The water system and networks in Gradacac are largely comprised of pipes installed during the industrial development era in the 1970-80s. These are built up of several types of material (e.g. steel, asbestos cement pipes), often suffering from poor quality and an inadequate profile. Water losses from these networks are high at over 50%, indicating the poor state of the distribution systems. Similarly, access and connections to the public sewage network are still a challenge: the network is insufficiently spread and the wastewater treatment plant required immediate rehabilitation efforts.
These conditions emphasise the necessity to refurbish the water and wastewater networks, as well as the water and wastewater treatment plants in the area. Due to the high investment needs and a lack of available funds, the investments have been divided into four components:
The €2.7 million investment grant from the WBIF will be used for Component I to replace the existing asbestos pipes and improve the insufficient capacity of the water supply system (approx. 35 km).
