Presentation of the project "EU Support to Reforms in the Water Sector Services" during the conference "Water Supply and Sewerage '23"

From October 10th to October 13th, the 44th International Conference "Water Supply and Sewerage '23" will be held. The conference is organized by the Association of Engineers and Technicians of Serbia, under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, and with the support of the Municipality of Čajetina in collaboration with the Engineering Chamber of Serbia.

The objective of the conference is to discuss current research and development, technical, technological, economic, legal, and other issues related to water supply and sewerage. The aim is to facilitate better information dissemination, accelerate knowledge and experience transfer in the application of modern achievements and solutions, as well as to enhance scientific research and improve the operations of water supply and sewerage companies.

Some of the topics that will be covered during this three-day conference include: drinking water sources, water distribution and consumption, wastewater treatment, sewage systems, rehabilitation of sewer and water supply systems using non-excavation techniques and the introduction of new materials, as well as the modernization and restructuring of public utility companies in the field of water supply and sewerage.

On Thursday, October 12th, a roundtable discussion will be organized to present the project "EU Support for Reforms in the Water Sector Services", aimed at improving the efficiency of water utility services. Project aim is to be achieved through:

• Assessment of the current state of water services and preparation of proposals for improvement.
• Enhancement of the public utility companies functioning and the efficiency of services in the sector.
• Proposal of a model for separating water services from other utility services.
• Development of tariff methodologies for determining water service prices.
• Creation of a model for establishment of a regulatory body.

The project "EU Support to Reforms in the Water Sector Services" is funded by the EU and managed by the Ministry of Finance, the Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes. The beneficiary of the project is the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management - Republic Water Directorate. The project is implemented by EPTISA Servicios de Ingenieria S.L. Spain in the consortium with EPTISA Southeast Europe d.o.o. Serbia.