants.
Piave Servizi S.p.A. is the public water operator serving 39 municipalities in the provinces of Treviso and Venice, Italy, providing water services to 342,000 inhabitants. In addition to water and sanitation activity, the operator also features an ambitious investment plan to reduce CO2 emissions, protect bio-diversity through Nature-based Solutions, and increase resilience towards extreme events.
We are excited to start our collaboration with both operators!
APE members appoint new Management Board
Members of Aqua Publica Europea convened in Athens on Friday 21 June 2024 for the Annual General Meeting. Like every three years, this was also the occasion to elect the new Management Board, which steers the work of the association. Bernard Van Nuffel - President of VIVAQUA (BE) - has been reappointed as President, Francesco Mascolo - Director General of MM (IT) - has been appointed as First Vice-President, and Dan Lert - President of Eau de Paris (FR) - has been appointed as Second Vice-President. All members of the Management Board can be found here.
APE Seminar “TAPPING INTO THE UNTAPPED: The potential of reclaimed and non-potable waters to increase water resilience”|event report and presentations available
On 20 June, APE organised, in collaboration with its member EYDAP, the public seminar "TAPPING INTO THE UNTAPPED: The Potential of Reclaimed and Non-Potable Waters to Increase Water Resilience" as an official EU Green Week partner event. Over 150 participants attended the seminar in Athens and online. The event gathered experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to discuss innovative approaches and regulatory frameworks essential for enhancing water resilience through the use of reclaimed water, aquifer recharge and non-potable water, particularly in the context of water scarcity and climate change. Read the event report here. Access the event materials here.
| APE NEWS
WaterLinks and Aqua Publica Europea conduct a webinar on drought management for WASH utilities
On 15 May, 2024, Aqua Publica Europea, in partnership with WaterLinks, hosted a webinar titled “Resilience in Action: How Water and Sanitation Utilities Cope with Drought.” This webinar was the first in a series aimed at fostering knowledge exchange and dialogue between utilities in Asia and Europe to address common challenges in the water and sanitation sector. The webinar explored the adverse impacts of extreme weather events, particularly drought, and presented examples of utilities actively adapting to these conditions. With Asia recently experiencing a severe heat wave, the discussion on practical measures and strategies for maintaining the functionality and effectiveness of water utilities during droughts was particularly timely. Access the materials and the event report here.
APE participates in the Danube Hub Workshop to present EU Water Operator’s Partnerships (WOP)
On 28 May, APE participated in the Danube Hub Workshop, organised by the International Association of Water Service Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD). This workshop provided an opportunity to present APE’s work and actions in international cooperation, particularly our involvement in the UN-Habitat-led Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA). Additionally, we had insightful discussions about the drivers and constraints preventing water operators from engaging in international cooperation projects.
APE President Bernard Van Nuffel participates in two EU Green Week partner events
On 30 May, APE President Bernard Van Nuffel participated in the Green Week Partner Event “Water4All: Boosting EU Water Resilience,” hosted by the Water4All Partnership and WaterCampus Leeuwarden. He discussed the ongoing challenges posed by climate change, and emphasised the need for collaborative efforts between water operators, policymakers, and the public to ensure long-term resilience.
On 31 May, Bernard Van Nuffel participated in the Infopoint conference organised by the European Commission’s DG INTPA, titled “Water Operators’ Partnerships: How European Water and Sanitation Utilities are Helping Their Peers to Build Resilient Services,” in Brussels. The session showcased various ways European utilities have been assisting their peers in developing more robust and resilient services. Discussions covered their motivations and methods, focusing on a diverse set of Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) supported by EU funds through the EU-WOP programme.
APE contributes to the Green Week partner event: “Green Sponges for water and climate resilience”
On 29 May, APE participated in the "Green Sponges for Water and Climate Resilience" event, organised by the Living Rivers Europe coalition. This event provided an opportunity to explain, from the perspective of public water operators, the significant potential that nature-based solutions (NbS) offer for managing water quantity issues such as water scarcity, flooding, and drought, as well as preserving water quality. We highlighted the benefits of these solutions, emphasising their sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and long-term viability compared to traditional engineering approaches, and discussed the challenges in applying these solutions within the sector.
APE presents public water operators' strategies to tackle water scarcity and drought at the workshop “Increasing climate resilience of water and sanitation sector in the Mediterranean Region”
On 4 June, APE presented public water operators' strategies and actions to build resilience towards the most common problems linked to climate changes at the workshop “Increasing Climate Resilience of Water and Sanitation Sector in the Mediterranean Region” organised under the UNECE-WHO Regional Office for Europe Protocol on Water and Health in Lisbon. The workshop provided an opportunity to discuss common approaches to increase climate resilience in the Mediterranean by taking stock of main challenges and priorities of Mediterranean countries and by highlighting and exchanging on existing good practices and solutions from both policy and technical perspectives.
APE contributes to the conference “The Transformative Power of Economic Democracy” at the European Economic and Social Committee
On 3 July, APE was invited to contribute to the conference “The Transformative Power of Economic Democracy”, co-organised by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Open Society Foundations. The event brought together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and activists to discuss approaches and practices that help build and scale up economic democracy. APE presented good practices from members on participatory governance and shared view on the importance of public-public cooperation to strengthen the quality and resilience of public services.
| WATER ERASMUS EXCHANGES
APE organises Water Erasmus exchange and promotes best practice sharing between members
Water Erasmus is the flagship initiative of APE to promote the circulation of know-how and best practices in the water sector through staff exchange and ad-hoc workshops. Click here to learn more. The following technical workshops were organised in June:
Water Erasmus Technical Workshop on Financial and Operational Challenges in Operators’ Merging and Aggregation: The workshop took place on 21 June in Athens and online, with contributions from Gruppo CAP (Lombardy, Italy), Uisce Éireann (Ireland), and SWDE (Wallonia, Belgium). In recent years, the water sector across most European countries has been going through important aggregation processes. This dynamic has been triggered by regulatory reforms at state level, by autonomous bottom-up decisions at local level, or by a combination of the two. Three different operators, each with their unique “aggregation story”, were invited to share their experiences to identify common lessons regarding the benefits and potential challenges in managing these processes. The report of the exchange is available in the members-only section of our website here.
Water Erasmus Technical Workshop on Energy Recovery: The workshop took place online on 27 June, with contributions from the City of Paris (Paris, France), MM Spa (Milan, Italy), and Budapest Waterworks (Budapest, Hungary). This technical workshop explored challenges and opportunities of heat recovery in the water and wastewater sector. Presentations covered different approaches such as sewage heat recovery as well as heat recovery from drinking water and from wastewater treatment plants for district heating. Presentations and documents are available in the members-only section of our website here.
| MEMBERS NEWS
Padania Acque S.p.A. has been re-awarded the Legality Rating
Padania Acque S.p.A. (the water operator of the province of Cremona, Italy) has once again been awarded the important Legality Rating by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM). This national certification, valid for two years, recognises companies that uphold high standards of ethics, legality, quality, social responsibility, and transparency.
Acquedotto Pugliese organises the EU Green Week partner event “How to secure water supply and create resilient water infrastructures'
In the framework of the EU Green Week, Acquedotto Pugliese (the water operator of the Italian region of Puglia) is organising a workshop entitled “How to Secure Water Supply and Create Resilient Water Infrastructures”, in collaboration with two public water operators from Albania and Montenegro: the Tirana Water and Sewerage Utility (UKT) and the Regional Waterworks for Montenegrin Coast (RWMC). The workshop will take place in Bari, Italy, on 17 July and it will bring together technicians and experts from the three countries, to share methodologies and best practices in managing water supply systems. The programme of the event is available here, and the registration link is here.
Emasesa’ telelectura (remote reading meter)
Emasesa (the water operator of Sevilla, Spain) initiated the integration of NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NBIoT) technology into its meters and updated its fleet accordingly. This upgrade enables smart meters to communicate via the 5G mobile network at no cost for users. This capability helps in adjusting consumption patterns to conserve water effectively. The technology enhances EMASESA's network management by providing detailed operational insights, reducing water leaks, and enabling quicker responses to breakdowns or incidents.
