EU funding for the upgrade of wastewater infrastructure in the Kolpa River basin

Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has issued a funding decision for the project Wastewater collection and treatment in the Kolpa River basin – Municipality of Metlika. The project with a total budget of EUR 952,000 will receive a contribution from the Cohesion Fund in the amount of nearly EUR 336,000. The project will be implemented by the Municipality of Metlika.  

The planned upgrade of the existing wastewater collection and treatment system in the Municipality of Metlika will ensure that the connection rate, i.e. the percentage of population with connection to sewage treatment, will grow from 95.66% to 99.32%.  

The municipality adopted an action plan on developing small wastewater treatment plants in agglomerations in order to achieve a 100% connection rate. The wastewater discharged from the buildings on the Cankarjeva cesta street which are not connected to the public sewage system is currently collected and treated in stand-alone septic tanks or fed in the combined sewer system from which the water flows untreated directly into the nearest stream. Moreover, the Roma settlement Svržaki lacks access to sanitation altogether, with no sanitation facilities being connected to a piped sewer system. The project will include these areas to increase the level of wastewater collection and treatment, reduce the risks of disease and improve residents’ health and living standards.

Upgraded wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure will pursue the main goal of the project which is to reduce water pollution.