N° 8 - 2ndN° 8 - 2nd Semester 2000 - English version Easy Access to 200,000 documents CENTRAL EUROPE 6 twinning arrangements for accessing to the European Union MEXICO - “CEMCAS”

N° 8 - 2nd Semester 2000 - English version

Easy Accessto 200,000 documents

CENTRAL EUROPE 6 twinning arrangements

for accessing to the European Union

MEXICO - “CEMCAS”The Mexican Training Center for Water Supply

and Sanitation is opening

InternationalOffice for Water

www.iowater.orgwww.iowater.org

Water Worldon InternetWater Worldon Internet

RIOB / GWPDeveloping Basin Organizations

over the World

p. 4

p. 6

p. 12

p. 26

International NeInternational News nws n°°8 - 20008 - 200022

THE FRENCH REFERENCEREGARDING PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

T he “CNFME” (French Na-tional Training Center forWater Professions) offers allprofessionals in the water

sector uniquely suited continuingtraining.The 25 permanent trainers and spe-cialists have wide practice and an edu-cational ability recognized by profes-sionals.The “CNFME” has also at its disposal anetwork of lecturers selected with thesame quality goal in mind.Both facilities, in Limoges and LaSouterraine, are continuously changingto ensure the permanent updating oftheir training programs and the up-grading of their educational units, asthe principle is to train the trainees un-der actual working conditions.For instance:● the wastewater treatment

unit has now a new layout to in-clude nitrogen and phosphorus re-moval,

● the drinking water treatmentunit allows experimentation andcontrol of plate settling, treatmentby ozone, chlorine dioxide, etc.

● soon, the “CNFME” will meet train-ing needs relative to micropollutantand pesticides removal, ..., thanks toa treatment unit using activat-ed carbon.

Fully computerized facilities providethe managers and people in charge ofhuman resources development in com-panies, industry, municipal utilities, etc.with improved, more reactive and con-sistent services regarding the manage-ment of trainees (registration, trainingevaluation, etc.).

The “CNFME” wasawarded an ISO 9001certification from theFrench Association forQuality Assurance(AFAQ) in 1999 for itstraining courses pro-posed in a catalogue.

It is the only French training centercertified in this sector.

Catalogues 2001 They present 178 professionalcontinuing training courses whichprovide a concrete and adapted solu-tion to the daily problems encounte-red by the field staff of water servicesand industry, and a reply to the ques-tions of designers, builders, equipmentproviders, controllers and managers.

27 new training courses !Topics concerned:☞ sanitary protection of drinking wa-

ter supply systems,☞ removal of wastewater treatment

by-products (sludge, wastes),☞ on-site sanitation, from definition

to control,☞ watercourse management (mainte-

nance, development, gauging),☞ corporate management of drinking

water supply and sewerage systems,

☞ management of skills: software forhuman resources assessment.

In addition to the training courses oncatalogue, the “CNFME” offers allclients, either French nationals or for-eigners, public or private enterprises,total flexibility in adapting its servicesto their needs, using diagnostics andskill assessment leading to the organ-ization of tailor-made trainingcourses and to assistance with educa-tional engineering and training of train-ers regarding the design and setting-up of training centers.

PROTECTIONAGAINSTFLOODS

Every year nature reminds us withmany deaths and damages that floodsremain a major threat.These disasters have always the sameorigin:● significant disturbance in land use:

embankments of watercourses,drainage of wetlands, larger and lar-ger surface waterproofing, changesin agricultural practices, deforesta-tion, uncontrolled urbanization, etc.

● an insufficient account taking of ex-ceptional and concomitant meteo-rological events during project appraisal.

● risk aggravation due to urbaniza-tion.

What should be done?Land use planning should be rethoughtin view of respecting sites and the envi-ronment as the regulations set outthese last years request it.Within such a context and in order tohelp adopt a consistent approach,IOWater is proposing an adaptedtraining program:● at the strategic level: a course

on "flood hazards… how shouldthey be taken into account?" provi-des the bases of a new sound policyfor land use planning;

● at the general level: "controllingdischarges during rainy weather"integrates a qualitative and quanti-tative approach to storm-wateroverflooding and its consequenceson the receiving environment;

● at the local level: the course on"alternative techniques for storm-water drainage" initiates the pro-ject designer to the use and sizingof storage basins to compensatesurface waterproofing, thanks tothe introduction of technical andregulatory rules.

These training courses are based on thenewest techniques, the most innovativeanalyses and reflections while remainingpragmatic and realistic, thanks to the tes-timonies brought by elected representa-tives and technicians from communitiesalready committed to such an approach.

InformationFax : +33 5 55 77 71 15

E-mail : [email protected]

O f f i c e

The

FTh

e F rr

ench

Nat

iona

l en

ch N

atio

nal TT

rr ain

ing

Cent

er fo

r ai

ning

Cen

ter f

or WW

ater

Pr

ater

Pr o

fess

ions

ofes

sions

AFAQ N° 1999/11582

DRINKING WATER TREATMENTNew educational units

The

FTh

e F rr

ench

Nat

iona

l en

ch N

atio

nal TT

rr ain

ing

Cent

er fo

r ai

ning

Cen

ter f

or WW

ater

Pr

ater

Pr o

fess

ions

ofes

sions


The “CNFME” has two drinking watertreatment plants using two differentprocesses.The capacity of each is 500p.e.Therefore, when attending trainingcourses, professional trainees can, al-though they may make mistakes whenexperimenting, acquire useful know-how on installations similar to theirs:

● The first unit includes anOTV CLARIBLOCsystem, complementedwith flow on Neutralite,combined with ozoniza-tion and final chlorinatingprior to storage.

● The second unit includesa DEGREMONT PUL-SATOR system which isnow a new “all inox” ap-paratus (tanks inclusive)with a nominal capacity of 20 m3/h.Other additional treatments will becombined:➨ Prechlorination with injection of

chlorine dioxide,➨ Remineralization with addition of

lime and carbon dioxide,➨ Sand filtration,➨ Treatment by activated carbon

after ozonization, this carbon fil-ter is mobile and can be connec-ted to the CLARIBLOC unit,

➨ Disinfection with chlorine dioxi-de prior to storage.

This process which was initially intend-ed for training will allow the carryingout of studies and specific applied re-search on final treatment.

Drinking water treatment plants beingcurrently covered to be less sensitiveto meteorological phenomena, theconstruction of a closed building whichisolates the two processes will becompleted before the end of this year.The benefits are as follows:■ calibration reliability especially for

final treatment■ training possible all year roundThis equipment was built thanks to thesupport of suppliers (PROMINENT,AGA, DEGREMONT, BUGEAUD SA,CMTS), to the employers’ tax and to asubsidy from the RETEX Communityprogram.

PULSAPULSATTOR UnitOR Unit

CLARIBLOC UnitCLARIBLOC Unit

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENTSSkkiillll aasssseessssmmeennttThe know-how of the InternationalOffice for Water regarding skill as-sessment is well recognized and ap-preciated by many Directors of Hu-man Resources (DHR) in France andabroad.The experience gained by the Limo-ges-La Souterraine center for morethan twenty five years enabled IOWa-ter to strengthen its leadership in thisarea by developing methodologiesspecific to the water sector.IOWater’s educational team gainedthis experience by working for manyvarious companies or organizationswhich requested assistance with theidentification of their personnel skillsand the assessment of their suitabilityto their work. Indeed, all these appli-cant organizations are facing theproblem of missing skills (techniciansto be hired) or competence-gap to befilled (training needs).

The educational assessments de-signed by IOWater are fulfilling theserequirements as they can be used toidentify department needs and assessindividual skills.A multidisciplinary ap-proach is used according to the com-plexity of the jobs to be fulfilled andto the systems developed.The skill assessment process, used byIOWater, combines methods experi-mented in science and education.Thestarting point deals with the analysisof the assignments and tasks entrust-ed to the worker(s) and with thepreparation of reference systems forthe skills to be mastered.This workstation grid is then com-pared with that of the personnel:training, experience, abilities; etc. Anincomplete superposition means thatgaps are to be filled with specific andsuitable training.

Educational assessment includes:● Data gathering (biodata, equip-

ment to be used, hierarchical posi-tion, etc.)

● Awareness raising of the agentsconcerned to enable them “un-derstand” the process.

● An interview with each agentconcerned and his/her assess-ment, of the QCM or other type.

● The identification of missing skillsand training needs.

● The definition of training pro-grams and groups to be formed.

Each company, syndicate or communi-ty is unique and its skill assessmenthas to be carried out by specialists.The “Electricité Service Gironde” (Bor-deaux), the Lyons Urban Communityrecently required such an assessmentto be carried out by IOWater.

T he International Office for Wa-ter has been developing a doc-umentation base on water -“EAUDOC” - since 1950

with the support of the French Ministriesof Regional Planning and the Environ-ment, of Health, of Agriculture andForestry and the six Water Agencies.This base was soon computerized,then became accessible by Minitel andfinally through the Internet.However, the significant increasein the number of referencescontained in the base, the intro-duction of new topics such aseconomics and regulations, theconcern with its operating as anetwork of documentationbases, the need to reduce updat-ing time and the users’ requestto benefit from better-perform-ance services led to an indispen-sable change in the “EAUDOC“organization and tools used.This large project became effectivewith the opening of the new Eaudocsite in March 2000.

The largest worldwidedocumentation basesolely dealing with water“EAUDOC” allows on-line access tomore than 170,000 bibliographicalreferences corresponding to 200,000international documents gatheredsince the 1950s in the different Euro-pean languages.These documents havebeen processed in Limoges since 1991by the National Water-related In-formation and DocumentationService (SNIDE).With a view to gain time, the SNIDEsigned an agreement with INIST-CNRSto directly incorporate the latter’s references.Every year, 6,000 new referencescoming from the 380 most specialisatedinteresting periodicals are enhancing“EAUDOC“ base.

A new systemThe new “EAUDOC” system hasbeen designed to provide users withjust-published documents as soon aspossible.It contains a Workflow device on the In-ternet which allows the entry of the doc-ument descriptive sheet at several levels,from the document initial identificationto its analysis by a specialist and includesa validation process before the docu-ment becomes available on the Web.

Finally, an on-line order sys-tem and payment arran-gements adapted to each useprovide the requested docu-ments to the users at theearliest opportunity togeth-er with a watch over news“EAUDOC-Watch”.

A significant investmentDeveloping the “EAUDOC” portal isone of the components of the projectdealing with the setting-up in Limogesof the “International Center for Telem-atic Resources on Water” (CIRTE),launched within the Massif CentralPlan with the financial support ofFrench DATAR (FNADT), the Limou-sin Region and European Funds. Thetotal investment for “EAUDOC”amounts to 460,000 EUROS.The new system was developed inLimoges by CISI and ULTIME compa-nies on the basis of specifications pro-vided by IOWater.The computerized system includes adata server with Oracle 8 and a queryserver with Verity’s search engineSEARCH 97.


WWat

er-r

ater

-rel

ated

Info

rmat

ion

and

Docu

men

tatio

n Se

rel

ated

Info

rmat

ion

and

Docu

men

tatio

n Se

r vicevic

e “ ”: http://eaudoc.oieau.fr1ST WORLDWIDE DOCUMENTATION ON THE WEB

IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn // DDooccuummeennttaattiioonn // DDaattaa BBaasseess

New servicesFurther to access to documentation bases, “EAUDOC” offers a whole rangeof additional services:News:● Today: daily press review,● “Information Eaux”: a monthly

documentary periodical,● Agenda: on-coming meetings of

water managers,● New Web sites: our selection of

useful links.The Library:● Just-published: the latest publica-

tions,● “The documents indispensa-

ble in a library”: reference texts,● A list of the French and inter-

national periodicals processed.

SNIDE products:● Studies and summaries drawn

up by IOWater and its partners,● “EAUDOC - Watch”, which al-

lows each user to organize a watchon the latest publications and imme-diately receive on his/her e-mail adescription of the new referenceswhich correspond to his/her profile,

● “The State of the Art”: Specificbibliographic research and drawingup of personalized summaries,

● Information coming from “EAU-DOC” users and partners: events,on-going work, publications may bedirectly pointed out on-line.

“ ” breaks downinto several specialized basescorresponding to its main topics:“ ”, techno-logical, scientific and technical docu-mentation enhanced with the refe-rences from the National Institutefor Scientific and Technical Informa-tion (INIST/CNRS),“ ”, 2,200 refe-rences on legal texts, comments andFrench and community statute laws,“ ” , economicand financial documents,“ ”, ad-ministrative and institutional docu-mentation,“FONTAINE”, 10,000 refe-rences on documents dealing withthe six large French river basins,gathered by the Water Agencies,“IPERE”, the permanent inven-tory of studies and research dealingwith water,“GRISELI”,“corporate litera-ture” on water.

InformationFax : +33 5 55 11 47 48E-mail : [email protected]

O f f i c e

// DDaattaa BBaasseess

WWat

er-r

ater

-rel

ated

Info

rmat

ion

and

Docu

men

tatio

n Se

rel

ated

Info

rmat

ion

and

Docu

men

tatio

n Se

r vicevic

e


THE FRENCH NATIONAL WATER DATA NETWORK - “RNDE”

T he National Water DataNetwork (RNDE) gathersthe main French organiza-tions generating or manag-

ing water data to allow consistent andeasy access to their information.For this purpose, it has been develop-ing the National Water Data Base(BNDE) and a system for standardizingdata, the SANDRE, since 1993.The National Water Data Base of-fers the Internet users an electronicportal “www.rnde.tm.fr”, whichallows them wide access to Frenchdatabases on water:➡ introduction to “RNDE” and its

partners,➡ detailed description of

“RNDE” databases,➡ “SANDRE” outputs relative to

data standardization (data diction-ary, reference systems, exchangeformats),

➡ using a cartographic query, accessto the topical data and pro-ducts of 15,000 monitoringstations of all types: hydrometry,rainfall gauging, watercourse quali-ty, health-related monitoring, etc.

➡ national information sum-maries:● the hydrological status bulletin● status of water contamination by

micropollutants● main industrial discharges.

The SANDRE allows the automa-tic exchange of data relative towater quality monitoring.To facilitate and simplify access to datagenerated by the implementation ofregulations on the self-monitoring ofsewerage system, the Ministry of Re-gional Planning and the Environ-ment entrusted “SANDRE” with thedefinition of a computerized exchangeformat which should be the same forall stakeholders involved (operators,contracting authorities, water policingdepartments, water agencies, SATESEs,etc.).This exchange format and its userguide are now available in N° 78, se-ries of Inter-Agency Studies: Sani-tation systems and wastewater treat-ment plants: exchange of self-monito-ring related data.

This highly effective document includesmany examples issued from the waste-water treatment plant of the GrandRoanne district which has been the pi-lot site used to test this exchange for-mat.

wwwwww.io.iowwaaterter.or.orggII OOWWaa tt ee rr WWee bb ss ii tt ee

Whether you are a researcher, a student, a contractor, an institutional stakeholder, a water spe-cialist, or you work in an administration or a company, ... you will find all the information avai-lable on water on the International Office for Water's web site:Search for and on-line order of documents, warnings on innovations, information on the water world,lists of studies, education or training centers and available diplomas, continuing training, program ofevents, specific information on industry and clean technologies, advice to elected representatives,national water data, national and international electronic publications.


Inte

rna

tio

na

l E

vIn

tern

ati

on

al

Ev e

nts

ents

WORLD WATER FORUMTHE HAGUE

INBO WORKSHOP – 20 MARCH 2000“Water in Rivers: Developing River Basin Organizations over the World”

IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall NNeettwwoorrkk ooff BBaassiinn OOrrggaann

RECOMMENDATIONSOF THE WORKSHOPThe participants in the Workshop, or-ganized by the International Networkof Basin Organizations during the daydevoted to “Water in Rivers” in theWORLD WATER FORUM, on 20March 2000 in THE HAGUE, formula-ted the following recommendations:A sound management of water re-sources is a prerequisite to ensurequality of life on our planet and sus-tainable socioeconomic development.The issues raised are complex and thesolutions must at the same time allowfor:■ the contending with natural

disasters and risks of erosion,floods or drought, taking into ac-count land and water management,

■ the reliable meeting of urbanand rural populations’ require-ments in terms of good qualitydrinking water, in order to improvehygiene and health and to preventimportant outbreaks of disease,

■ the reclamation of farmlands andthe development of appropriate ir-rigation systems to reach foodself-sufficiency,

■ harmoniously developing in-dustry, energy production, recre-ational activities and, in some areas,tourism and waterways navigation,

■ preventing and controlling pol-lution of all kinds and origins,in order to preserve aquaticecosystems and more especially, toprotect fauna and optimize fishfarming for human consumption,while meeting the requirements ofvarious uses and more generally,preserving the biodiversity of theaquatic environment.

All these issues can no longer be ap-proached by sector or localization, norapproached separately. Looking for so-lutions the objective of which is sus-tainable water use must associate thenational and local authorities togetherwith the users in integrated water re-sources management which respectsthe natural environment, and is organi-zed on the scale of river basins.

INBO recommends that:➊ integrated water resources and en-

vironmental management be or-ganized on the scale of largeriver basins in order to meetrightful needs in the best way possi-ble,

➋ Local Authorities, all the vari-ous categories of users and thecivil society participate in theformulation of water policy withinriver basin committees in particu-lar,

➌ Basin Master Plans be formu-lated with medium and long termobjectives and implemented withinFive-Year Priority Action Programs,

➍ specific financing systems,based on the “users-polluters-pay”principle, be developed in orderthat “water pays for water” with abasin common cause concept.

Cooperation agreements should besigned and formalized between ripa-rian countries regarding large sharedrivers, lakes and seas, especially withinspecific international commissions.Integrated water resources manage-ment implies that comprehensive andpermanent information systems aredeveloped at all relevant levels, espe-cially for each national or shared riverbasin, to acquire better knowledge ofthe status of water resources andecosystems, in quality and quantity, oftheir uses and of the pollution dis-charged, either point or non-point pol-lution.Information and training capacitiesshould be developed for the represen-tatives of local authorities and users toenable them to fully assume the responsibilities and missions assignedto them within the framework of thebasin policy.The International Network of BasinOrganizations approved the draft As-sociated Program prepared to fit inwith the “Global Water Partnership”.Its objectives are:➨ to develop permanent rela-

tions with the organizationsinterested in integrated water re-sources management at the level oflarge river basins in order to facili-tate exchanges of experience andexpertise among them,

➨ to facilitate the developmentof tools for institutional and fi-nancial management, program-ming, the organization of databases, models adapted to theneeds,

➨ to design information andtraining programs for localelected officials, the representativesof users and the different actors in-volved in water management aswell as for the executives and staffof the member basin organizations,

➨ to encourage education of thepopulation, the young in particular,

➨ to evaluate ongoing actionsand disseminate their results by de-veloping, in particular, a global inte-grated system for the exchange ofdocumentation among the basinorganizations.

INBO draws the attention of govern-ments and bi and multilateral coopera-tion agencies on the prime importanceof using the above principles andmeans in their programs to ensuresound water management at riverbasin level which is a prerequisite tothe future sustainable development ofmankind.

WATER FOR PEACE

On Madeleine ALBRIGHT’s initiative,the American State Department or-ganized in Washington on last 15and 16 June an informal meetinggathering diplomats and water specia-lists from the main national and inter-national donors to exchange informa-tion on organizations managing theshared waters of transboundary riverbasins and aquifers.The representatives from the USA, theWorld Bank, UNDP, Germany, Canada,Sweden, Australia and France des-cribed in detail the cases of the MiddleEast, the Nile, the Orange, Limpopoand Zambeze rivers, the Mekong andthe Senegal.Management of shared waters by re-gional technical organizations is an ex-cellent means to make and maintaincontacts even between countries atwar. The example of the Mekong


Commission is edifying as it remained continuously active during 30 years ofwar, sometimes very intense.Upon everyone’s request, Germanywhich is highly involved in the process,namely “Petenberg”, accepted to hostanother informal meeting with thesame participants at the beginning of2001. It will be an opportunity to:☛ identify other cases of shared rivers

that might generate potentialconflicts, still ignored or under esti-mated,

☛ improve the effectiveness of bilate-ral and multilateral programs.

IOWater, mandated by the FrenchMinistry for Foreign Affairs and on be-half of the Ministry of Regional Plan-ning and the Environment, emphasizedthe benefit of developing such toolsas:◆ the World Hydrological Cycle

Observing System (WHY-COS), supported by the WorldMeteorological Organization andFrance,

◆ and the International Networkof Basin Organizations (IN-BO), the associated program sup-ported by GWP, the Dutch andFrench Governments, the WorldBank and the Organization of Ame-rican States (OAS).

INBO’s activities especially drewmuch interest.

BBaassiinn OOrrggaanniizzaattiioonnss AQUADOC-INTERTThhee EEuurrooppeeaann RReellaayy CCeenntteerrss aarree oonn--lliinnee

D eveloped withinthe InternationalNetwork of BasinOrgan i z a t ions

(INBO), “AQUADOC-INTER” aims at exchanginginformation on IntegratedWater Resources Manage-ment at the level of river ba-sins (IWRM) between Na-tional Relay DocumentationCenters (NRDCs), partnersin the system.

It concerns a multilingual access to information on the Internet, enabling the ex-change of experiences and the establishment of relations between specialistsfrom water administrations and INBO member organizations.As INBO’s Permanent Technical Secretariat, IOWater manages the AQUADOC-INTER project and is the French NRDC.The software developed by the SNIDE for the National Relay DocumentationCenters fulfills all the functions they have to perform.It allows on-line access to various data:● documentation references of all NRDCs;● full-text documents;● directories of organizations, specialists and establishments involved in water

management at the level of a river basin;● links with interesting web sites.It is planned for simultaneous and consistent consultation, at least in French andEnglish in a first stage and other languages in a second phase (Spanish, Por-tuguese and later on Polish, Romanian and Czech languages) of all informationfound on each NRDC server.The AQUADOC-INTER network also offers other services:● dissemination lists covering all different useful topics,● a discussion forum between expert groups and basin organizations.“AQUADOC-INTER” overall architecture, a template and two CD-Romswith the software needed for the installation of a server in the partner NRDCswere presented during a seminar held from 31 January to 4 February 2000 inPrague.The IMGW of Krakow (Poland),The Mazaryk Institute of the Ministry of Agri-culture in the Czech Republic, the Apele Romane Company (Romania),VITUKIsupervised by OVF (Hungary) and the International Office for Water (France),

making up the first European experimentalgroup, attended this seminar.Its objective was to open the system before theend of September, to be operational at least inFrench and English, for INBO General Assemblyto be held in Krakow, and to continue its devel-opment towards South America in 2001, withan extension to Spanish and Portuguese lan-guages.

InformationFax : +331 40 08 01 45

E-mail : [email protected] Web Site:

www.iowater.org/riob

O f f i c e

Inte

rna

tio

na

l E

vIn

tern

ati

on

al

Ev e

nts

ents

Presentation of the “2025 INBO’s Vision”The Hague - 21 March 2000

LA

RGE

P

R O J E CT

S


“LEONARDODA VINCI”PROGRAM

W ithin the “Leornardo DaVinci” program to supportprofessional training in Eu-

rope, the Education General Direc-torate of the European Commis-sion selected two projects sub-mitted by IOWater:

“Tech’III”“Tech’III” is a feasibility study for the“Europeanization” of a training pro-gram for high level technicians. Thetraining will be based on the Universitydiploma, namely “Operation and main-tenance of plants and networks” whichis provided by the University and theInstitute of Technology of Limoges, andthe Ahun Agricultural College in part-nership with IOWater.The European partners involved arefrom Italy (Hydrocontrol), Germany(BEW) and Romania (CFDPDA) toge-ther with the Techware European net-work as regards results dissemination.Students will receive this training andcarry out practical training in compa-nies located in 2 or 3 different coun-tries to strengthen their knowledge ofvarious contexts and to improve theirautonomy and flexibility.

“Limousin’Water”“Limousin Water” is a project for pro-viding flexibility to young people whoare trained in Limoges and La Souter-raine to enable them undertake part oftheir training in other European coun-tries. 15 students from the Natio-nal School of Engineers of Limo-ges (ENSIL) are now in Belgium,Greece, Italy, Germany, Polandand the United Kingdom, and aRomanian student in France.Some scholarships are still available be-fore mid-2001: should any company beinterested, do not hesitate.

LIFE 99Control of non-point pollutionin 6 European countries

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

“EWRB”The European Water Regulation Bank on-line on the Net

The effectiveness of policies for theprevention and control of point andnon-point pollution has to be checkedin the European Union’s countries.Through its Life 99 Program, theEuropean Commission accepteda proposal for a study aiming atmaking an inventory of the diffe-rent measures and incentives taken in 6 member States to con-trol this kind of pollution: Bel-gium, Germany, the Netherlands,Sweden, the United Kingdom andFrance.The study includes the inventory,analysis and comparison of the policiesimplemented for preventing, reducingand controlling point and non-pointpollution and the formulation of rec-ommendations applicable to all Euro-pean States.It deals with part of the national terri-tory of each country made up of rep-resentative river basins: the Maas riverbasin which concerns four partnercountries and four other river basins inGreat Britain, Germany, Sweden andFrance.The project, amounting to600,000 Euros, will last 18 monthsand is led by the International Of-fice for Water (France) in collabo-ration with F&N UMWELT (Ger-many),The Walloon Ministry of

the Environment (Belgium), RIZA(the Netherlands), the Water Re-search Center (United Kingdom)and IVL (Sweden) and with thesupport of the French WaterAgencies.Work started in November 1999 andallowed the drawing-up of 10 metho-dological guides for each type of pollu-ting activity to precisely define the re-search to be carried out and themethods to be used for analyzing andassessing policies implemented in thesix countries.The survey results and bibliographicanalyses will allow the drawing-up ofthe first national and topical summaryreports which will then be discussed inNovember 2000 during a seminar at-tended by specialists and political offi-cials concerned with this topic.Conclusions and converging institu-tional and technical measures, whoseeffectiveness is proven to preventpoint and non-point pollution, will bepresented to the national authoritiesand public institutions of the six coun-tries and to the European Commissionin a second stage to assess the feasibi-lity of their implementation in the field.The completion report and communi-cation products of this study will bedisseminated in May 2001.

The European INFO 2000 program,whose purpose is to provide Europeancitizens with access to public informa-tion, supports the development ofEWRB (European Water RegulationBank).The EWRB is an information sys-tem on the Internet providing ac-cess to full legal and regulatorytexts relative to water rights. Itconcerns French, Spanish, Italian docu-ments in a first phase, then Germanand English ones in a second phase.These documents are not only laws,decrees, orders, circular letters, etc.published in the Official Journals ofthese countries but also statute laws,even doctrines in some cases.EWRB operating system is based oninnovating technologies allowing

instantaneous access to the wholeinformation.Interactivity is achieved at the level ofthe query interfaces as the search en-gine always assists the user by propo-sing choices to focus his/her questions.IOWater leads the EWRB projectin partnership with the SpanishCEDEX and the PROAQUA(Italy),TEXTEC (Germany) andSYSTAL (France) companies. Thisproject is now in its second stage andaims to establish relations betweenconcepts in each language and draw upglossaries of words and terms whichdepend on national rights.The comple-tion of this prototype development isplanned for February 2001.

EEuurrooppee

LA

RGEP

R O J E CT

S


SWITZERLANDALPHA Companyand the International Office for Water combine their abilities

THE EUROPEANTOPIC CENTERFOR INLANDWATERS

The Topic Center for InlandWaters was set up in 1995 bythe European EnvironmentAgency to provide assistance

in its tasks of producing reliable andcomparable information on the envi-ronment in Europe.

It consists of a consortium of 8 part-ners led by the English WRc, andwhose French correspondent isIOWater.

EUROWATERNET and WATERBASEThe Topic Center has designed a Euro-pean network for water monitoring:EUROWATERNET. It helps themember States to gradually developthis network.

The WATERBASE gathers the dataissued from this network and will pro-vide the public with access to the Web.

Inventory of polluting dischargesWithin this framework, IOWater is incharge of a project whose objective isto better know polluting discharges in-to water.This project is in line with theIPPC Directive relative to industrialdischarges and with the FrameworkDirective.

New prospects:The Topic Center’s mandate is endingat the end of 2000.

The EEA decided to extend thetasks of the Topic Center tocoastal waters and widen re-search to the partner countries ofCentral and Eastern Europe.

IW

ETC

The French National Training Centerfor Water Professions (CNFME) of theInternational Office for Water and AL-PHA Company, environmental tech-niques, jointly organized a seminar ad-dressing ALPHA’s project managersand leaders.

On the initiative of Mr. TRACHSLER(General Manager of ALPHA Compa-ny) and Mr. LÜTHI (Head of Depart-ment of Romanche,Tessin and French-speaking cantons), this seminar tookplace from 28 February to 3 March2000 in NIDAU, at ALPHA headquar-ters in SWITZERLAND.

ALPHA and the International Officefor Water compared and complemen-ted their experiences regarding urbanwastewater treatment.

The main topics dealt with were thedesign and sizing of wastewater treat-ment plants using activated sludge andbio-filtration.

The French experience of the Interna-tional Office for Water’s training mana-gers regarding the removal of nitrogenand phosphorus was particularly ap-preciated.

Switzerland is committed to achieveobjectives of nitrogen and phosphorusremoval in the Rhine river basin andthe long-term objective of nitrogen re-moval could be extended to the wholeSwiss territory.

Participants also visited theNEUFCHATEL wastewater treatmentplant (50,000 population-equivalents), abrand new plant of ALPHA Company.

This collaboration complementsthe seminars which have been or-ganized for a long time inSwitzerland by the InternationalOffice for Water on behalf of theFederation of French SpeakingSwiss Operators (FES).

InformationFax : +33 5 55 35 08 77E-mail : [email protected]

O f f i c e

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

EEuurrooppee

ROMANIAA Basin Committee for the Siret River

In Romania, water management isunder the responsibility of theMinistry of Water, Forestry andthe Environment, General Water

Directorate, which entrusted its exe-cution at the national level to an or-ganization which became the NationalApele Romane Company (NARC) in1999.Management has been executed at theriver basin level for a long time. Indeed,the water law passed in 1996 aimed todevelop solidarity and users’ participa-tion by introducing the principle ofcreating Basin Committees and a Na-tional Water Fund.In order to assist with the implementa-tion of such a reform, a project, name-ly “Creation of a Basin Committee fora Concerted Management of WaterResources”, was submitted by IOWa-ter and NARC to the European Com-mission’s PHARE-Partnership programand to the French Ministry for ForeignAffairs in 1997.The choice of the pilot basin was con-firmed: the Siret river basin (30,000km2, population of about 3 million in-habitants) which suffers from pollutionby domestic and industrial discharges,water shortage, erosion and cloggingof reservoirs and flash floods.

The project includes the followingphases:● Assistance with the setting up of

the General Secretariat and BasinCommittee, including task defini-tion, procedure for nominating thecommittee’s members who wouldbe representative of the waterproblems encountered in the basin,preparation of meetings, establish-ment of internal rules and workprogram, etc.

● The organization of a study tour inFrance for the General Secretariatand Basin Committee members.This trip aims at presenting theFrench approach to concerted wa-ter resources management at thelevel of a basin, the operatingmethods used by basin organiza-tions and having the group meetFrench counterparts and exchangeexperiences.

● The updating of the water develop-ment and management scheme forthe pilot basin and the preparationof a summary document to be sub-mitted to the Basin Committee foradvice on general orientations andfinancing priorities.A procedure forconsulting the public should also beestablished.

● An analysis of the existing pricingand tax system regarding the variouswater uses, proposals for the devel-

opment of the user-pays andpolluter-pays principles, adap-tation of a software for finan-cial balance simulation at thebasin level (charges and taxes).● A training needs assess-

ment: presentation of amethod for assessing theneeds of the different util-ities and formulation of atraining plan. Identificationof local training re-sources.

● Purchase of computer anddocumentary equipmentto enable access to updat-ed information and imple-mentation of tools for dis-seminating this informa-tion.

● A national workshop forintroducing the experienceacquired on the pilot basin.This workshop shouldgather about 150 partici-pants coming from the 11basin Directorates andMinistries concerned, ...

The project started in February 1999,af-ter the signing of the contract with theEuropean Commission.The missionswere carried out by J. Mongellaz, projectmanager, and IOWater specialists.Denis Besozzi, an expert from theRhine-Meuse Water Agency, Pre-Ac-cession Adviser for the twinning bet-ween the French and Romanian Minis-tries in charge of the environment, alsoparticipated in the first missions.During project implementation, threeofficial meetings of the Basin Commit-tee took place :■ The first meeting in December

1999: election of the President andVice President, approval of internalrules, first evaluation of the develo-pment scheme, establishment ofthe procedure and agenda for public consultation.

■ The 2nd at the end of January 2000:drawing up of a list of priority workto be carried out in the Siret basinduring the year for submission tothe Ministry of the Environmentand its taking into account in bud-get planning.

■ The 3rd in April 2000 to present thefeedback from public consultation,the conclusions of the assessmentof financial mechanisms, the prepa-ration of the Basin Committee ad-vice on the Framework Scheme,the program of the national work-shop and actions to be planned forexperience sharing.

Following a 1st informal introductionmeeting, the Basin Committeemembers, together with the secre-tariat and the NARC project teamundertook a study tour in Francein October 1999, part of whichtook place in Paris with meetings withexecutives from the Ministries of theEnvironment and IOWater, and partin Metz where they were welcomedby the Rhine-Meuse Water Agencywhich organized interviews withmembers of its Board of Directorsand Basin Committee.

LA

RGE

PR O J E C

TS

The Siret river basin

International basinsof the Bug,Latorica and Uzh rivers:monitoring water quality

This project, financed by the EuropeanUnion’s TACIS program and amountingto 2 million Euros, started in January1999.The objective of the Ministry of Ecolo-gy and Natural Resources is to imple-ment the European Directives relativeto the management of transboundaryrivers and especially water qualitymonitoring in the Western Bug, Uzhand Latorica basins in order to supply,in the long-term, the border regionwith good quality water compatiblewith downstream uses and needs.Many experts’ missions took place toassess the existing situation and pro-pose institutional changes.The “data management” component isone of the main actions. Several ex-perts’ missions were carried out underthe responsibility of Paul HAENER,project manager at IOWater, and acomputer scientist from IOWater wasseconded in Kiev for a 13-month dura-tion.The main objectives were:➊ to develop and make an informa-

tion system operational in the pilotbasins to allow water-related datacollection and processing;

➋ to contribute to the developmentof a national information system inthe Ukraine and the establishmentof procedures for the internationalexchange of data.

An Access/MapInfo application is nowinstalled in three regional directoratesof the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology.This multilingual application (Englishand Ukrainian) allows queries and theupdating of the collecteddata relative to:● the administrative fra-

mework● the bodies of water● the monitoring stations● water quantity (water

levels, flow) and quality



O f f i c e

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


RUSSIAThe Volga:pilot basin for training and institutional reforms In Russia, IOWater is currently in-volved in two projects financed by theEuropean Commission’s TACIS pro-gram:■ Strengthening of training ca-

pacities in the environmentsector in the Volga river basin.IOWater, in partnership with theDanish consulting firm COWI andSODETEG, enabled Russian train-ers to learn about the managementof water resources and water sup-ply utilities during a study tour inFrance in December 1999. Theymet people from Water Agencies,development companies, privatewater suppliers, etc.These first Russian trainers willthen be in charge of training otherinstructors so that they can teachtechnicians and specialists in theVolga river basin to meet theirtraining needs.

■ Improvement in water re-sources management in theRussian Federation.This project,started in February 2000, shouldprovide the basis for the institu-tional reforms necessary for imple-menting water resources manage-ment directly inspired from the Eu-ropean models.

Gathered in a consortium, BCEOM,project leader,VERSeau and IOWaterhave a two-year deadline to completethis project which will also take the Vol-ga and more particularly its tributary,the Oka, as a testing zone for pilot implementation.

The Youjny Bug Basin CommitteeBy alternating between training and as-sessment missions in the Ukraine and aseminar in France held with the sup-port of the Rhone-Mediterranean-Corsica Water Agency, this program, af-ter a first phase aiming to raise aware-ness among the executives of the Mini-stry for Environmental Protection andNuclear Safety as well as local repre-sentatives from communities and in-dustry, consists of a pilot project for in-tegrated water resources managementin the Youjny Bug Basin (Southern Bug).This project is funded by the EuropeanCommission’s TACIS program and theFrench Ministry for Foreign Affairs.Three seminars were held in the basin’smain towns: Khmelnitsky,Vinnitza, Niko-laïev.They gathered the stakeholders offuture water management:Vodokanals,Industrialists, Representatives from Localand National Assemblies and specialistsfrom the local and national administra-tions of the Ministry of the Environment.These meetings which gathered morethan 150 people, allowed the operationaluse of the large principles which governmodern river basin management.Following this training phase, legal advis-ers of the Ministry of the Environmenttogether with representatives from theMinisters’ Cabinet and National Assem-bly, drew up the draft regulatory textsneeded for the setting-up of the YoujnyBug basin committee.This text was sub-mitted to the Ministers’ Cabinet at thebeginning of year 2000.The project duration, limited to 1 year,did not allow for establishing themeans needed by the Basin Committeeto operate.The Ministry for Environmental Pro-tection and Nuclear Safety is studyingthe possibility of an additional compo-nent to the project.

ALBANIAPriority for trainingMarseilles Water Company and IOWa-ter are working together to set up atraining center for water professions inTirana whose goal would be to assistwater utilities with improvement inwater supply efficiency.A joint survey mission was carried outlast March.The interest shown by theMinistry of Public Works and TiranaCity in this project was confirmed.The general trend is towards privatiza-tion in Albania and this project is in linewith such a context.A feasibility studywill have to define the technical con-tent and operating and financing methods to be used for such a unit.

UKRAINE

Seminar for a presentation of the TACIS-Russian project, namely “Water Management in Russia”


FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

SIX TWINNINGS TO PROMOTE ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Reminder of the contextThe twinning process involves providing the Central and Eastern Europeancountries, which are candidates to be-coming members of the EuropeanUnion, with all the technical and ad-ministrative knowledge they require toinclude in their national law all the legislative and regulatory texts adopt-ed and applied by the current MemberStates.Institutional capacity building throughtwinning between counterpart Easternand Western administrations, is one ofthe priorities of the European Com-mission’s PHARE program.This assistance process requires several years of comprehensive coope-ration. It aims at providing a candidatecountry with an efficient and opera-tional organization to fulfill future com-munity obligations in complete safety.A twinning agreement is thus signed bythe candidate country and the MemberState. It defines the expected output ofthe project, the responsibilities of eachparty, the implementation methods toachieve the result and their cost.When several Member States are con-cerned, one of them is the projectleader and signs the agreement on be-half of the others.The following cooperation methodsare planned for each twinning arrange-ment:● the long-term and full-time second-

ment of civil servants from Mem-ber States in the candidate coun-tries

● short missions carried out by spe-cialists

● training practical courses in theMember States’ administrationsand organizations concerned forexperts from the candidate coun-try participating in the transposi-tion and implementation of thenew systems

● training of personnel who will haveto operate the new systems, andparticularly training of trainers.

Regarding the preparation and imple-mentation of twinning agreementsrelative to the water sector, the Inter-national Office for Water is interveningas an operator for the French Min-istry of Regional Planning and theEnvironment (MRPE).

BULGARIAFollowing the signing of an agreementbetween the European Commission, theBulgarian Ministry of the Environmentand Water and the Member Statesgroup (Germany - group leader - Austriaand France), concerning the “1998 twin-ning”, the project activities started inSeptember 1999 with the secondmentof the “Pre-Accession Adviser”, Mr.Franz ELLERMANN, a German national.The International Office for Water is incharge of urban wastewaters and dan-gerous substances:● regulations for the implementation

of the Bulgarian Water Law, adop-ted by the Parliament in 1999,

● procedures for discharge authori-zations,

● emission limits, discharge standardsand quality objectives for the recei-ving environment,

● information and training.In addition, IOWater is associated withthe working groups in charge ofpreparing a Bulgarian overall strategyand a national plan for the environ-ment.IOWater activities in Bulgaria startedin October 1999 with a first introduc-tion to the overall situation in Bulgariaand to the actions undertaken by theMinistry of the Environment and Waterand with an in-depth analysis of thenew Bulgarian water law. The Frenchmethods used for discharge authoriza-tions were presented in two detaileddocuments.Fourteen Bulgarian working groupsdrew up draft regulations for imple-mentation with the assistance of spe-cialists from the Seine Navigation De-partment and DRIRE of Nord-Pas-de-CalaisCooperation also dealt with qualityobjectives for the receiving environ-ment with specialists from the Loire-Brittany Water Agency, the Ministry ofRegional Planning and the Environmentand the International Office for Water:● a software for monitoring dischar-

ges should be shortly translated in-to Bulgarian,

● a “quality” approach was proposedto the Bulgarian network of labora-tories analyzing water quality,

● a workshop with the Bulgarianpartners took place at the end ofMarch 2000 in Sofia to proposeeight orientation programs regar-ding the Bulgarian water strategy.

ESTONIAThe project led by Sweden aims to as-sist with the transposition and imple-mentation of all water Directives.French contribution mainly deals withthe river basin management compo-nent.A study tour was organized in July topresent water management in France,the role of river basin organizationsand the implementation of the mainEuropean Directives.The delegation, led by Mr. Marko Tuur-mann,Water Manager, was received bythe French Ministry of Regional Plan-ning and the Environment, the Loire-Brittany Water Agency and IOWater.

HUNGARYThe twinning agreement signed by theHungarian Ministry of the Environmentand France, in partnership with Austria,Finland and Germany, was approved bythe Commission in May 1999. It coversthe areas of wastes, chemicals, air, wa-ter and industrial hazards and will last18 months.The project started in May2000 with the arrival in Budapest ofADEME’s Pre-Accession Adviser, Mrs.Elisabeth Poncelet.Actions in the water sector deal withthe revision of the procedure for dis-charge authorizations following the im-plementation of the Directive on dan-gerous substances, as well as the devel-opment of a method for the setting-upof a water quality monitoring networkand systems for assessing the ecologi-cal quality of water courses.

POLANDThe twinning agreement signed withthe Polish Ministry of the Environmentdeals with water, air, wastes, environ-mental protection, natural resourcesmanagement and access to informa-tion. This project which will last twoyears.France is project leader (ADEME), inpartnership with Germany and theUnited Kingdom.The overall coordina-tion of the “water” component is car-ried out by Bernard Kaczmarek, repre-senting the French Water Agencies inBrussels, on behalf of the French Min-istry of Regional Planning and the Envi-ronment. He also intervenes as a spe-cialist regarding the new FrameworkDirective.Technical assistance with thewater component is provided by theInternational Office for Water.

EEuurrooppee LA

RGE

P

R O J E CT

S



O f f i c e

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


The project started in November 1999with the secondment in Warsaw of thePre-Accession Adviser, Mrs. Marie-Claire Domont, a specialist from theAdour-Garonne Water Agency. It effec-tively started in a renewed Polish leg-islative and institutional context, char-acterized by the submission to the Par-liament of the draft water law and bythe setting-up of organizations res-ponsible for the management, develo-pment and exploitation of the sevensub-basins.The first missions of French expertsdealt with the analysis of the existingPolish legislation and of its compatibili-ty with the requirements of the Euro-pean Directives involved in this twin-ning (nitrates, wastewaters, emission ofdangerous substances). They also in-cluded an introduction to the Frenchand European experience.They were carried out byMessrs. J. Sironneau, Ph. Jannot,JPh. Deneuvy and C.Valleix fromthe French Ministries of the En-vironment and Industry.The International Office for Wa-ter carried out a mission relativeto information systems in thewater sector, relying on its expe-rience acquired with the FrenchNational Water Data Networkand with the Topical Center ofthe European EnvironmentAgency.A seminar, held in Warsaw on 28and 29 June, gathered 80 Polishexecutives concerned with wa-ter management at the nationaland local levels.F. Casal, Deputy Director forWater, B. Kaczmarek and J. Martinezpresented the French expertise, themain lines of the Framework Directiveand the work carried out in France tocomply with the legislative frameworkand administrative procedures.

ROMANIAThe Romanian Ministry of Water,Forestry and Environmental Protec-tion retained the French proposal for atwinning agreement in the water sec-tor.The MRPE entrusted the Interna-tional Office for Water with the imple-mentation of this project, lasting 21months.The project leaders are, on the Ro-manian side, Mrs. MARA, DirectorGeneral for Water, and on the Frenchside, J. Mongellaz. The Pre-AccessionAdviser is Denis Besozzi, specialistfrom the Rhine-Meuse Water Agency.The twinning includes the review ofstrategies for transposing the main Di-rectives, methods and procedures fortheir implementation, especially at the

level of a river basin, terms for acces-sing information and training courses.The project started in December 1999in a favorable legislative and institution-al context:

● A new water law was passed in1996, taking into account currentcommunity orientations.

● The Government entrusted theNational Apele Romane Company(former Apele Romane autono-mous public corporation) with themanagement of water belonging tothe State and flood prevention.

● An interministerial “Water Quali-ty” working group was set up at theend of 1999 by the Ministry of Wa-ter, Forestry and EnvironmentalProtection to formulate a strategyfor transposing community texts.

The assistance provided within thistwinning mainly aims at strengtheningthe capacity of Romanian institutionsfor them to adapt and implement theEuropean Directives included in the

agreement. Missions were car-ried out by J. Sironneau, N.Chartier-Touzé and Ph. Jannotfrom the MRPE, P. Roussel,President of the Board of Di-rectors of the Rhone-Mediter-ranean-Corsica Water Agencyand F. Durand.The French ex-perts analyzed the water lawand decrees, either already ex-isting or under preparation, inrelation with the Community“acquis” and the Romaniansituation regarding urbanwastewaters, nitrates fromagricultural sources and emis-sion of dangerous substances.

SLOVENIAThe project, led by Mrs. J. Mon-gellaz, mainly deals with thetransposition and implementa-

tion of the Framework Directive.During the first 6 months, it included:● Mr. J. Sironneau’s analysis of the

draft water law which is now exa-mined by the Parliament,

● The launching of an experiment in apilot river basin with the formula-tion of a management plan and thesetting-up of a River Commissiongathering elected officials, users andrepresentatives from the adminis-tration.

J.L. Beseme, Director of the Loire-Brit-tany Water Agency, and G. Naturale,Delegate in Clermond-Ferrand, carriedout a mission in July to review the as-sessment made by the Slovenian teamand prepare terms of reference for thestudy to be undertaken.

AA kkiitt pprreesseennttiinngg FFrreenncchh EExxppeerriieenncceeWith a view to introducing execu-tives of each country concerned tothe experience acquired in France, itwas deemed necessary to prepare,in French and English languages, aneducational kit describing the provi-sions in French law for the adapta-tion of each Directive and empha-sizing the experience acquired andthe results obtained when imple-menting them.With the financial support of MRPE,IOWater has thus written a set oftexts and transparencies on themain Directives dealt with in twin-ning projects:☛ Directive 91/271/EEC relative to

urban wastewaters;

☛ Directive 91/676/EEC concer-ning pollution caused by nitratesfrom agricultural sources;

☛ Directives 76/464/EEC and80/68/EEC on dangerous sub-stances;

☛ The common draft Directive, ap-proved on 18 July 2000, establis-hing a framework for a commu-nity policy in the water sector;

The case of the new Framework Di-rective is obviously dealt with but islimited to the presentation of itsmain provisions and the methodsfor implementation planned for inthe French context.

La Manche

M e r d u N o r d

M e r B a l t i q u e

Golfe e Gascogne

er M é d

MeMer Adriatique

LaTu

Loire

Rhôn

e

Rhin

Tage

Duero

Èbre

Po

Seine

Shan

non W

eser

Danube

Danube

ElbeOder

Dvina

Pripet

D

DniestrBoug

Garonne

Guadalquivir

Vistu le

ROYAUME- UNI

MOLDAVIEFRANCE

PAYS DE GALLE

ECOSSE

ULSTER

ALLEMAGNE

LETTONIE

LITUANIE

BELARUS

UKRAINE

POLOGNE

HONGRIEROUMANIESLOVENIE

YOUGOSLAVIE

ALBANIEMACEDOINE

BOSNIE- HERZEG.

DANEMARK

ITALIE

GRECE

ESPAGNE

ANDORREMONACO

LIECHTENSTEIN

PAYS- BAS

RUSSIE

REP. TCHEQUE

AUTRICHE

SLOVAQUIE

ESTONIE

BELGIQUE

LUXEMBOURG

AL

SUISSE

CROATIE

BULGARIECITE DU

VATICAN

SAN MARINO


THE WAWAMAN PROJECTInternational remote training program

CCeennttrraall EEuurrooppee

The WAWAMAN pro-ject (WAter andWAstewater MAN-agement) started in1998 to assist theCentral and EasternEuropean countries

with the preparation of the executivesof their administrations and water sup-ply utilities for accession to the Euro-pean Union, led to the design of 5 re-mote training modules, now availableon the Internet in 5 languages (English,Polish, Czech, Romanian and Lithuan-ian), using the usual tools associatedwith this kind of system : Forums, hy-perlinks, quizz, etc.The program evaluation, carried out inautumn 1999 by the University of Sun-derland (England) on behalf of the Eu-ropean Training Foundation confirmedits great success.It was enough to incite the consortiummembers: [Gdansk Water Foundation(Poland), (project manager); the Na-

tional Committeeof Water Suppliers(Romania), the T.G.Masaryk Institute(Czech Republic);the EngineeringEcology Consulta-tive Technical Cen-ter (Lithuania), theDistance TrainingCenter of GdanskTechnical Universi-ty (Poland), theNational DistanceLearning Center(France) and theInternational Office for Water(France)], the initiators of this project,to continue on the same path. Severalmembers are already in the nationalimplementation phase of this distancetraining system, which the Universityof Sunderland qualified as follows:● Materials, Web pages, are highly

professional,

● Excellent quality assurance proce-dures,

● Topics well suited to the context ofaccession to the European Union.

The organizations involved are now in-vesting on solid and recognized basesin distance training in the water sectorin their four respective countries.

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

AAffrriiccaaIVORY COAST

A priority: integrated water resources managementA High Water Commission was creat-ed in 1996, under the authority of thePrime Minister, to propose an institu-tional reform of the water sector inIvory Coast.The goal of this reform was to provideIvory Coast with tools for integratedwater resources management inspiredby the principle of river basin manage-ment, separating the role of the waterresources manager from that of thevarious users.Thus a new Water Code was passed bythe Parliament on 23 December 1998(Law n°98 - 755). It mainly aims at de-veloping and strengthening functionswhich are currently insufficiently ornot at all fulfilled, such as :● assessment of water resources, in

quantity and quality;● interministerial coordination;● planning of the whole sector with

keeping integrated management inmind;

● dialogue with elected representati-ves and users;

● water policing (authorizations andnotifications for water abstraction,discharges, hydraulic works, controlof compliance with regulations);

● contracting authority for infras-tructures of common interest;

● international cooperation for themanagement of transboundary wa-tercourses.

In addition, an incentive economic sys-tem should be set up with watercharges and aid.The reform will aim at creating a Na-tional Water Authority; with decision-making power, and a National WaterAgency, executing tool for water poli-cy, whose main functions will concernthe implementation of programs, thecollection of data on water resourcesand uses, the drawing up of planningdocuments, the levying of watercharges and aid management.

At the end of this first stage, an enhanced technical assistance, fundedby the French Ministry for Foreign Af-fairs and implemented by IOWater,wasrequested by the Ivory Coast’s part-ners regarding various priority topics:● The strengthening of the institutio-

nal scheme (the setting up of BasinCommittees and of the WaterAgency);

● A technical, administrative and legalassistance with the preparation ofdecrees for implementing the Wa-ter Code;

● The study of a water charges sys-tem for establishing a NationalFund for Integrated Water Resour-ces Management.

A first assignment dealing with the lat-ter topic was carried out at the end of1999.This economic study is obviouslya key element for the “sustainable” im-plementation of these reforms.



O f f i c e

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


AAffrriiccaa

KENYAHuman Resources Development with District Water OfficesA technical assistance program fi-nanced by French Cooperation anddealing with Human ResourcesDevelopment (HRD), started in 1995for the Ministry of the Environmentand Natural Resources (former Minis-try of Water).The setting-up of a Human ResourcesDevelopment Unit (HRDU) in theMinistry and the carrying out of an ex-periment in the Machakos district (im-plementation of training programsadapted to the target public by localtraining centers), have proven that itwas possible to train unqualified tech-nicians at reasonable cost for theirgreatest benefit regarding efficiencyand motivation.The stetting-up of “Training Commit-tees” in each district, a systematictraining need assessment, the organiza-tion of training courses suited to theseneeds and implemented by Kenyan

centers at affordable costs arethe long term objectives of thisprogram.This year, several additional dis-tricts will benefit from technicalassistance through the organiza-tion of new training courses.At the central level, the HumanResources Development Unitwill become a division of theMinistry’s personnel manage-ment department and see itsrole fully recognized.This program showed that thesuccess and sustainability of ac-tions carried out with FrenchCooperation will only be possi-ble if changes are taking place inthe Ministry’s personnel mana-gement, with a decentralizationof decision-making and financialresources at district level.The strengthening of its capabil-ities and training capacity shouldenable the Kenya Water Insti-tute (KWI) to become in the fu-ture the reference for training in thewater sector in the whole EasternAfrican region.

Reference: “Large Projects, Interna-tional News 1999 N° 7, page 8SOUTH

AFRICATowards the buildingof a training centerIn 1999, French Cooperation financedtechnical assistance to the NationalCommunity of Water and SanitationTraining Institute (NCWSTI) ofPIETERSBURG (Northern Province)to which IOWater twice seconded atrainer to assist with training courses.

This technical assistance allowed thestrengthening of relations with this in-stitute which might become the fa-vored partner in a later and more sig-nificant cooperation program financedby the French Priority Solidarity Fund,to which South Africa is eligible. Itwould aim at enhancing the NCWSTI’stechnical skills and training capabilitiesby setting up training facilities andtraining trainers.This project would bethe baseline of a network of trainingcenters planned at the level of theSouthern African countries (see“Botswana”).

MALIA new Water CodeA National Concertation Workshopdealing with the preliminary Draft ofthe Malian Water Code was held in Ba-mako in May 1998.About 80 people attended. Represen-tatives from the four Ministries con-cerned either at the central level or atthe level of their regional directorates,public companies and different privatecompanies actively participated in thisworkshop, chaired by the National Di-rector for Water and Energy.Using these workshop recommenda-tions, Messrs. Joël Mancel, IOWater’sDirector of International Cooperation,and J. Sironneau from the French Minis-try of the Environment (Water Direc-torate) provided legal assistance to theMalian Authorities in the drawing up ofthe final version of this new WaterCode.The drawing-up of this new legislationfocused on the revision and analysis of

existing texts regarding the water sec-tor, formulated in 1991 under the aegisof the United Nations DevelopmentProgram.This Water Code allows the gatheringin a sole document of all essential legis-lation many parts of which were dis-persed.The new law relies on comprehensivewater management, with a twofold as-pect: its quantitative and qualitativeconservation and its development asan economic resource.The code provides the basic principleof public ownership of the water heri-tage as a whole.


FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

BOTSWANAA training network in Southern Africa

IOWater and its partner“LYSA - a branch officeof the Suez-Lyonnaisedes Eaux”, have been

carrying out training activi-ties for four years within theframework of a contractsigned with the Water Utili-ties Corporation, recipient ofa financial protocol with theFrench Ministry of Economy.These activities dealt withthe training of trainers inBotswana, technical trainingin IOWater training center(CNFME) in Limoges and inoperational branches of theLyonnaise in South Africa.

A feasibility study was carried outwithin this program with a view to in-crease training on water professions. Itled to a proposal for networking thetraining centers existing in the SADCmember countries (Southern AfricanDevelopment Community).The WUCwould be the cornerstone of thisarrangement which would allow thesecountries to have a complete set oftraining courses available to improvethe skills of technicians from waterutilities.

South Africa is interested in this pro-ject as its first priority is its popula-tions’ water supply.The project for de-veloping NCWSTI (see “South Africa”)is in line with this scheme and wouldenable the launching of this ambitiousprogram.

Finally, the French protocol permittedthe setting-up in the WUC of a docu-mentation center equipped with themost recent technologies. It will makeBotswana a reference in the region. Itsofficial opening took place in May 2000in presence of local Authorities andrepresentatives of the French Embassy.

Reference: “International News”1999, N° 7, page 6

View of the new documentation center

Official opening of the center on 25 may 2000

WATER UTILITYPARTNERSHIPInstitutional reforms:the sharingof AfricanexperiencesThe “Water Utility Partnership”(WUP) is a program started by theAfrican Union of Water Suppliers(AUWS) in 1996 to improve water uti-lities in Africa. Continuing institutionalreforms is therefore one of its priorityobjectives.For this purpose, IOWater, in concerta-tion with AUWS and the “World BankInstitute”, proposed to set up a tool forexchanging experience and capacitybuilding in a network of professionalsfrom legal departments of ministriesand public and private organizations in-volved in the management of water andsanitation utilities.The project started at the end of 1999and should last about 2 years.This network will be developed usingthe new technologies linked to the In-ternet and by gathering various experi-ences and relevant information. Thisdevelopment will be facilitated by thesetting-up of a specialized Documenta-tion Center with a pilot unit in Abidjan.In a first stage, the identification, net-working of professionals, informationcollection and validation will be carriedout in 6 target countries where institu-tional reforms are already in progress:Ivory Coast, the South African Repub-lic, Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambiqueand Morocco.This African base will be extended toother international institutional experi-ences, selected in the International Of-fice for Water’s documentation base.

AAffrriiccaa

LA

RGE

P

R O J E CT

S

The International Office forWater (IOWater) has beenintervening in Nigeria for tenyears within a privileged co-

operation with the Kaduna NationalWater Resources Institute (NWRI).NWRI’s educational and scientific ca-pacities and its role as a demonstrationmodel were strengthened.In 2000, cooperation between NWRIand IOWater is continuing with a revi-sion of its contents and form.To meet NWRI’s objectives, IOWater’sactions in Nigeria are regional in 2000:bilingual (English-French) team teachingtraining programs, jointly managed byIOWater and NWRI, are addressing thewhole West Afri-can subregion.Specialists fromn e i g h b o r i n gcountries arethus invited to at-tend the NWRItraining programsincluded in theyear-2000 cata-logue (wateranalysis, drinkingwater produc-tion, wastewatertreatment) and tomeet their coun-terparts of this

part of the African continent and ex-change their experiences.This year, IOWater is also workingwith NWRI to complete the NigerianNational Water Data Network(NWDN) toensure thatNWRI skillsare diversified( t r a i n i n g ,documenta -tion, research,...) and in com-pliance with itsofficial task.

IOWater, an ISO 9001 certified trainingcenter since 1999 as concerns its trai-ning programs, proposed to the NWRIthe implementation of indicators forassessing the effectiveness of all its ac-

tivities in order to meet the nationaland international donors’ expectationsregarding the efficiency of their financ-ing.Reference “Large Projects” - News1999; N° 7; p 9



O f f i c e

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


FRANCOPHONE AFRICAStarting of the RéFEA

IOWater experts with their NWRI’s colleagues

SOAF’s wastewater treatment pilot unit

NIGERIANational Water Resources Institute - NWRI

The Francophone Water and SanitationNetwork (RéFEA), output of a coope-ration program between the Interna-tional Office for Water, the RegionalCenter for low-cost Drinking watersupply and Sanitation (CREPA) of Oua-gadougou, Canada-Environment andthe Water Solidarity Program (PS-Eau)is now available on the Web at:http://www.oieau.org/ReFEAThe RéFEA, a place where specialistsfrom the South and North can meet,focuses on low cost technologies andsystems for water supply, sanitation,management, information, etc.It favors dialogue among water stake-holders. It gathers large organizations,international experts and local opera-tors from the whole world. Original

experiences andappropriate tech-nologies are pre-sented there.The RéFEA willp r o g r e s s i v e l ygrow thanks tothe active partici-pation of thewhole “TechnicalFrench-SpeakingWorld” whosecompetent organi-zations are invitedto join the net-work.

A t the invitation of theFrench Ministry of RegionalPlanning and the Environ-ment, Mr. Mikheiev, Prime

Vice Minister of Natural Resources ofthe Russian Federation and Mr. MuratMusataev, Prime Vice Minister of Natu-ral Resources and Environmental Pro-tection of the Republic of Kazakhstansigned an agreement protocol on thetransboundary management of the Ir-tysh river basin in Paris on 10 May2000.

The International Office for Water, inpartnership with the consulting firmsSAFEGE and ANTEA, will providetechnical assistance with the imple-mentation of this project, financed bythe French Fund for the World Envi-ronment (FFEM).A preliminary phase, carried out in1999, defined the objective of this pro-ject which is perfectly in line with theHelsinki Convention on the Protectionand Use of Transboundary Water-courses and International Lakes (arti-cles 9, bilateral and multilateral coo-peration, 11, Joint monitoring and eva-luation and 13, Exchange of informa-tion between riparian countries).Owing to the special French expertisein this sector, the International Officefor Water - ANTEA - SAFEGE Groupwill assist both States with the designand implementation of instruments forthe basin water resources manage-ment.Technical assistance will priori-

tize the orientation and coordinationof the national experts’ work, gatheredin the Irtysh River Basin Sub-Commis-sion, which will be supervised by theRussian and Kazak Commission on thejoint use and conservation of sharedwaters. An International Basin Infor-mation System will be set up and sup-plemented by the development of a hy-drological model in particular. It will al-low the definition and implementationof joint policy and programs for waterresources management in the basin.

The outputs of thework carried out inthis Irtysh projectshould be usefullyreused in many rivers,transboundary be-tween Russia andKazakhstan (Ural, To-bol, Ishim), and be-tween Russia andChina (Amur).This project is in linewith the ongoing“Study Program forthe improvement ofwater quality in theIrtysh river basin inKazakhstan”. This

program which started in Spring 1999is also implemented by the IOWater -ANTEA - SAFEGE group and financedby the French Ministry of Economy andFinance (FASEP).The first conclusions are as follows:

About the Irtysh qualityIt especially dealt with the hierarchiza-tion of the impact of different pollutionsources on the basin. Industrial pollu-tion, mining in particular, is the mostsignificant. On the contrary, urban pol-lution has only a small impact. Addi-tional impact assessments will be car-ried out in a second phase, in Ust-Ka-menogorsk in particular, regarding in-dustrial discharges and the impact offlow reduction in the Black Irtysh.

About institutionalaspectsAn analysis of the law on environmen-tal protection and water code of theRepublic of Kazakhstan, of the existinginstitutions and financial resources wascarried out. As a priority, the need fora Framework Law taking up clear prin-ciples of water resources managementper unit was emphasized. Proposals for

such a law will thus be discussed withthe Kazak partners.The existing Fundsshould also be a basis for the develop-ment of more incentive tools for envi-ronmental protection.

Basin monitoring systemThe rehabilitation of the existing moni-toring network is necessary. Severalproposals were detailed to improve in-formation and enhance data within anintegrated river basin information sys-tem at the Kazak level which could beintegrated into the transboundary sys-tem. They will be revised with theKazak partners and the World Bank asconcerns the investments needed.

Groundwater qualityand security of drinking water supplyThe main sources of pollution wereidentified in the 3 towns of Ust-Ka-menogorsk, Semipalatinsk and Pavlo-dar, thanks to a campaign of additionalmeasurements. Groundwater qualityassessment in the 3 towns will be pre-sented in the final report. A hydrody-namic model is under way for Ust-Ka-menogorsk. It will allow the checkingof the options for the treatment of themain pollution sources.

Sanitation in townsIn these three towns, it was proventhat the pollution load received byeach wastewater treatment plant re-mains relatively small, due to leaks inthe sewerage system and the low con-nection percentage for wastewaters.Each plant was also evaluated in thefirst phase.The final report will presentthe improvement work to be carriedout for each of these 3 plants, togetherwith a cost estimate.A more completeassessment of the sewerage systemsmust be undertaken.


AAssiiaa

Signing of the agreement


E-mail : [email protected] rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

KAZAKHSTAN AND RUSSIAInternational management of the Irtysh :signing in Paris of a protocol between France, Russia and Kazakhstan

LA

RGE

PR O J E C

TS

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


INDIAIntegrated management of the Sabarmati River BasinInstitutional and financial reformsclearly seem to be the key challengesfor the development of the water sec-tor in India.After the organization of a seminar onIntegrated Water Resources Manage-ment in New Delhi in 1994, it was de-cided that a pilot river basin would beselected to start the experimentationof a new approach within the frame-work of a cooperation between Franceand the Indian Union.The Indian Authorities have chosen theSABARMATI river basin in the State ofGujarat, a dynamic State where eco-nomic and industrial development, ini-tially based on textile and now diversi-fied in chemistry, agro-food processing,etc. is very high.Ahmedabad, the maincity of the State, and several medium-sized towns including Gandhinagar, theadministrative capital, are located in thisbasin.The securing of drinking watersupply and pollution control are the keyfactors for the development of theseurban and industrial areas, which willhost a large part of the rural population.On the other hand, water demand foragriculture is still growing and highlydominant (about 90% of water con-sumption). It increases the very highpressures on resource quantity. As in

many other semi-arid regions of thisState, located in the western part of In-dia, drought is seriously affecting thisbasin in 2000 and the drinking water sup-ply to many villages is no more secure.The pilot French-Indian cooperationproject:“Integrated Management of theSabarmati River Basin” started at theend of 1999 and will be implemented intwo years.Its main objectives are the follo-wing:➊ Organization of an integrated

information system for theSabarmati river basin, based on ex-isting databases and gathering allwater data in a consistent manner:data on resources and uses, admi-nistrative and socioeconomic data,etc.This obviously implies a close col-laboration between the differentexisting projects such as the Hy-drology Project/ HIS, Remote sens-ing center and GIS, …

➋ Preparation of a long-term de-velopment scheme for theSabarmati river basin including anassessment of the situation andproblems and the definition of re-gional objectives taking into ac-count the plan for the socioeco-

nomic development of the State.This scheme is based on the Inte-grated Sabarmati River Basin Plan(interim version, 1996, Group forWater Resources Planning, GujaratState, NWR&WSD).

➌ Definition of a priority actionprogram, based on the choices ofthe new “Sabarmati River BasinCommittee”. Owing to waterscarcity, measures ought to be tak-en to manage water demand.

These different outcomes shall be vali-dated by a “Sabarmati River Basin Com-mittee”, gathering the various adminis-trations involved in water management,and in so far as possible, representativesfrom the users within the framework ofa better participatory approach.The ac-tion program will also define the possi-ble institutional and financial reformswhich will also be discussed and valida-ted by this Committee.The International Office for Water ismanaging the French technical assis-tance, within a group of French consul-ting firms, BRLi, SEURECA and BCEOM,gathering the various technical and insti-tutional competences needed.This tech-nical assistance is financed by a grantfrom the French Ministry of Economyand Finance (FASEP).

VIETNAM National Training Center for Professions in the Water and Environment Sector

The project hasreached its 2nd phaseSeveral working meetings took place atthe end of 1999 and beginning of 2000with the Ministry for Construction, theSchool of Construction and Urban De-velopment, representatives of theFrench Embassy and French companiesin Vietnam.They allowed the definitionof a program for the second phase ofthe Training Center for Professions inthe Water and Environment Sector, setup in 1997 in Gia Lam-Hanoi with fi-nancial and technical assistance fromthe French bilateral cooperation(agreement) and the Lyonnaise deseaux - Suez (SAFEGE).Significant needs should be met and itis estimated that the Vietnamese waterutilities employ around 14,000 peoplefor a population of 76 million inhabi-tants. With regard to sanitation, thenumber of employees will be around50,000 with an estimated ratio of 20%executives and 80% workers and em-ployees.It is necessary to carry out:● The institutional training of execu-

tives from national and municipal

administrations, to fulfill two objec-tives: the implementation of re-forms in the field of water re-sources management and themodernization of municipal drink-ing water supply and sanitation uti-lities.

● The operational training of person-nel from municipal drinking watersupply and sanitation utilities

An ambitious project In order to meet these importantneeds for improving the efficiency ofVietnamese water utilities, moving to-wards a system of professional trainingis required :● organized by Vietnamese trainers in

the local language,● at reduced training costs, compati-

ble with the water utilities’ reve-nues and paid for in local currency

● offering modern training courses,● based on the advanced technologi-

cal know-how of leading French in-dustrial groups,

● using both the equipment currentlyavailable in the country and installa-tions and equipment which will bedeveloped in the coming years, for

practical learning under workingconditions.

An agreement plans a joint investmentby France and Vietnam for carrying outthe second phase of the project whichwill associate some French companiespresent in or interested by this coun-try.IOWater was approached to prepareand carry out a feasibility study fi-nanced by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.Two missions, carried out last Marchand May by IOWater experts, allowedthe collection of the data needed toprepare a document which will be dis-cussed by the French and Vietnamesepartners.The context remains difficult as thewater companies, although financiallyindependent, have small budgets fortraining purposes. However, the Viet-namese partners’ willingness can be re-lied upon, including the Ministry forConstruction, very interested in thisproject, which proposed to bear thecosts of the new buildings, and theHanoi People’s Committee whichcould provide the land.


FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

LLaattiinn AAmmeerriiccaa

BOLIVIAQuality standards for drinking water supplyand sanitation utilitiesWith regard to a project financed bythe Inter-American Development Bank(IDB), the International Office for Wa-ter, in partnership with BCEOM, assis-ted the Bolivian Government’s “Pro-gram for the Development of a Regula-tory framework for the Drinking Wa-ter Supply and Sanitation Sector” withthe formulation of a set of standardsand technical guidelines for the man-agement of these utilities.In order to improve coverage andquality of water supply and sanitationutilities, the Bolivian government wantsto develop the concession of thesepublic utilities in municipalities withmore than 10,000 inhabitants. Such anobjective requires that means and cri-teria be developed at the same time toensure the quality of the services pro-vided by private companies to theusers.Using an assessment of the situationregarding regulations at the national(Bolivia) and international level(France, United States, Peru), the fol-lowing standards and technical guide-lines were formulated:● Quality of water intended for hu-

man consumption,

● Discharges of industrial waste-water into the sewerage system,

● Standardized measurements ofdrinking and waste waters,

● Terms for drinking water supply,● Unaccounted for water - macro

and micro measurements,● System for metering, billing and re-

covery,● Information of users and manage-

ment of complaints.A model for service regulation was alsoproposed together with a contract bet-ween the water company and the users.The feasibility of these proposals wasvalidated by a cost-benefit analysis oftheir economic impacts on the com-munity.This significant regulatory work carriedout on behalf of the public Authoritiesin charge of the water supply and sani-tation sector in Bolivia (Ministerio deComercio Exterior e Inversión - Super-intendencia de Aguas) will improve thequality of the services provided to theusers and strengthen the State and Mu-nicipality capacity to control the nego-tiation and follow-up of contracts forthe concession of their public utilities toprivate companies.

VENEZUELAHIDROVENA national and professional training systemThe feasibility study, dealing with prio-rity training programs and the setting-up of a Training Center (“Escuela Na-cional del Agua”), was completed byIOWater and its HIDROVEN partners,with financing from French bilateralcooperation and then from the Inter-American Development Bank.HIDROVEN Presidency strongly sup-ports this approach aiming at asustainable transfer of capabilities.It is planned that some mobile installa-tions for drinking water production,provided by international organiza-tions after the Vargas disaster (Decem-ber 1999) - especially those whichwould no more be used in 2001 - couldbe reused as educational equipment bythe future Training Center.

Reorganization of thedrinking water supplyand sanitation sectorThis present-day issue is a worldwideconcern.Venezuela is streamlining a re-form in this sector and seems to focuson:● the management of utilities at

municipal level,● the involvement of the private

sector.Exchanges between Hidroven and theOffice were very enriching during lastmonths.Interested in the projects implementedby the Office, especially in various coun-tries of Latin America (projects execu-ted for the IBD in Bolivia and Nicaraguain particular),HIDROVEN requested as-sistance with the drawing-up of a Law onService Providing, which should be thefirst one to be discussed by the new Par-liament as soon as it is elected.Year 2000 will undoubtedly be a turn-ing point in this sector.

CUBAAssessment of the water sector An audit was carried out in Cuba byMr.Vincent Frey, expert in the Interna-tional Office for Water network, uponthe request of the French Ministry ofPublic Works (Directorate for Eco-nomic and International Affairs-DAEI).It allowed the identification of somegaps but also the confirmation of theCuban Authorities’ strong will to im-plement integrated water resourcesmanagement in the country at the levelof its main river basins.One of the mainconcerns is to achieve sustainable de-velopment to reconcile economic ac-tivities, especially high tourism develop-ment, with the conservation of waterresources and the environment.Concurrently to institutional organiza-tional issues, there are significant equip-ment needs for hydro-meteorologicalmeasurement, teletransmission and da-ta processing systems to improve re-source allocation and organize forecastmanagement (floods, management ofinfrastructures, etc.).In addition, the Cuban Authorities arealso setting up a national referencelaboratory for physico-chemical analy-ses of water (CENHICA) within INRH,in collaboration with INHEM (Institutefor Hygiene, Epidemiology, Microbiolo-gy) in the area of biological analysis ofwater in order to quickly undertakethe efforts needed to maintain credibi-lity for tourism in Cuba (parasitology,microbiology).A third topic concerns the administra-tive and fiscal management of the sec-tor, a legal structure, the organizationof water supply companies and me-thods for the financing of infrastruc-tures.Improvement in the maintenance andrehabilitation of drinking water supplysystems is a priority.



O f f i c e

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


NICARAGUAPreparation to the privatization of water supply utilitiesIOWater, in partnership with BCEOM,has prepared the terms of referencefor the concession of the utility mana-gement to an international operator onbehalf of the Nicaraguan Water Supplyand Sanitation Utility with funds fromthe Inter-American DevelopmentBank.It mainly aims to reinforce the corpo-rate management of this utility and itssuitable computer equipment. Thisstudy, carried out by the BCEOM-IOWater group, led to an assessmentof the current situation with regard tothe management of subscribers, equip-ment, etc.

MEXICORegional water information centersWith the impulse of the National Wa-ter Commission (Comisión Nacionaldel Agua -CNA), Mexico has underta-ken a thorough reform of the watersector including, among other things,the creation of River Basin Councils,Commissions and Committees at thelevel of the country’s main river basins,sub-basins and aquifers.These organiza-tions whichgather federal,State and muni-cipal authoritiesand representa-tives of the va-rious waterusers allow fordialogue andplanning of ac-tions to be car-ried out tosolve the prob-lems encountered in resource manage-ment and sharing.Once this decentralized participationdeveloped, these basin organizationshave rapidly felt that access to informa-tion would allow them to make the ap-propriate decisions.Within such a context; 2 French spe-cialists (Mr. Haener from IOWater andMr. Frenel from the Loire-Brittany Wa-ter Agency), were invited by CNA toparticipate, from 15 to 19 May 2000, inmeetings of river basin councils (3rdmeeting of the Rio Colorado Basin

Committee, 4th meeting of the LowerCalifornia Basin Council) and to con-tribute to the first national workshopdealing with the setting-up of regionalwater information centers.This work-shop gathered 60 executives fromCNA and other organizations involvedin the management of information onwater at the State and federal level.

This mission, fi-nanced by theFrench Mini-stry for Forei-gn Affairs, dealtwith the analy-sis of the oper-ating methodsused by basinc o m m i t t e e sand an intro-duction tothe Frenchexpe r i en ce

on water resources data managementand on planning at the level of a localsub-basin, the Rance SAGE (WaterManagement and DevelopmentScheme).Following this mission, the opportunityof a multi-year French-Mexican coo-peration program relative to the set-ting up of regional water informationsystems is under study: the basins andsub-basins selected for the executionof a pilot project are the Rio PANUCOand the sub-basin of the Rio SANJUAN.

The Rio Colorado Basin Commission meeting

O c é a n A t l a n t i q u e

S u d


N o r d

Océan Pacifique

Nord

O c é a n P a c i f i q u e

S u d

G o l f e d u M e x i q u e

M e r d e s A n t i l l e s

Golfe de Californie

Ride

du

Naz

ca

B a s s i n d u P é r o u

Do

rs

al

ed

uP

ac

if

iq

ue

Or

ie

nt

al

Fosse d'Amérique Centrale

B a s s i n B r é s i l i e n

Ba s s i n

Gu

ya

na i s

B a s s i nd u

C a p - V e r t

Bassin Vénézuélien

Fosse de Nares

B a s s i nd e s

Ca

n a r i e s

Do

rs

al

eN

or

d-

At

l

a

B a s s i nN

or

d-

A

m

Fosse de Porto Rico

Lac de Nicaragua

Lac Titicaca

Lac Poopó

Meta

Oré

noq ue

Guaviar e

Mag

dal e

na

Japurá

Putumay o

Ucay

ali

Marañón

Pa

r agua

y

Para

ná

S.Fr

ancis

c o

Toca

ntin

s

Ara

guai

a

Tapajós

Xing

u

Pu ru

sJuruá

A mazone

Amazone

Bran

co

Negro

Balsas

Rio Grande

Mis

siss

ippi

Ten

Red

Îles Bahamas

Bermudes RU

G r a n d e sA n t i l l e s

PetitesA

ntilles

Îles Galapagos Equateur

Clipperton France

Guadeloupe France

Montserrat RU

Îles Caïmanes RU

Antilles Néerlandaises

Martinique France

Îles Martin Vaz Brésil

SURINAMGuyane Française

GU

YA

NA

VENEZUELA

COLOMBIE

EQUATEUR

PANAMACOSTA RICA

SALVADOR

GUATEMALA

BELIZE

NICARAGUA

HONDURAS

CUBA

JAMAÏQUEHAÏTI

REP. DOMINICAINE

SAINT-CHRISTOPHE ET NEVIS

ANTIGUA ET BARBUDA

DOMINIQUE

BAHAMAS

SAINTE-LUCIEBARBADE

SAINT-VINCENT ET LES GRENADINES

MEXIQUE

PEROU

BOLIVIE

B R E S I L

CHILIPARAGUAY

GRENADE

TRINITE ET TOBAGO

CAP VERT

Porto Rico US


FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

LLaattiinn AAmmeerriiccaa

BRAZIL

AA TTrraaiinniinngg CCeenntteerrffoorr WWaatteerr PPrrooffeessssiioonnssIn 2000, IOWater continues the feasi-bility study on the creation of aBrazilian training center for waterprofessions with the support of theBrazilian Secretariat for Water Re-sources - Ministry of the Environ-ment - and the French Embassy inBrazil.

It focuses on studying the viability ofa Brazilian legal structure with atwofold aim:

● Administrative: addressing civilservants from the federal adminis-tration and Brazilian States to al-

low the implementation of theLaw of January 1997 which setout the principle of integratedwater resources management atthe level of river basins.

● Technical: to allow all professionsin the Brazilian water sector tobenefit from continuing practicaltraining on all technical areas ofdrinking water supply and sanita-tion, either the design of facilitiesor the operation, maintenanceand management of utilities.

This center feasibility study should becompleted at the beginning of 2001.

PARANAInstitutional reforms

IOWater organized another trainingcourse on integrated water resourcesmanagement at the level of river basinsin Brazil, upon the request of MMA(Ministry of the Environment) withinthe framework of the implementationof the federal water law n° 9433 of 8January 1997.Therefore, this course which tookplace in Vitória (Espirito Santo) allowedthe introduction to different imple-mentation experiences in France, Eu-rope and various parts of the world.This course, honored by the presenceof the Federal Secretary for Water Re-sources, Mr. Raymundo Garrido and ofthe State Secretary for the Environ-ment, Mr.Almir Bressan Junior, was in-teractive and allowed the 50 partici-pants, coming from the whole Union,to become aware of:


S u d


N o r d

Lac Titicaca

Lac Poopó

Grandes Salines

Meta Oré

noq ue

Guaviar e

Mag

Japurá

Putumay o

Uay

ali

Uru

g uay

Para

ná

Bermejo

Pa

r agua

y

Para

ná

S. Fra

ncis

co

Toca

ntin

s

Ara

guai

a

Tapajós Xing

u

Pu rusJuruá

A mazone

A mazone

Bran

co

Negro

SERGIPE

ESPÍRITO SANTO

RIO DE JANEIROSÃO PAULO

PARANÁ

MATO GROSSO DO SUL

GOIÁS

TOCANTINS

RONDÔNIA

ACRE

RIO GRANDE DO SUL

SANTA CATARINA

ALAGOAS

AMAPÁ

P A R Á MARANHÃO

PIAUÍ

B A H I A

MANAS GERAIS

CEARÁ RIO GRANDE

DO NORTE

PARAÍBA

PERNAMBUCO

A M A Z O N A S

RORAINA

MATO GROSSO

La Paz

Asunción

Brasília

GeorgetownParamaribo

SURINAMGuyane Française

GU

YA

NA

LOMBIE

PEROU

BOLIVIE

HI

LI

PARAGUAY

URUGUAY

For more than a year the Inter-national Office for Water hasbeen participating in themodernization of the institu-

tional organization regarding water re-sources management in the ParanaState.In collaboration with SOGREAH andCOBRAPE (Brazilian partner), the Of-fice was entrusted with:● an in-depth definition of the train-

ing program required for the imple-mentation of the decided upon re-forms

● an institutional expert’s mission,based on the expertise acquired bythe Office in many emerging coun-tries.

This project has enabled the passing ofthe Water Law in the Parana State atthe end of 1999.This law uses the mainprinciples of modern water resourcesmanagement.Therefore, the new legal frameworkplans for integrated, decentralized andparticipatory management at the levelof the main river basins, the setting-upof basin organizations and the esta-blishment of charges for water use andpollution. It is a very encouraging example on the Brazilian and Latin-American scale.This success is mainly due to the per-severance of Mr. Francisco Lobato,

expert in the Planning Secretariat, to-gether with the project team whichhas communicated and discussed withthe users.The 2000-2001 period will allow thegradual implementation of the mea-sures decided upon.

Seminar on water resources management

ESPIRITO SANTOImplementation of the water law and management of transboundary rivers


BAHIA Study missions on the Rio Jiquiriça


S u d


N o r d

Para

ná

S. Fra

ncis

co

Toca

ntin

s

Ara

guai

a

Xing

u

azone

SERGIPE

ESPÍRITO SANTO

RIO DE JANEIROSÃO PAULO

PARANÁ

O

GOIÁS

TOCANTINS

ANDE SUL

SANTA CATARINA

ALAGOAS

AMAPÁ

A R Á MARANHÃO

PIAUÍ

B A H I A

MANAS GERAIS

CEARÁ RIO GRANDE

DO NORTE

PARAÍBA

PERNAMBUCO

O

Brasília

maribo

Guyane rançaise



O f f i c e

water law nsboundary rivers

The Rio Jiquiriça is located in BahiaState and flows out into the AtlanticOcean.The Brazilian Ministry of WaterResources and Legal Amazonia / Secre-tariat for Water Resources entrustedIOWater with experts’ missions forthe implementation of integrated wa-ter resources management in this riverbasin.These missions will support insti-tutional reforms by assisting our localpartners, especially the IntermuniciplalConsortium of the Jiquiriçá Valley(CIVJ), with the definition of methodsfor setting up possible basin structures(Committee of Water Users) and theirtechnical tools (databases, GIS, etc.)and planning instruments (a Water De-velopment and Management Scheme).One of these missions carried out inSalvador de Bahia and in the Rio Jiqui-riça basin allowed the preparationof a methodological guide to setup a geographic information sys-tem.The Brazilian national water law of 8January 1997 defines this system as a“system for gathering, processing, sto-ring and retrieving information on wa-ter resources and on factors interve-ning in their management”.Thereforethe information system is atool for planning and landuse, a support for dialogue,for society’s mobilizationand communication.Steps for setting up this In-formation System (IS):As a prerequisite to the set-ting-up of this IS, IOWaterproposed to the CIVJ thefollowing methodology: defi-nition of the informationsystem objectives, creationof a working group whichwill assist the CIVJ with thisapproach (its compositionmay reflect the future Jiquiriça basincommittee); definition of the systemcontents, definition and analysis of thekind of information to be collected, itsavailability, its format, the choice of thesuitable and evolutive computerizedtool and equipment, definition of thehuman and financial resources.IOWater proposed to the CIVJ a four-step approach to set the IS:● Definition of the topics to be dealt

with by the IS,● Acquisition of information to es-

tablish an inventory and assessmentof the Jiquiriça river basin, by carry-ing out:

➨ an assessment of local participationby mobilizing the local population

➨ a bibliographical analysis of the existing documents

➨ a survey of the key stakeholders

● Preparation of an action programand management measures, startingwith the definition of managementobjectives

● Definition of reference indicatorsto allow the follow-up and evalua-tion of the actions concerned.

The IS should not be a cartographicdocument only. IOWater proposed abreakdown into 3 complementary andindivisible documents:● A report with an analysis of the

gathered information, proposals forimproving access to informationand for standardizing its format, theelements explaining the assess-ment, the objectives and actionsneeded for developing the Jiquiriçariver basin,

● A database, with technical sheetsfor each analyzed document and in-formation. It is the basis for the set-ting-up of a geographically-refe-renced information system,

● A cartographic document with aseries of 10 topical maps illustratingthe basin assessment, 5 to 6 mapsproviding a geographic view ofmanagement and development ob-jectives, 5 to 6 maps geographicallydisplaying the measures to be takenand actions to be implemented.

In order to involve the Jiquiriça basin’skey local stakeholders in the prepara-tion of the information system, IOWa-ter proposed that CIVJ initiate a pro-gram for the “society’s mobilization”.Three days of meetings, training, reflec-tion will be organized to share and ex-change knowledge of the river basin.They will be included in each step ofthe information system implementa-tion (see figure).The beginning of the information sys-tem implementation was based on thismethodological guide. Led by CIVJ, itshould be completed within sixmonths or a year.

Capacitybuildingcourse

ParticipatoryAssessment

Objectives

Final Séminar:ACTION

PROGRAMActions

Elaboration

Assessm

ent

Validatio

n

Consultatio

n

Objectiv

es

Validationof objectives

ConsultationActionsValid

ation

1st day2nd day

3rd day

Monitoring

Monitoring

Loca

l Pop

ulation AdministrationU

sers

Consortium

Forumof users

Monitoring

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

● the notion of comprehensive waterresources management;

● the involvement of the Civil Societyin the decision-making process sothat the users play an active part inRiver Basin Committees and parti-cipate in the technical discussionswhich will take place within theplanned Water Agencies.

Several lectures dealt with experienceson the management of transboundaryrivers, an issue of prime importance inBrazil, due to many rivers being sharedwith neighbors and the federal charac-ter of the country where many water-courses are shared by several States ofthe Union.

Society’s mobilization



O f f i c e

AN ACTION PLAN FOR THE

MEDITERRANEAN

The Euro-MediterraneanConference on LocalWater Managementtook place in Torino on

18 and 19 October 1999.

This conference defined an actionplan for priority areas:

● drinking water supply,

● sanitation and wastewater treat-ment,

● local management of water re-sources and demand (in quantityand quality) on the scale of riverbasins and islands,

● prevention and abatement ofdrought effects and equitable ma-nagement of water scarcity,

● irrigation; use of non-conventio-nal water resources,

● formulation of national and localscenarios for 2025 enabling thesetting of precise objectives andthe taking of measures for sustai-nable water management in theMediterranean region.

Actions are planned for each of thesepriority topics:

■ institutional capacity building andtraining,

■ exchanges of information andknowledge,

■ transfers of technologies,

■ awareness raising, mobilizationand inciting commitment from allbeneficiaries.

This action plan will mainly rely onthe MEDA program within which acall for proposals for significant re-gional projects should be launchedthis year.

Its objective is the implementation, assoon as possible, of a consistent setof operations in accordance with theaction plan priorities.

The importance of EMWIS, the firsteffective project of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, was againemphasized.


FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther

TThhee MMeeddiitteerrrraanneeaannMOROCCOProtecting water resources:a main concern of “ONEP”Three training courses, financed byGerman Cooperation (GTZ), tookplace in France from 2 to 8 November,14 to 20 November and from 28 No-vember to 4 December 1999.They ad-dressed top-level executives from“ONEP” (regional managers and exec-utives at headquarters).

These courses aimed at providing un-derstanding of French water policy andof the Water Agencies’ role and mis-sions.They also dealt with proceduresand methods for implementing meas-ures for water resources protection:delimitation of protection areas, waterpolicing, role of the Agencies in thisfield, etc.

Case studies were of great interest tothe participants.

The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Local Water Management - Torino - 18 and 19 October 1999.

The participants visited the St. CassienLake dam

FF rro

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

o

m O

ne

Co

nti

nen

t to

An

oth

erA

no

ther


ALGERIADevelopment of River Basin Agencies

Within the framework of its new wa-ter policy, the Algerian Governmentcreated five River Basin Agencies in Au-gust 1996:● Oran - Chott - Chergui,

● Algiers - Hodna - Soumman,

● Constantinois - Mellégue - Sey-bousse,

● Cheliff - Zahrez,

● Sahara.

A first program of assis-tance to these young Al-gerian basin agencies, fi-nanced by the FrenchMinistry for Foreign Af-fairs and the AlgerianGovernment, was carriedout in France from De-cember 1999 to January2000, in Sophia Antipolisand Paris and at the head-quarters of the FrenchWater Agencies con-cerned.The different trainingcourses aimed at pre-senting French experi-ence on four topics:● databases,

● water quality controland monitoring,

● communication,

● management of Agencies.

The training courses were implement-ed with a view to transferring know-how, exchanging viewpoints and adap-ting them to the Algerian institutionalcontext.

In accordance with its objectives, thetraining course “Strategy for a riverbasin agency’s action” attended by fourout of the five Directors allowed thedrawing out of the main priority base-lines for a future multi-year coopera-tion between France and Algeria in thisfield.

Mer Ionienne

Mer de Marmara

Mer Tyrrhénienne

Golfe de Gascogne

Détroit de Gibraltar M

er M é d

it

e

rr a n é e

Mer Égée

Mer Noire

Atlantique Nord

Mer AdriatiqueCorse

Sardaigne

Sicile

Crète

Îles Baléares

sablanca

Oran

Annaba

Sousse

Sfax

Constantine

Benghazi Alexandrie

Su

Fès

Bordeaux

Toulouse

Barcelone

Valence

Gênes

Séville

Bilbao

Porto

Malaga

Florence

Naples

Tel Aviv

Edirne

Palerme

Thessalonique

Turin

MilanLyon

Marseille

Istanbul

Bursa

Izmir

Andorre-la-V.

La Valette

Skopje

Athènes

MadridLisbonne

Rabat

AlgerTunis

Tripoli

Le Caire

Ljubljana

Rome

Zagreb

Sarajevo

Tirana Ankara

Bey

Jéru

Sofia

BucarestBelgrade

Nicosie

MOLDAVIE

FRANCE

UKRAINE

CHYPRE

IS

HONGRIEROUMANIE

SLOVENIE

YOUGOSLAVIE

ALBANIE

MACEDOINE

BOSNIE- HERZEG.

ITALIE

MALTE

GRECE

ESPAGNE

A L G E R I EL I B Y E E G Y P T E

ANDORRE

MONACO

TURQUIE

SUISSE

CROATIE

BULGARIE

TUNISIEMAROC

ORTUGAL

wwwwww.io.iowwaaterter.or.orggII OOWWaa tt ee rr WWee bb ss ii tt ee

Whether you are a researcher, a student, a contractor, an institutional stakeholder, a water spe-cialist, or you work in an administration or a company, ... you will find all the information avai-lable on water on the International Office for Water's web site:Search for and on-line order of documents, warnings on innovations, information on the water world,lists of studies, education or training centers and available diplomas, continuing training, program ofevents, specific information on industry and clean technologies, advice to elected representatives,national water data, national and international electronic publications.


La

rge

Pr

La

rge

Pr o

jec

tso

jec

tsMMeexxiiccoo

MEXICAN TRAINING CENTER FOR WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

Inauguration in autumn 2000Inauguration in autumn 2000The building of CEM-CAS (Centro Mexi-cano de Capacitaciónen Agua y Saneamien-to) will be completedin September 2000

(1st phase) on the banks of theTexcoco Lake, between MexicoCity and the international air-port.This training center, built with the sup-port of the French-Mexican coopera-tion, aims at covering the entire Cen-tral American region. It associates theNational Water Commission (CNA)with six important Mexican publicpartners involved in the sector of wa-ter and public works and more thanforty French companies, gathered un-der the aegis of the French Embassy inMexico (PEE) with an impulse fromVivendi / Générale des Eaux and Lyon-naise des Eaux / Suez around the Inter-national Office for Water (OIWater) incharge of the technical engineering andeducational tasks.In the long term, it will train 3,000Mexican and Central Americantrainees from all professional cate-gories in the water sector, using theeducational concept of continuingtraining under real working conditions,developed by the International Officefor Water in its National Training Cen-

ter for Water Professions (CNFME) inLimoges - La Souterriane.This project involves the construc-tion of educational and administrativebuildings covering 1000 m2 togetherwith eight technical workshops re-producing in real size all installationsrequired by drinking water supplyand sanitation utilities (drinking andwastewater treatment plants, pumps,automation, electromechanics, labo-ratories, etc.).The cost of the project is 59.000MFF, 18.500 MFF of which arecontributed by a grant from theFrench Treasury (protocol) andby French partner companies.CEMCAS is managed by a non-profitmaking foundation under Mexicanlaw. Its first Board of Directors washeld at CNA headquarters in Mexicoon last 11 July.After the success of the Gdansk Wa-ter Foundation - GFW - Poland(1,000 trainees per year), the Mexi-can CEMCAS project, the first inLatin America, is in line with the pri-ority strategy of the Internation-al Office for Water to assist withthe building and development oftraining capacities, aiming to im-prove the skills of employees of wa-ter utilities worldwide.

First training courses before the end of 2000

sanitation, in terms of both design offacilities and operation, maintenanceand management of utilities.It will be possible to train people fromall professional categories in the watersector, employees from the NationalWater Commission (CNA), from thewater utilities of the Federal District ofMexico and large Mexican cities, fromMexican, French or other companies inthe sector, working in Mexico or in theneighboring countries in CentralAmerica (engineering, equipment, pub-lic works, water supply, sanitation) ...

Please be reminded that it wasduring the visit to France, on 6October 1997, of the Presidentof the United States of Mexico,Mr. Ernesto Zedillo, that theMexican Minister of Financesigned an agreement amoun-ting to 5.500 MFF with hisFrench counterpart to financethis project with a grant for the tech-nical and educational engineeringprovided by the International Office for Water.This project is original as it involves thecreation of a technical unit, gatheringall the equipment and material actuallyused or being installed in Mexican mu-nicipal water utilities in order to deve-lop active educational methods,setting the trainees under realworking conditions.The building of the Training Center be-gan in November 1998, on the occa-sion of the visit to Mexico of the Presi-dent of France, Mr. Jacques Chirac. It islocated on the bank of Texcoco Lake,on the outskirts of Mexico City, closeto the future wastewater treatmentplant planned for the Federal District.

CEMCAS's first Board of Directorstook place on last 11 July in Mexico inthe headquarters of the "ComisiónNacional del Agua" (CNA), under theChairmanship of Mr. GUERRERO VI-LALOBOS, CNA Director General,and the vice-chairmanship of Mr.DONZIER, IOWater General Manager,with the presence of Mr. L. LEVIOL,Economic and Commercial Adviser atthe French Embassy in Mexico.The first board followed the officialregistration of the Center statutes as anon-profit making foundation underMexican law. These statutes weresigned before a notary on 28 June 2000in Mexico by the representatives of thenine founder members: Comisión Na-cional del Agua, the French Embassy inMexico, the International Office forWater (IOWater), the Federal Secre-tariat of State for Labor and Social Affairs, the Mexican Institute for Water

Technologies, and the other Mexicanpartners: the National Chamber ofConsulting Firms, the National Asso-ciation of Water and Sanitation Com-panies, the Mexican Chamber of Cons-truction Industry and the NationalChamber of Processing Industry.The Board noted that with the impulseof the newly nominated director, Mr.Luis HEREDIA, the building of thetraining center could be completed inSeptember and that the gathering ofthe administrative, logistics and educa-tion teams was well under way, andtherefore the first 29 training coursesdealing with priority topics could belaunched next autumn.The Mexican Training Center for Wa-ter Supply and Sanitation (CEMCAS)will in the next few months offer arange of practical training courses forcontinuing training, in all the technicalareas of drinking water supply and

LA

RGE

P

R O J E CT

S



O f f i c e

La

rge

Pr

La

rge

Pr o

jec

tso

jec

ts


The cost of the project is estimat-ed at about 59.000 MFF, sharedbetween the National WaterCommission (CNA) on the Mexi-can side and, in addition to theTreasury protocol, 56 Frenchcompanies, gathered under theaegis of the French Embassy inMexico (PEE) with an impulsefrom the Vivendi-Générale-des-Eaux and the Lyonnaise-des-Eaux-Suez around IOWater.

This French funding, amounting to18,500 MFF., is distributed as follows:● 5.500 million French francs as

a grant from the Treasury (Mi-nistry of Economy and Finance)

● 2.000 million French francs fortechnical know-how for theCenter's technical and educa-tional Department, and

● 6.000 million French francs forthe payment of training requi-red by the two French groupsof the Vivendi-Compagnie Gé-nérale des Eaux and Lyonnaisedes Eaux-Suez, in particular forthe training of their Mexican staffworking in the Federal District ofMexico and in Mexican towns suchas Aguascalientes...

● 5.000 million French francs asa grant for materials andequipment provided by aboutforty French specialized companies.

The Training Center will be providedwith a drinking water clarification andtreatment unit, a laboratory, somepumping units, a pilot unit for leak de-tection in drinking water supply sys-tems, a unit for training on the laying ofmains and, of course, all devices neces-sary for automation and remote con-trol, ..., organized in eight educationalworkshops designed by IOWater.In a second phase, it will be equippedwith a pilot wastewater treatmentplant and sanitation-related units, aworkshop with a drainage system be-ing already installed in the first phase.Given the rapid progress of the buildingwork, the training of Mexican trainersby the International Office for Waterwill continue in the second semester of2000 in France and Mexico.The first 29priority training courses could then beorganized in Texcoco in Spanish in year2001. In the long term,the catalogue willincluded 176 specialized courses of 3 to4 days each and billed 3,000 pesos pertrainee on the average.

● AGGRIPA FAST● AKA● ALPHACAN● AREAL● CHARLATTE● COLENA● DEGREMONT● ENDRESS ET HAUSER● FAURE● FRIATEC● G2C ENVIRONNEMENT● GIRPI● HIBON● HUOT● HUWER● HYDREKA● HYTEC● JOHN CRANE France● JOHNSON● JOUAN● KSB● LACOIX SOFFREL TELECONTROL● LEGRAND● LEROY SOMER● METRAVIB● NAPAC● OTV● OLDAM France

● PAMCO● PCM POMPES● PE INDUSTRIE● PEM● PERAX TELEGESTION● PONSELLE MESURE● BOMBAS GRUNDFOSS● PRONAL● R&O DEPOLLUTION● RAMUS● RAUFOSS ISIFLO● SAINTE LIZAIGNE● SALMSON● SAPPEL● SCHLUMBERGER● SCHNEIDER● SEPEREF● SERES● SEWERIN● SNF● SOCLA● SODIMATE● TALBOT● TUBAFOR INTERNATIONAL● TROUVAY CAUVIN● ULTRAFLUX● WATTS EUROTHERM● YSM

56 F56 Frrench Companies ench Companies prproovide educational equipmentvide educational equipment

29 Prioritor29 Prioritory y courses courses ● Leak detection in drinking wa-

ter supply systems:➨ strategy and organization,➨ methods and equipment,● Detection of underground net-

works,● Reading and interpretation of

network plans,● Physico-chemical and bacterio-

logical analyses of drinking wa-ter,

● Maintenance of pumping sta-tions,

● Safety of operating eclecticequipment,

● Disinfecting with chlorine,● Measurements,● Relations with users,● Wastewater treatment by acti-

vated sludge:➨ sizing of plants,➨ operation and maintenance of

wastewater treatment plants,➨ measurements and diagnostics.

The financial resources of the center,when full completion is achieved, willcome from the sale of its training pro-grams, invoiced at cost price and in pesos.


La

rge

Pr

La

rge

Pr o

jec

tso

jec

ts

International News n° 8 - 2nd Semester 2000Publishing Director : Jean-François DONZIER

Production : Frédéric RANSONNETTE - E&di - Limoges - Tél. : +33 5 55 35 08 70Printer : GDS - Limoges - N° ISSN 0769-1995D

International Office for Water - 21, rue de Madrid - 75008 Paris - FranceTel.: +33 1 44 90 88 60 - Fax: +33 1 40 08 01 45

E-mail: [email protected] - Web: http://www.iowater.org

EURO-MEDITERRANEAN WATER INFORMATION

SYSTEMSetting-up of the Technical Unit and focal points

EEMMWWIISS

A fter completion of the fea-sibility study (1997) and fi-nancing document (1998),EMWIS entered its opera-tional phase in 1999,

thanks to the financial resources provid-ed by the European Commission, France,Italy and Spain, for the installation ofthe Technical Unit at Sophia Antipo-lis and its operation and to the desi-gnation of National Focal Points by20 of the countries involved in theEuro-Mediterranean partnership.The International Management Com-mittee and representatives of 20EMWIS National Focal Points met atSophia Antipolis from 2 to 6 December1999. Mr. MAZZITTI (Italy) presidedover the work conclusions in presenceof Mr. ROUSSEL (France - Director forWater) and representatives from theFrench General Council of Alpes-Mar-itimes and “PACA” Regional Councilwho support the project.EMWIS Web site was officiallylaunched during this session.

www.semide.org

The Committee members also ex-pressed their satisfaction with the finaldeclaration of the Torino MinisterialConference (October 1999) whichrecommended the strengthening ofEMWIS in the preparation of the Ac-tion Plan for the Mediterranean andadopted a series of actions for pro-moting EMWIS to the different Euro-pean and International organizations.

The Web site already provides anoverview of EMWIS objectives and ac-tion program implemented by theTechnical Unit and the National FocalPoints.

In accordance with the original actionprogram which had been approvedduring the Naples Conference (De-cember 1997) and which has been thereference basis for the financing agree-ment with the European Commission,

the first step ofEMWIS setting-up deals withthe optimiza-tion of a tele-c o m m u n i -cation net-work betweenthe TechnicalUnit and the NFPs and the organization ofinformation on“Who doesWhat” in thewater sector inthe partnercountries.L

A

RGE

P

R O J E CT

S

These two topics were discussed during two seminars,one gathering the NFPs’ computer scientists in Romefrom 22 to 26 May 2000, the other gathering the “peo-ple in charge of the content” in the NFPs in Madridfrom 13 to 16 June 2000.

In September 2000, information on EMWISproject will be made available on-line by theSpanish and French NFPs, as an experiment, andlinks will be set up with the NFPs which alreadyhave national servers.

EMWIS’s next Management Committee will meet inBrussels in autumn 2000 to validate EMWIS work pro-gram and budget for 2001.

N° 8 - 2ndN° 8 - 2nd Semester 2000 - English version Easy Access to 200,000 documents CENTRAL EUROPE 6 twinning arrangements for accessing to the European Union MEXICO - “CEMCAS”

Documents