How one WSS operator contributes to reducing the environmental imprint. The example set by Sofiyska Voda

Sofiyska Voda, operated by Veolia, invests systematic efforts for reducing the environmental imprint and the results are visible, Mr. Stanislav Stanev, Operations and Maintenance Director, said during the 8th Annual Green Forum organized by Manager magazine with the participation of companies such as Coca Cola HBC, BMW, Saint Gobain Bulgaria, Telenor Bulgaria and Zagorka AD. Thanks to the investments, innovations and the smart solutions, since 2010 Sofiyska Voda has reduced the water losses from 60.4% to 49.8% for 2015. This means that 50 m3 of water, or this is three times more than the volume of Beli Iskar dam, were saved to Nature. ‘This equals the consumption rate of a city with population of 700,000 citizens’, Mr. Stanev underlined.

Reducing the leaks by means of proactive inspections and maintenance, e-billing and digitization of the customer service, renovation of the car park, streamlining of GPS routes are only part of the measures initiated by the company. When possible, trenchless technologies are used which are increasingly implemented in the operational activity of Sofiyska Voda which keeps the road infrastructure of the city.

Over the last year, the company implements smart solutions for surveying and protecting the main sewers for wastewaters.
Thanks to the high efficiency of the treatment plant for wastewater near Kubratovo, a treatment level was achieved in compliance with the highest standards of EU. The treated and certified for safety sludges are used for fertilization in the agriculture and the built in 2009 installation for methane capture, released from the sludge, more than 60,000 tons of carbon dioxide are saved on annual basis, Mr. Stanev pointed out. Since 2015, Kubratovo WWTP has been a net exporter of ‘green’ power.
Mr. Stanev shared a few words on the work of the company with various students’ initiatives. For example, jointly with the Faculty of Biology at Sofia University, the project ‘Live water’, was implemented through which monitoring and survey were performed on the water quality of Iskar river. The main goal was to check the long-term condition of the main water sources. ‘We would like to be sure that in 20 years, we in Sofia, and our children will have quality potable water. We expect interesting results under this project which will be published in the due time’, Mr. Stanev added.

Veolia Environment is a global leader in the provision of complex environmental services worldwide in its three business lines – energy, power and waste processing.