A modern wastewater system and a cleaner environment for Copceac residents, thanks to European investments

These investments safeguard the health and well-being of residents, preserve local ecosystems, while also laying the foundation for new economic opportunities to strengthen the local businesses and social institutions across the village.

According to the mayor Oleg Garizan, the old sewerage system of Copceac was not operational since long ago and people were throwing the waste water in the cesspool from the courtyard or on the road. Over the last two decades, the incorrect management of domestic wastes and used waters affected 70% of the territory of Copceac village and caused serious health problems for inhabitants: “We succeeded to prevent an ecological catastrophe and to improve the living conditions for the villagers from Copceac thanks to the joint effort of a number of development partners. We would not have this sewerage network, so necessary for the people from the village, just with the community’s money”, declared today the mayor from Copceac, during the event organized for launching into operation the new sewerage system.

With the financial assistance provided by the Federal Republic of Germany and Rotary Clubs from Germany and Belgium, a segment of 2,000 meters of old and 3,400 meters of new sewerage system were built in Copceac village together with a bio-type waste water treatment station for a capacity of 98 m³/day and a pump station for waste water and connected to the sewerage network more than 12 social institution.

The total project’s cost is about 500,000 Euro, out of which Rotary Clubs and Districts of Germany and Belgium and The Rotary Foundation covered – 111,584 Euro, Federal Republic of Germany - 334,752 Euro, Rotary Club Düsseldorf-Pempelfort – 20,000 Euro while the contribution from regional administration was 363,000 MDL.

In 2016, with the financial assistance provided by the SlovakAID Program though the Embassy of the Slovak Republic (10,000 Euro) and the contribution of local public authorities (2,000 Euro), several social institutions were connected to the sewerage system and a sanitary block for the village hall was built.

Over 320 households from Copceac village have access to the centralized sewerage network with the financial assistance provided by the European Union and the contribution offered by regional public authorities within the EU-funded “Support to Agriculture and Rural Development in ATU Gagauzia and Taraclia” (SARD) Programme, implemented by the UNDP.  

EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova Peter Michalko mentioned during the event: "Creating favourable and attractive living conditions for the future generation is our primary responsibility. This is why the EU supports local initiatives like this one in making real changes on the ground, with a direct impact on the economic and living conditions of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova".

Thus, with the assistance provided by the European Union and the contribution offered by the regional authorities, a modern sewerage network was built for a total length of 3,000 meters and over 320 households from the village connected to the centralized sewerage network. The construction works were carried out during September – November 2017. The total cost of these works is of 108,000 Euro, out of which 70,000 Euro is the assistance provided by the European Union and 38,000 Euro – the contribution offered by the regional public authorities. Due to the intervention of the European Union through the SARD Programme, the capacity of the waste water treatment stations increased from 10% to 25%.

“Until now I had to discharge the water in the cesspool with a specialized truck, once per month and sometimes even more frequently, and this costs me about 500 MDL. And now I have calculated that the cost to discharge the same volume of waste water through the centralized sewerage system will be 10 times lower. We are glad that we live in a civilized way – we will have modern services with affordable prices. Finally we can build a sanitary block in the house”, said Vasilii Delipeev, a villager.

The representatives of the development partners present at the event noted that all these investments will ensure the sustainability of Copceac village’s infrastructure and will serve as example for other rural localities.