FRANCE: - I W - “CNFME”: MINISTERIAL · PDF fileThe new Degremont-Pulsator unit...

International O f f i c efor Water

N° 6

1 9 9 8E N G L I S HV E R S I O N

International ConferInternational ConferenceenceWWater and Sustainable ater and Sustainable DeDevvelopmentelopmentPParis - 19-20-21 Mararis - 19-20-21 Marcch 1998h 1998

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MEXICO:MEXICO:AgrAgreement for the Setting-up eement for the Setting-up of the Tof the Teexcoco Txcoco Trraining Centraining Centree

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NATIONAL EVENTS

●

The National Training Centre P 2for Water Professions

● National Water Data Network P 4

● European Cooperation P 6

● Information, Communication P 8and Multimedia

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS● International Conference P 10

“Water and Sustainable Development”

● International Network P 12of Basin Organizations

● River Basin Management P 14● Municipal Water Supply p 18

and Sewerage Utilities

● Water Data Management p 21● Training and Documentation Centres p 22● The Euro-Mediterranean: EMWIS p 27● on the Web p 28

cONTENTS:

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The FrenchNationalTraining

Centrefor Water

Professions

F R A N C E :F R A N C E :“CNFME”:MINISTERIAL

INAUGURATION“CNFME”:MINISTERIALINAUGURATION

THE FRENCH MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, DOMINIQUE VOYNET, OFFICIALLY OPENED “C.N.F.M.E.”

T

he development of continuous training is the priority of the International Office for Water ( ).

Owing to the 4-year programme (1995-1998) for the modernization of its French NationalTraining Centre for Water Professions in Limoges - La Souterraine (CNFME), imple-mented within the Limousin Water Centre and in cooperation with the University and theNew National School of Engineers of Limoges, can now propose, on its installations,a new series of specific training courses:● that is addressed to all professional categories: from engineers and executives to techni-

cians, workers and employees. The centre receives about 4,000 professional trainees peryear, 350 to 400 of whom are foreigners,

● that covers all specializations and positions: design, implementation, operation, mainte-nance, management,…

● that is based on the “on-the-job” training principle, using real-size educational pilotunits that reproduce the professional environment of the trainees and simulate all standardor exceptional situations that can be encountered in their daily tasks,

● that is offered in the French, English and Spanish languages at the request of interestedorganizations.

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FRANCE: NATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE FOR WATER PROFESSIONS - “C.N.F.M.E.”

International News - IOW - N°6 - 1st Semester 1998

For the last two years, the Office has had two brand new pilotunits at its disposal, in addition to its complete installation forwater treatment. One concerns leak detection in drinkingwater supply systems and the other the operation of sanitationsystems of all types.This year, it has opened a workshop specialized on sensors.Finally, a training unit on residual sludge treatment, connected

with the new wastewater treatment plant of La Souterraine town andlocated next to the training centre, has completed the pilot units alreadyoffered in this field.

2 - WATER IN INDUSTRY

It comprises 13 training courses in the following eight fields: analyses ofprocess and cooling water, raw water treatment, operation of ion exchan-gers, operation of waste water treatment plants using activated sludge andphysico-chemical treatment processes, treatment of standard and particularwastes, sludge dewatering, measurements and self-monitoring, analysis ofwaste water and determination of heavy metal content, and finally aid andwater charges of the Water Agencies.

These installations are now unique in Europe on such a scale.Above all, it deals with training focused on a real practice of waterprofessions.In 1999, the International Office for Water proposes three spe-cialized catalogues:

1 - WATER AND SEWERAGEIN MUNICIPALITIES

It comprises 122 training courses coveringall large specialized fields, such as wateranalyses, drinking water production andsupply, effectiveness and quality of drin-king water supply services, the design,control and operation of sanitation sys-tems, urban waste water treatment, pum-ping and electrotechnology, rehabilitationand laying of mains, remote managementand automation, technical, administrativeand financial management of water ser-vices, relations with users and consumers.

International O f f i c efor Water

NATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE FOR WATER PROFESSIONS

Rue Edouard Chamberland87065 LIMOGES CEDEX FRANCE Tél. :+33 5 55 11 47 70 Fax : +33 5 55 77 71 15 E-mail : [email protected]

C O N T I N U U ST R A I N I N G

1 9 9 9

Capacity building for better water management

C A T A L O G U E

DRINKING WATERand

SANITATIONPROFESSIONS

DRINKING WATERand

SANITATIONPROFESSIONS

The new Degremont-Pulsator unit for training on the operation of settling tanks using thin sludge layers

Flow visualization

Setting-up and maintenance of fire hydrants

29 May 1998:

3 - WATER IN THE PLATING INDUSTRY

It comprises 10 modules that, with applicationsspecific to this type of activity integrated in the pre-vious industrial training courses, deal with trainingon recycling techniques used at the source, deconta-mination of effluents and emergency electricalrepairs and maintenance of mechanical equipmentof treatment plants.The Office particularly offers the trainees access toa complete pilot decontamination plant equippedwith representative industrial machinery and to alaboratory for analyses and treatment control, butalso access to a real industrial installation whichis a prototype of an integrated treatment unit.All training courses can be combined to constitute areal and complete curriculum of professional trai-ning.

“Tailored” training courses are also orga-nized at the request of municipalities andwater companies, enterprises or industrialholdings. They can be implemented inany foreign country in one of the inter-national languages (English catalogue:“Open courses”, Spanish catalogue:“Cursos abiertos”).In addition, all trainees can also consultthe documentation serverthat is one of the largest specialized libra-ries worldwide with more that 175,000references.

Finally, training development alsoincludes the implementation of tools forremote training:● Series of Technical Booklets● Series of CD Techniques

(CD-I and CD-Rom)● Remote training via Internet

(Eco Management project).

These means will allow to propo-se a global approach to humanresources development in the water sec-tor by favouring continuing training.

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EAUDOC

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OR WATER PROFESSIONS - “C.N.F.M.E.”


AN ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION

In order to guarantee thatits users are satisfied bythe reliability of its com-mitments at the lowest costpossible, “CNFME” hasundertaken to apply for anISO 9001 certification forits training activities.This guarantee supposesthe mastering of trainingorganization and processesand of its activities.

Information

The French National Training

Centrefor Water Professions

“CNFME”22, rue Edouard

Chamberland87065 Limoges Cedex

FranceTel.: +33 5 55 11 47 70Fax: +33 5 55 77 71 15E-mail: [email protected]

The new wastewatertreatment plant of La Souterraine

3D view of “CNFME” at La Souterraine

The study of a sanitationnetwork on a pilot unit

THE “RNDE”PUBLICATIONS

THE “RNDE”PARTNERS

PAGE 4


A report on sanitation in towns

USERS

SpecializedBases

BHP

QUADRIGE

HYDRO

PLUVIO

BasinNetworks

Producers

WEBServer

BasinBanks

NATIONALWATERDATABANK

RNDEServer

ProducingBanks

NATIONAL WATER DATA NETWORK - “RNDE”

“RNDE” improves access to data

MINISTÈREDU TRAVAIL

ET DES AFFAIRESSOCIALES

● the Ministry of Health

Conseil Supérieur de la Pêche

● the HigherCouncil for Fisheries

● the FrenchInstitute for Environment

IFREMER ● IFREMER

● METEO-France

Electricitéde France

● Electricity of France

L'ENTREPRISE AU SERVICE DE LA TERRE

BRGM

● the ResearchCentre for Geology and Mines

THE “RNDE”PARTNERS

With the opening of itsserver on Internet,

last September 1997, “RNDE”has increased access to its water data.Up to date, the WEB server,named “RNDE server” offersinformation on the organiza-tion of the French NationalWater Data Network, on par-ticipating partners, on thestandardized language establi-shed for water data(SANDRE) and on the diffe-rent banks storing water data.

The French National Water DataNetwork -RNDE- aims to impro-ve the storage of water data andto ensure access to their data byall users.Initiated in 1992 by the FrenchMinistry for the Environment andthe Water Agencies, “RNDE”has widened its sphere progressi-vely to other bodies concerned:

IOW ensures the co-ordinationof the project, the managementof “SANDRE” and the opera-tion of such national tools asthe “RNDE server” and theNational Water Data Base.

● the Ministry for Spatial Planning and the Environment

● the WaterAgencies

A map of fish populations infrench water courses

An inventory of the mainindustrial discharges into water

O f f i c eInternationald e l ' E a u

● the InternationalOffice for Water

THE “RNDE”PUBLICATIONS

“RNDE” widelydisseminates the datasummaries it federates.

Were thus produced in 1997:

- “RNDE”

oves access to data

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INLAND WATER:THE EUROPEAN TOPIC CENTRE RECONDUCTED UNTIL YEAR 2000

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ETC

The European Inland WaterTopic Centre (ETC/IW) carriesout technical audits on behalf ofthe European EnvironmentAgency (EEA).This body was set up in 1995 forthree years and ETC/IW’s man-date has been reconducted for the1998-2000 period.The tasks entrusted to ETC/IWconcern some essential topics: ● The setting-up of a European

water monitoring network,EUROWATERNET

This network, which was defi-ned during ETC/IW’s firstmandate, must allow for theproduction of information onaquatic ecosystems, which isreliable, representative andcomparable in all States. Onthis subject, it is to be notedthat EEA’s responsibilitycovers not only the 15 mem-

ber-countries of the EuropeanUnion, but also Norway,Iceland and the CentralEuropean countries.

The period about to begin willsee the implementation of thisnetwork, which is based in par-ticular, on pilot experimentscarried out in several Europeancountries.

● The preparation of Europeanreports on the state of theenvironment

Every three years, EEA has toproduce a report on the state ofthe environment in Europe. Itis entitled the DOBRIS Report.The ETC/IW has contributedto the “water” chapters, parti-cularly the aspects of eutrophi-cation and availability of theresource, which appeared inthe Spring 1998 report.

● Technical support forEuropean regulations

The European EnvironmentAgency, in liaison with DGXI,entrusts ETC/IW with technicaltasks which concern existingregulations, within the frame-work of the data collection impo-sed by these regulations, as wellas the future European Directivepertaining to water resources.Within ETC/IW, IOW, in closecooperation with IFEN, EEA’sFrench focal point, is activelyinvolved in these three types oftasks, and has seconded, with thehelp of the Water Agencies, apermanent representative to thecentral team, based near London.

ETC/IW:A CONSORTIUM

OF 8 ORGANIZATIONS● AWW (Austria)● CEDEX (Spain)● INAG (Portugal)● NERI (Denmark)● NIVA (Norway)● IOW (France)● VMM (Flanders)● and WRC (Great Britain),

which is leader of the con-sortium

These organizations share thetasks according to their ownexpertise.

THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

It also proposes “RNDE’s”publications, which can be free-ly consulted and downloaded.Before the end of 1998, the“RNDE server” will go evenfurther into data access, byoffering GIS access to eachmonitoring station of thenational networks: quality ofwater courses, monitoring offish farming and of beachesand coastal waters, rainfallgauging station networks,hydrometric and piezometricnetworks.

The “RNDE server” is a devi-ce giving access to variousdata banks: the NationalWater Data Base (BNDE),operated by IOW, specializedbanks, six river basin databases and data producers.

SANDRE

“SANDRE”

“SANDRE”, the National Data Reference Centre for Water,is a common language for all water data producers and users.

“SANDRE” elaborates:

● a description of data using data dictionaries and models,

● lists of national references,

● standardized formats for electronic exchanges (EDI).

“SANDRE” has been a development group of EDI, acknow-ledged by EDIFRANCE as regards water, and participates inthe standardization of data exchanges.

To connect yourself: http://www.rnde.tm.fror: http://www.oieau.fr/rnde

EUROPEAN COOPERATION

“ECOMANAGEMENT”THE PROJECT - TEST PHASE

The European ADAPT programmehas recently approved the ESC’EAUproject, proposed by IOW with thesupport of the Provence-Alps-RivieraRegional Council.This project will enable the design and the setting-up of a sys-tem for assessing the skill andknow-how of water utilities’ staffmembers. The first persons to beconcerned will be the operators ofwaste water treatment plants.

The Marseilles Water Company(SEM), the Artois-Picardy WaterAgency, as well as European part-ners: Hydrocontrol (I), BEW (D),University of Valencia (SP),LNEC (P), are also already invol-ved in this project and in futuretrials, but if other organizationswish to participate in this work,they will be very welcome.

Contact: Claude TOUTANT

ASSESSINGOPERATORS’ SKILLS

EcoManagement is a tool forremote training and advice forenterprises regarding the environ-ment. It is being developedwithin the “TelematicApplications“ Programme ofthe European Union.The test phase started in May1998 to validate the technical andeducational alternatives retainedby the project group.Should you be a small enterprisethat has started an ISO 14000environmental approach andinterested in this combinationbetween training and new infor-mation and communication tech-

TECHWARE“ LEADING MEMBER”

FRANCE

In July 1997, the InternationalOffice for Water and the NationalSchool of Engineers of Limoges(ENSIL) signed an agreementwith TECHWARE for the set-ting-up of a French “Regional”Bureau of this European network.

TECHWARE (TECHnology forWAter REsources) is an interna-tional non-profit making associa-tion. This partners’ network isunique in Europe and regroupsuniversities, research and traininginstitutes, public authorities, pro-fessional and scientific associa-tions, independent consultantsinvolved in the Water andEnvironment sectors.

Its objectives are as follows:

● facilitate European coopera-tion,

● promote multilingualism,

● further research and indus-try-university cooperation,

● promote technology transferin the water sector.

The IOW-ENSIL group is nowthe “TECHWARE LeadingMember” and acts as the Frenchmeeting point of members of thisassociation in order to help them:

● obtain scholarships offered byTECHWARE,

● identify European companiesthat may receive trainees,

● provide information on the dif-ferent EC programmes such asSOCRATES, LEONARDO daVINCI, TEMPUS, TACIS, ofthe EIB, EBRD and EDF.

● follow up EC’s invitations totender, find European partnersand finalize the proposals in therequired forms and time limits,

● set up “Specialist Groups” withEuropean partners to preparejoint projects and request theirfunding from the EC.

Contact: Antonio ROGER

TECHWARE "Leading Member"Fax: +33 5 55 42 36 80

E-mail: [email protected] REPLACEMENTOF LEAD PIPESA WIDE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

The International Office forWater is developing a Europeanproject dealing with the replace-ment of lead pipes for drinkingwater supply, within the ADAPTInitiative and with the technicaland financial support of theFrench Ministry of Labour andSocial Affairs.At European level, this program-me regroups EETAA in Greece,Federgasaqua in Italy and thePolytechnics University ofValencia in Spain.The new European Directiveimposes the reduction of thelead concentration in drinkingwater to such an extent thatmanagers of water supply sys-tems will have to replace orrehabilitate their old connec-tions and mains in the shortterm.Awareness raising and the trai-ning of contracting authoritiesand “plumbers” of the sectorconcerned are thus needed, usingthe design and implementation ofseveral specific tools (brochures,technical booklets, training kits,notebooks...).A first reflection phase, jointlycarried out with the FrenchConfederation of Craftsmenand Small Building Enterprises(CAPEB), led to the drafting ofan information leaflet intendedfor private individuals andowners of private residences

A Steering Committee has beenformed that will be responsiblefor the formulation of guidelinesto implement other tools and forthe validation of their content.A large scale awareness campai-gn will be organized in 1998.

Contact: Laurent PISSAVY

L'EAU POTABLEJUSQU'AUROBINET

☎✉☎✉

Vos responsabi l ités

Les solutionstechniques

Les adresses uti les

Votre santéest précieuse

Vos responsabi l ités

Les solutionstechniques

Les adresses uti les

Votre santéest précieuse


Information French National Training Centre

for Water ProfessionsFax: +33 5 55 77 71 15

E-mail: [email protected]

nologies, the International Officefor Water suggests that you jointhe experimental panel.

Contact: Gilles NEVEU


EUROPEANLIFEPROGRAMME

Whenever water resources mana-gement is mentioned, one must,at first, consider a territory or ariver basin. The European Centrefor Developing Innovations inRural Areas (CEDEPI) sprungfrom this concept and launchedthe RIVER Programme: How toSucceed in Identifying andDeveloping Information andExperiments in Rural Areasregarding Water.In practice, the project consists of3-day training and communica-tion courses, gathering all thepeople involved in a local riverbasin and concerned by waterresources management. The origi-nality of this project consists, onone hand, in gathering severalcategories of operators around acommon issue and on the other,in the “inter-basin” dynamicswhich arise as the courses pro-gress.In the light of the first experi-ments carried out in 1993, CEDE-PI obtained in 1994, aco-financing of the project by theEuropean Commission on LIFEcredits. This financial supporthelped improve the methodologyof the RIVER programme, andalso to extend the project.In 1996, the Commission forPlanning and Development of theMassif Central region wished tocontribute to the course toconcentrate interregional reflec-tions on the management of theMassif’s water resources.The Massif Central is “the waterreservoir of France” which sup-plies the four large river basins ofthe Loire, Dordogne, Garonne andthe Rhone. The resource is abun-dant but very fragile owing to avery fine water course networkand to a low storage capacity.

Reflection on the management ofupper river basins andupstream/downstream solidarityis thus a priority in the MassifCentral region: the “RIVER-Water sharing” programme great-ly contributes to a free dialoguebetween the various peopleconcerned by integrated resourcemanagement.The Commission for Planningand Development of the MassifCentral region has chosen theInternational Office for Water towork out a programme of ten“RIVER” actions initiated withthe regional natural parks and thecommunity syndicates of theMassif Central region.

Contacts: CEDPI: M. Claude HOLL

Tél. +33 1 43 45 69 66IOW: Katia BITTNERFax: +33 3 20 13 11 86


“RIVER - WATER SHARING”A REFLECTION TOOL AT THE SERVICEOF THE MASSIF CENTRAL REGION

LIFE 1997: INDUSTRIAL POLLUTIONIN THE MEUSE RIVER BASIN

In 1997-1998, the InternationalOffice for Water carried out astudy on the industrial pollutionin the Meuse river basin in colla-boration with partners in eachriparian country:● France - Rhine-Meuse Water

Agency● Germany - Landesumwel-

tamt Nordrhein Westfalen● The Netherlands - RIZA● Belgium (Flanders) - VMM● Belgium (Walloon Region) -

Ministry of the Walloon Re-gion

This study was undertaken withinthe framework of the LIFE actionprogramme (the EuropeanCommission’s financial tool forthe environment).Its aim was to review and compa-re the methods used for assessingindustrial pollution in each coun-try in order to identify the diffe-rences that might raisecomparability problems whenconstituting the inventories ofdischarges which are required bythe New European Directive onwater.The various types of assessmentmethods thus inventoried corres-pond to very different objectives:

control of authorizations for ope-ration, pricing of charges andmonitoring of the effective opera-tion of a waste water treatmentplant. One or several methodsmay be used to establish invento-ries of discharges. Laws, struc-tures, parameters, samplingmethods and calculation are des-cribed and compared for eachcountry. Particular attention waspaid to the issues regarding self-monitoring and toxicity tests.Its results were presented duringa seminar in Liege on 4-5 June1998. This seminar gathered thenational and regional authoritiesof the Meuse river basin. Therecommendations of the studywere discussed and will be usedby the countries and the DGXI intheir reflections on the evolutionof international inventories. Thestudy report will be available inautumn 1998.

Contact: Jennifer LEONARDFax: +33 2 38 79 78 60

HR Wallingford Ltd, in partner-ship with IOW, was entrusted bythe European Commission,Directorate General forDevelopment (DG VIII), with thepreparation of guidelines in thewater resources sector. This pro-ject is part of the Commission’sProgramme on the Environmentin Developing Countries.The work has included:● The development of lending po-

licies and the application of theproject cycle procedures by DGVIII and DG 1-B,

● A review of the existing poli-cies and strategies in countriesof the European Union andother donors regarding ACPcountries and developing coun-tries in Asia, Latin America andthe Middle East,

● The preparation of guidelinesfor the application of a sectorial

approach by EC operationalstaff and recipient countries.

After a first seminar, held inBrussels on 13 and 14 May, 1997,whose objective was to define thecontents of the guidelines, mee-tings with HR Wallingford tookplace in summer and led to thedrawing up of documents thatwere presented to a group ofexperts at EC on 28 October.The directives described in theTerms of Reference were thenfinalized using the remarks madeduring this meeting.The document, in French andEnglish, was then disseminated toa panel of users.

Contact: L. ROBAUXFax: +33 1 40 08 01 45


EUROPEAN COOPERATION:A NEW FRAMEWORK


SDAGE AND SAGE:PEDAGOGY AND METHODOLOGY

In France, the water law of 1992defines the principles of soundmanagement of the resource, which aims at reconciling the pro-tection of aquatic ecosystems withuses and economic interests.

The implementation of this policyis based on the river basins, takeninto account in the regulatory andplanning tools which are:

● Master Plans for Water Mana-gement and Development(SDAGEs), which determined in1996 the fundamental trends ineach of the six large metropoli-tan watersheds. SDAGEs are to-day being prepared in the DOMs(French overseas “Depart-ments”).

● Water Management and De-velopment Schemes (SAGEs)are tools for local dialogue

which will be elaborated by Local Water Commissions(LWC) on the scale of a sub-basin.

IOW is already working with theLocal Water Commission of theSAGE of Audomarois and the Ba-sin Committee of Martinique, andother projects are under study,particularly in the Adour-Garonnebasin through the implementationof information sessions for electedofficials.

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA

“WATER-DAYS” FORELECTED OFFICIALSPARTICIPATION OF MORE THAN10.000 ELECTED OFFICIALS

“EAUDOC+”A NEW SYSTEM FOR ACCESSINGINFORMATION ON INTERNET

MULTILINGUALINTERFACES

The idea is to build and develop areal integrated water informationsystem, providing the users -whe-ther French-speaking or not- withunique and easy access.The appearance of new technolo-gies and particularly Internet andhypertext navigation (surfing), thedigitization of information (texts or

others) and the ease of informationexchange (electronic mailboxes)permit networking and lead to im-portant and quick changes.“Eaudoc+” will continue in this logicin networking the various Frenchproducers of water-related informa-tion and in disseminating their docu-mentary data bases.

Within the framework of the Euro-pean Commission’s Telematics pro-gramme, the International Officefor Water has successfully pre-sented the VILIB “Virtual Libra-ry” project, with seven other Euro-pean partners specialized in linguis-tics or in the water sectors.The aim of this project is toconsult by way of Internet, wa-ter-related library catalogues,using a standard, in four diffe-rent languages which are English, German, French and

Spanish. It will then be extendedto full-text documents.Our partners are the Spanish CE-DEX, the Zentralbibliothek of theForschungszentrums Jülich, andthe Swedish Environmental Re-search Institute, the Communityof European ManagementSchools, CRIL Engineering andTEXTEC.

“VILIB”

The International Office for Wa-ter, fully aware of the stakes athand regarding access to water-re-lated information on Internet, isworking with partners on two newprojects:● “AQUITRA”: utilitarian wa-

ter-related automatic translationsystem, essentially Spanish-French and German-French atfirst;

● “MARE NOSTRUM”: a sys-tem for terminological equiva-lence of water terms in French-English-Arabic.

The aim is to compile and draw uptechnical, legal, geographical andinstitutional glossaries which willfacilitate a north-south transfer ofinformation.

IOW has created “JURIEAUDOC”which allows easy access to:● legal texts relative to French

and European Union’s legis-lation.

The search can be made by texttypes, by using their signature orpublication date or by key-words.● comments from specialists,

selected articles or books thatexplain the texts.

● the most interesting jurispru-dence, used to appreciate howlaw courts solved applicationand interpretation problems.

Thanks to a “linkage” system usedas an experiment, legal texts thatderive from one another can befound automatically as well as as-sociated comments or jurispru-dence and, of course, the successi-ve changes that occurred in the sa-me text when they exist.Each document is reviewed andindexed with key-words and asummary.To date, the base comprises1,800 referenced documents.

JURIEAUDOCFRENCH WATER LAW ON INTERNET

Contacthttp://www.oieau.fr/eaudoc

For six years now, the Internatio-nal Office for Water has been de-veloping assistance tools for deci-sion-making at the request ofFrench local elected officials.These activities are in keeping withthe changes that occurred in the Eu-ropean and French regulations rela-tive to the water and sanitation sec-tors. They deal with the various as-pects of this legal framework in or-der to enable elected officials to bet-ter appreciate the socio-economicand technical challenges that direct-ly affect communities and users.A multiannual, decentralizedinformation programme hasbeen developed within agree-ments signed between the Natio-nal Fund for Rural Water Supply

(FNDAE), “Departments” and theWater Agencies.For the last six years, from 1992to 1997, IOW has already wor-ked with 33 “General Councils”and organized 68 different spe-cialized sessions in 111 districtsin the form of “water days forelected officials”. 9,577 Mayorsand leaders of Water Syndicates attended.Sanitation is especially theconcern of elected officials inFrench rural areas: technologiesare well known but the setting-upof a public service for collectiveor on-site sanitation raises somequestions. The purpose of thesesessions is to provide practical so-lutions for elected officials.

EAUDOC+

EAUDOC+

“

“

“

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AND MULTIMEDIA

“FRANCE-ENVIRONMENT-DEVELOPMENT”A partnership agreement wassigned between CFME-ACTIM(Agency for the InternationalPromotion of French Techno-logies and Enterprises), ADEME(French Agency for theEnvironment and EnergyControl) and the InternationalOffice for Water to mobilizecapacities and promote know-how and technologies useful forsustainable development.

CFME-ACTIM, ADEME andIOW will intervene in a comple-mentary manner to cooperatewith foreign countries in the envi-ronmental sector on three maintopics:

● integrated management anddevelopment of renewableresources,

● organization and equipmentof environmental services oftowns,

● control and prevention ofemissions, industrial pollu-ting discharges and wastes,and their treatment.

SIMSTEP allows you to simulateon your computer the operation ofa waste water treatment plant,using activated sludge.Produced by combining the Top-kapi supervision software of thecompany Areal and the BioWinsimulation software of EnviroSimLtd (Canada), this was managedby the International Office forWater.

Translations into English, Ger-man, Spanish and Danish arebeing made, in partnership withWTi (UK), BEW (D), Sanejamentd’Aigués (SP) and the FreshwaterCenter (DK), for their dissemina-tion to European countries.This product was funded by theEuropean Commission within theLeonardo da Vinci Programme.

The “Pure Water” CD-Rom presents the solutionsbrought by ITT-Flygt formeeting demand for water,which is essential for hu-man life.It also gives a brief outlookof the Stockholm WaterFoundation, and a pro-gress report on research,especially of the importantwork undertaken by thewinners of the StockholmWater Prize.“Pure Water” has been im-plemented by ITT FluidTechnology, New York,and IIT Flygt, Stockholm.The teaching material usedis based on the Internatio-nal Office for Water’stechnical booklet: “Whatis decontamination?”.

IOW was requested to implementa multilingual CD-ROM for awa-reness raising and informationwhose first objective was torecall and review past disastersthat occurred in the Mediter-ranean region and to inform elec-ted officials of the solutions thatcan be used for flood preventionin river basins.

“SIMSTEP”SIMULATE TREATMENT ON YOUR COMPUTER

“PURE WATER”COOPERATION BETWEEN ITT FLYGT AND IOW

FLASH FLOODPREVENTIONRAISING AWARENESS

Do you wish to receivedirectly by electronicmail

IOW’sINTERNATIONAL NEWS?Please indicate on our E-mail:[email protected]

Your name, surname, organizationYour postal address

Town - CountryYour E-mail address

Your equipment:PC-Windows 95 or Macintosh

You may also directly download the PDFfile from our FTP server:

ftp.oieau.fr/public/news/news6.pdf


Water planning and managementneed to be taken into accountwithin a socio-economic develop-ment context while recognizingthe vital role of water in the ful-fillment of basic human needs,food security, poverty alleviationand the functioning of water-rela-ted ecosystems.To seek that the various functionsof sustainable water managementare funded, appropriate frame-works should be established inorder to:● enable the mobilization of pri-

vate or public funds,

● facilitate access to credit bydecentralized managementstructures,

● provide the private investorswith appropriate risk guaran-tee schemes for the financing ofinvestments,

● set up “user-pays” pricingsystems that cover direct or in-direct costs of the services withthe costs billed to users who canafford to pay,

● manage the transition towardsthe total recovery of operation,maintenance, replacement andmanagement costs,

III - DEFINING STRATEGIES AND IDENTIFYINGAPPROPRIATE MEANS OF FINANCING

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

F urther to the initiative of thePresident of the French Re-public, Mr. Jacques CHI-

RAC, during the United NationsExtraordinary General Assemblyin June 1997 in New York, theFrench Government invited therepresentatives of 85 Countries,including the members of theCommission on Sustainable De-velopment, the Organizations ofInternational Cooperation and theCivil Society, to participate in theInternational Conference on Wa-ter and Sustainable Developmentheld in Paris on March 19-20-21,1998.The French Ministries forForeign Affairs andEnvironment, in relation withthe Ministries of Agriculture,Cooperation, Public Works,Research, Health and theWater Agencies, entrusted theInternational Office for Waterto be the operator of thisConference, as regards techni-cal aspects and logistics.More than 1200 delegated partici-pated in the workshops that tookplace at UNESCO. This demons-trates that the entire world isaware of the importance of a bet-ter water resources management

for the future of humanity.The delegates unanimouslyapproved the “ParisDeclaration” in which they areconcerned that constraints onaccess to water, in terms of quan-tity and quality, could become amajor limiting factor for sustai-nable development.The “Paris Declaration” callsupon the International Community,Public Authorities and CivilSociety to give priority to provi-ding access for all to safe drinkingwater and sanitation, and to mobili-ze themselves in order to:● promote integrated water re-

sources management,● mobilize adequate financial

resources from public andprivate sectors,

● improve knowledge, trainingand information exchange.

The delegates emphasized theimportance of following up theguidance contained in the“Programme of Priority Actions”developed by the ExpertsWorkshops, during which morethan 270 papers were presented.This “Programme of PriorityActions” is based on three maintopics:

It is recommended to:● establish and improve inte-

grated monitoring systems(collection, analysis, manage-ment and dissemination of dataon water quantity and quality,availability and uses as well asecosystems).Such systems should be develo-ped at the different relevant le-vels and be structured in theform of long-term monitoringsystems for large river basins.

Priority should be given to har-monization and standardizationallowing data exchange.

● Strengthen regional, nationaland international pro-grammes for acquiring fun-damental knowledge of majortrends and their impact in parti-cular.

● promote the networking of in-terlinked and widely dissemi-nated systems for exchangingdocumentation on water.

I - IMPROVING KNOWLEDGEOF WATER RESOURCES AND USES

II -PROMOTING HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENTAND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING

This topic dealt with:● the promotion of necessary

reforms which require:- adequate legislation and regula-

tions,

- effective management organi-zations,

- institutional bodies and proce-dures enabling the participationof local authorities, representa-

tives of users and civil societyin decision-making,

- master plans for long-term wa-ter development and manage-ment, at the level of large riverbasins or aquifers in particular,

- multi-year priority investmentprogrammes that take into ac-count “user-pays” systems andthe “polluter-pays” principle,and capacity to pay.

Devolution of responsibilities tolocal authorities should be encou-raged.It is recommended that a signifi-cant share of official developmentassistance be allocated for thepromotion of these activities● the organization of trans-

boundary inland water mana-gement

To this end, it is desirable inter-alia to:- promote the exchange of re-

liable and comparable informa-tion between riparian countries,

- develop dialogue at all levels,including at the level of the re-levant international institutionsand arrangements whenever ap-propriate,

- define priority action plans ofcommon interest to be imple-mented in order to improve wa-ter management and pollutioncontrol.

There are more than 215 trans-boundary rivers in the world. Theaction of bi- and multilateraldonor institutions should beenhanced and facilitated for theirmanagement.● the collection of economic in-

formation to improve know-ledge of water costs in the diffe-rent uses and monitor perfor-mance.

● the development of trainingand information of both pro-fessionals and users in the wa-ter sector.

Official Development Assistanceshould give priority to the esta-blishment and development ofregional training focal points,while developing, as a first step,the educational capacities of exis-ting training institutions.The training of trainers and thedevelopment of necessary educa-tional materials should be promo-ted by organizing these traininginstitutions into networks.Training the least qualified staff(who represent the majority ofworkers in the sector) by usingappropriate on-the-job trainingmethods, should be given a highpriority.Specific actions should be streng-thened to enable women to parti-cipate in the formulation andmanagement of projects.

PARIS - MARCH 19-20-21, 1998

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE“WATER AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”

1200 DELEGATES FROM 85 COUNTRIES APPROVED THE PARIS DECLARATION


IOW’s technical team stands for posterity in front of the flags of represented countries

PARIS CONFERENCERIVER BASIN MANAGEMENTWORKSHOP

“USERS’ PARTICIPATION IN THE MANAGEMENTAND FUNDING OF BASIN ORGANIZATIONS”

All recommendations and papers of the InternationalConference on Water and Sustainable Development

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The French Government invitedthe International Network ofBasin Organizations (INBO),that regroups 105 organizationsin 44 countries, to organize aspecialized workshop duringthe International Conference onWater and Sustainable Deve-lopment in Paris on 20 March1998.

This workshop that gatheredmore than 280 participants, re-commended that a global, inte-grated and consistent manage-ment of water resources and re-lated ecosystems be organized:

❶ on the relevant scale oflarge river basins andaquifers;

❷ with the participation indecision-making of localauthorities, the variouscategories of users and as-sociations, beside govern-mental bodies;

❸ based on master plans thatset long-term objectives;

❹ within multiannual Prio-

rity Investment Pro-grammes” that result fromthese master plans;

❺ mobilizing appropriatefunding, based on the“polluter-pays” principleand “users-pay” systems.

INBO recommended in particu-lar:

■ the formulation of legal fra-meworks to achieve these fi-ve objectives,

■ the organization and partici-pation of users in river basincommittees,

■ the establishment of specificriver basin charges,

■ the signature of internatio-nal agreements for the ma-nagement of transboundaryrivers,

■ the mobilization of OfficialDevelopment Aid to set upappropriate river basin orga-nizations, in particular for in-ternational rivers.

WORLDWATERCOUNCILAt its first General Assembly inMontreal, Canada, on 3September 1997, the WorldWater Council elected its Boardof Governors and approved itsConstitution:● Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, Mi-

nister of Public Works and Wa-ter Resources of Egypt waselected President of the Coun-cil.

The new Board of Governors iscomposed of 38 members: ● the two other founder members,

Mr. R. Coulomb and Dr. AlyShady,

● a representative of the City ofMarseilles,

● the representatives of the 10constituent organizations:IWRA, ICID, the World Bank,IAWQ, IWSA, UNDP, UNES-CO, IUCN, WSSCC and IAM,

● a further 19 members electedby the General Assembly, in-cluding Messrs. J-F. Donzier;General Manager of IOW andrepresentative of INBO’s Per-manent Technical Secretariatand P-F Ténière-Buchot, Direc-tor of the French Seine-Nor-mandy Water Agency,

● 5 Governors co-opted by theother Governors,Executive Director, Dr. Guy LeMoigne, emphasized the suc-cess of the World Water Forumin Marrakech in March 1997.

Contact: Guy LE MOIGNE - WWCFax: +33 4 91 99 40 01

● take the necessary measures,cross-subsidies in particular, toprevent management of ser-vices limiting access to waterby low-income users,

● apply efficiently the “pollu-ter-pays” principle,

● take into account costs relatedto the acquisition of knowledge,surface and ground water pro-tection and development, thepreservation and managementof ecosystems, river basins,aquifers and the maintaining ofwetlands and water flow in wa-tercourses.

The joint action and co-financingof multilateral and bilateral donorsshould be emphasized, in order thatrecipient countries obtain maxi-mum effectiveness from externalfinancing, in particular for integra-ted regional projects.Besides, concessional financingshould first concentrate onenabling activities.

Among these, nine prioritieshave been chosen:❶ Meeting basic needs of

underprivileged popula-tions.

❷ The organization of integra-ted monitoring systems anddatabases.

❸ The implementation of ins-titutional, administrativeand economic reforms.

❹ Vocational and on-the-jobtraining.

❺ Facilitate public-privatepartnerships.

❻ Sustainable management ofwater-related ecosystems.

❼ Research and training.❽ Natural disaster (flood and

drought) preparedness.❾ Efficiency of irrigation. “RELOC”

LATINAMERICANNETWORKOF BASINORGANIZATIONS

Following the second “Meetingof Basin Organizations fromLatin America and theCaribbean” that was held inGUATEMALA from 29 to 31July 1998 under theChairmanship of Mrs. EvelynREYNA-CHACON, at the invita-tion of the President of theRepublic of Guatemala and of theAMATITLAN Lake Authority,the first General Assembly of theLatin American Network ofBasin Organizations took place inSantafe de Bogota, Colombia,from 3 to 6 August, 1998.It gathered the representatives ofall organizations - INBO mem-bers from the continent whoapproved the statutes and nomi-nated the Bureau, presided byMr. Diego BRAVO BORDA,Director General of theAutonomous Corporation ofCUNDINAMARCA.


GENERAL ASSEMBLYVALENCIA - SPAINOCTOBER 1997INBO GATHERS 105 ORGANIZATIONSFROM 44 COUNTRIESThe 1997 General Assembly ofthe International Network ofBasin Organizations took place inValencia - Spain - from October 2to 4, at the invitation of theSpanish Authorities.The works were honoured by thepresence of Mrs. Isabel TOCINO,Spanish Minister for theEnvironment, who officially ope-ned the debates, as well as RitaBARBERA, Mayoress of Valencia.The Assembly gathered 105delegates who represented 61Member-Organizations from 27countries.It renewed the members of theLiaison Bureau that presentlycomprises 14 regular membersand six substitute members whorepresent Africa, America, Asiaand Europe. The delegates reaf-firmed their support to INBO’sCharter principles:● An integrated management of

water resources and uses, or-ganized in river basins,

● Participation of all categoriesof water users in River BasinCommittees,

● Formulation of realistic me-dium-term objectives in theform of master plans andPriority Investment Pro-grammes,

● The implementation of appropria-te funding systems, based on the“user-polluter-pays” principle.

The delegates also decided toreinforce the collective activitiesinitiated within INBO:

❶ Publication of the “ NetworkNewsletter”, with now morethan 10,000 copies disseminatedtwice a year in three languages(French, Spanish, English).

❷ Extension of the Web sitehttp://www.oieau.fr/riob withthe creation of files for exchan-ging information, educationalmaterials and specialists betweenthe member-organizations.

❸ Development of the internatio-nal multilingual documenta-tion exchange system “ AQUA-DOC-INTER “ on Internet.

❹ Organization of the Interna-tional Workshop on River Basin Management on March20, 1998, during the Paris“Water and Sustainable Development” Conference(see article, p 11) and of a tech-nical seminar on “ the participa-tion of users in the managementand funding of basin organiza-tions” during the next GeneralAssembly to be held in Salva-dor de Bahia (Brazil) in December 1998.

❺ A feasibility study for an in-ternational two-week trai-ning course on the setting-upof basin organizations.

The International Office forWater (IOW) is in charge of:

● the Permanent TechnicalSecretariat of the Interna-tional Network of Basin Or-ganizations (INBO) that ga-thers today 105 members in44 countries

● implementing institutionalcooperation programmesthat aim at setting up the orga-nizations necessary for sustai-nable water resources manage-ment in river basins. It inter-venes as an operator for Fren-ch Ministries and Water Agen-cies mobilizing the experienceand expertise they have acqui-red over more than 30 years.

This technical seminar was orga-nized during the GeneralAssembly of Valencia and gavemember-organizations the oppor-tunity of presenting case studiesand of extended discussions, theconclusions of which are entirelyreported on INBO’s web site.They can be summarized as fol-lows:● The integrated management of

water resources and ecosystemsmust be organized at the levelof every large river basin andassociate users in decision-ma-king.

● A complete vision of all tasks,and of their correspondingcosts, to be jointly or indivi-dually carried out is necessaryto implement this integratedmanagement.

● It is indispensable to define thetasks of all public or private or-ganizations that intervene andto set up modern and effectiveinformation systems to assessthe situation and its changes andmonitor the effectiveness of thepolicies implemented.

● Regulations and standards to be

complied with and realistic ob-jectives to be progressively rea-ched in the long-term, must bedefined in master plans andpriority action plans that areusually of a five year duration.

● Funding out of public budgetsalone is or will be insufficient tomeet the increasing needs to co-ver investment, rehabilitationand operation costs and to per-mit a sustainable managementand monitoring.

● It is thus necessary that all cate-gories of users participate in thefunding of water managementin direct proportion to their netconsumption and pollution, un-der conditions that are discus-sed in river basin committees,while taking into account the li-mited ability to pay of the poo-rest populations, using equali-zation mechanisms.

● Further to the direct funding ofthe cost of community services,the establishment, that may beprogressive in the long-term, ofspecific basin taxes is an effi-cient means of ensuring solida-rity and the mobilization of allpartners.

TECHNICAL SEMINAR3 OCTOBER 1997FINANCING OF BASIN ORGANIZATIONS

“RIVER BASINMANAGEMENT”

WORKSHOPPARIS CONFERENCE - 20 MARCH 1998“PARTICIPATION OF USERS

IN THE MANAGEMENT AND FUNDINGOF BASIN ORGANIZATIONS”

At the invitation of the French Go-vernment and with the financial sup-port of the six French Water Agen-cies, INBO organized an internationalworkshop on 20 March 1998 atUNESCO’s headquarters in Paris, du-ring the International Conference onWater and Sustainable Development.

It gathered 280 participants and its re-commendations were presented byJuan Manuel ARAGONES BEL-TRAN, INBO Chairman, during theConference’s ministerial session.

See the details of these recom-mendations on INBO’s web site.

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If you wish to receive the elec-tronic version of the “Network

Newsletter” and the procee-dings of INBO’s events directlyon your E-mail, please contact

the Permanent Technical Secre-tariat at the following address:

[email protected]


AQUADOC-INTERTOWARDS A WORLDWIDE SYSTEMFOR EXCHANGING STANDARDIZEDAND MULTILINGUAL DOCUMENTATION

The “Aquadoc-Inter” projectaims at exchanging, via Inter-net, the available institutionaland economic documentationbetween basin organizationsand central governmental bo-dies, members of INBO.In the long-term, the system willrely on a National Relay Docu-mentation Centre in each of the44 interested countries that willsupply the system with validatedand standardized information thatwill be accessible on a commonserver to all users worldwide.The “AQUADOC-INTER”Steering Committee gathers theNational Relay DocumentationCentres (NRDC) nominated byINBO’s basin organizations.It has gathered the national focalpoints of BELGIUM (VMM),FRANCE (IOW), HUNGARY(Vituki), MOROCCO (ONEP),MEXICO (Lerma ChapalaCentre), POLAND (IMGW), RO-MANIA (Apele Romane) and theCZECH REPUBLIC (Povodi Mo-ravy).Its first meeting was held in Li-moges (France) on December 11and 12, 1997.Several other countries are inter-ested in participating in the pro-ject: BRAZIL, BURKINA FASO,CHAD, IVORY COAST, KAZA-KHZTAN, PERU, RUSSIA, SE-NEGAL ...

TRIAL OF THE FIRST MODEL The International Office for Wa-ter, as INBO’s Permanent Techni-cal Secretariat and French NRDC,has implemented a model for thesystem.This model shows how to organi-ze information and documents. It

comprises tools for a bilingualsearch for information (English-French). It is a dynamic system which cen-tralizes exchanges, enables on-line debates and the dissemina-tion of news, etc.It enables the follow-up of new in-formation loaded on the network,thanks to a system called “VIGIE”.● SEARCH ENGINESTwo famous European bilingualsearch engines (English-French)have been tested.A query made in a language istranslated by the system to searchthe relevant information in bothlanguages. Extension to the Spanish language is envisaged atthe beginning of 1999.Their efficiency in searching in-formation will grow when dictio-naries specific to water will be de-veloped and added.● THE INFORMATION

STRUCTUREIn a first phase, raw information isgathered and processed by en-gines in the following formats:text, html, RTF when images areintegrated (optical character reco-gnition -OCR- or word processedelectronic documents).The documents are presented withtheir title, the degree of relevance ascompared to the query, the “sup-plier” country, their date and theweight of the information (in Ko).The use of a “standard for theexchange of documentary infor-mation”, is however necessaryfor feeding the system fromNRDCs in all points of the planet.

A STUDY TOUR OF LATIN AMERICANDECISIONS-MAKERSIN FRANCEThe various events concernedwith water resources managementthat are taking place, especiallywithin the International Networkof Basin Organizations, showhow much the Latin Americancountries are interested in sustai-ned cooperation that mainlyfocuses on the two following keytopics:● technical and institutional

training;● data management, the set-

ting-up of observation sys-tems (basin observatories).

In order to fulfill this interest andthanks to the support of theFrench Ministry for ForeignAffairs, IOW organized a studytour in France from September 28to October 1, 1997. Thus, repre-sentatives from Chile (Mr.Umberto PEÑA, from theMinistry of Public Works),

Colombia (Messrs. BRAVO andVERGARA from theCundinamarca RegionalAutonomous Corporation), CostaRica (Mrs. BALLESTERO fromthe Rio Tempisque Basin),Ecuador (Mr. ROSADO from theNational Water ResourcesCouncil) and from Venezuela(Mrs. Madga MONTILLA,Messrs. José Gregorio SOTTO-LANO GONZALES andPascuale G. MOLINARO FAZIOfrom Hidroven) visited IOW’stechnical and educational installa-tions in Limoges and LaSouterraine and acquired a betterunderstanding of the functioningof the French National TrainingCentre for Water Professions(CNFME) and the FrenchNational Water Data Base(BNDE).

NEXT MEETINGS● “AQUADOC-INTER” Steering Committee

SALVADOR DE BAHIA, BRAZIL1st December 1998

Contact:* Jean-Antoine FABY

E.mail: [email protected] - Fax: +33 5 55 77 72 24● 1998 INBO’s General Assembly

SALVADOR DE BAHIA, BRAZIL2,3,4 December 1998Contacts:

* R. GARRIDOE.mail: [email protected] - Fax: 55 61 223 53 66

* Alain BERNARDINBO Technical SecretariatE.mail: [email protected] - Fax: +33 1 40 08 01 45Registration via Internet: http://www.oieau.fr/riob

INBO ON THE WEBhttp://www.oieau.fr/riob

● Declaration of membership● List of member organizations● Charter of organization and operation ● Final resolutions of General Assemblies: Morelia 96 (Mexico)

and Valencia 97 (Spain)● Proceedings and recommendations of technical and internatio-

nal workshops:- Morelia (information systems)- Constanza (master plans)- Valencia (funding)- Paris (users’ participation)

● Information sheets on member organizations and experts● Registration to INBO events

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LATIN AMERICACENTRAL AMERICAA REGIONAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME

NICARAGUATRAINING FOR INAAWithin the training programme:“Information on Water Manage-ment Structures in France - Esta-blishment of a water price”, orga-nized by the International WaterCentre of Nancy in September1997 and addressed to Nicaraguanexecutives of INAA (NationalWater and Sanitation Institute),Mr. Alain BERNARD from IOWlectured on:

● the organization and detailed roleof the French Water Agencies,

● integrated river basin management,● the need to set up river basin

observation systems to gatherinformation and monitor the na-tural environment,

● the computation of water charges.NanCIE and IOW combine theirrespective means to better meetcooperation demands in CentralAmerica.

BRAZILTOP BRAZILIAN OFFICIALSVISITED FRANCELast October, Messrs. AlfonsoROMANO, Secretary for WaterResources, and Raymundo GAR-RIDO, Director for Federal WaterResources in the Ministry of theEnvironment and Mr. ViniciusBENEVIDES, Coordinator forWater Resources in DNAEE,Ministry of Mines and Energy,accompanied by Mr. PauloTOSIN, Director of the Paraïbado Sul Technical Agency, metMessrs. Pierre ROUSSEL andFrançois CASAL at the Ministryof the Environment, Mr. NguyenTIEN DUC at the Seine-Normandy Water Agency, Mr.Jean-Pierre LAFOSSE of theMinistry for Foreign Affairs,Miss THIRRIOT at the Ministryof Economy and Finance andJean-François DONZIER,General Manager of theInternational Office for Water.They also visited the Lyonnaisedes Eaux company, the early war-ning stations of Paris region withthe Environment Group S.A., theNational Company of the Rhonein Lyons, the Bas RhoneLanguedoc DevelopmentCompany in Nimes and theLoire-Brittany Water Agency inOrleans.A visit of IOW’s installations inLimoges and La Souterraine alsoenabled Mr. GARRIDO to acqui-re a better knowledge of theFrench National Training Centrefor Water Professions(CNFME),the National Water Data Base(BNDE) and the National Water-related Documentation andInformation Centre (EAUDOC).

TOWARDS THE CREATIONOF A BRAZILIANTRAINING INSTITUTEFOR WATER MANAGEMENTWithin the new context generatedby the Federal Water Law ofJanuary 1997, Mr. R. GARRIDO,Director of the Department forthe Management of FederalWaters, together with theNational Electricity Agency formatters of its own concern, andMr. J. F. DONZIER, GeneralManager of the InternationalOffice for Water, signed resolu-tions that plan to develop aneffective cooperation, especially

in the fields of institutional exper-tise, organization of informationsystems and, as a priority, thetraining of executives of Federaland State administrations, of futu-re “Water Agencies” and ofusers’ representatives in RiverBasin Committees.The training of Brazilian execu-tives to help them apply the newwater policy is indeed a project ofprime importance.All partners concerned are awareof the need to quickly reach thephase of an effective implementa-tion in the field of the new provi-sions laid down in the newfederal law, in close liaison withthe States, where it concernsthem.Therefore the launching of a“Brazilian Training Institutefor Water Management” hasbeen envisaged with IOW assis-tance in partnership with theCatholic University of Salvador(CIRA) and the Paraiba do SulTechnical Agency in Rio.

RIO - DECEMBER 1997:FIRST TRAINING COURSEOn the initiative of the Ministryof the Environment, WaterResources and Legal Amazonia,Messrs. Jean-François TALECand David JULIEN from Loire-Brittany Water Agency, NicolasBOURLON, Paulo TOSIN andthe team from the ParaibaTechnical Agency, EduardoLANNA from the University ofRio Grande do Sul and EduardoMESTRE from Mexico, assistedAlain BERNARD from IOW inthis task.Thanks to the excellent localorganization and to the support ofthe Paraïba do Sul TechnicalAgency, of CPRM (Company ofMineral Resources Survey) andDNAEE, 47 Brazilian specialists,coming from different States ofthe Union and from centralMinistries, participated in thiscourse.The high level of the participantsand the results obtained may leadto the organization of two newcourses in 1998.

Aguascalientes aquifer covers alarge area and constitutes a waterresource essential for the region.But it is endangered today by itshigh exploitation that generates asignificant lowering of its level.The BURGEAP company is underta-king an hydrological study that aimsat acquiring better information on theresources and conditions of exploita-tion of this aquifer and at proposingsolutions for improving the satisfac-

tion of needs without disrupting thebalance of the aquifer.IOW was requested to study thelegal and institutional frameworkthat would complete these techni-cal measures.The drinking water supply ofAguascalientes City has been de-legated to the Mexican subsidiaryof the Générale des Eaux: it is thefirst delegated management of apublic water utility in Mexico.

RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT

The last meeting of members ofthe International Network of Ba-sin Organizations (INBO) fromCOSTA RICA, GUATEMALA,HONDURAS, NICARAGUA,PANAMA and SAN SALVA-DOR, in July 1998, was the occa-sion of starting a multiannual co-operation programme.Its priority components were de-fined during the visit of Mr. DON-ZIER, IOW’s General Manager,in San José in November 1997, inliaison with Mr. BERGOEING,Regional Delegate for French Co-operation, Mr. PAQUET, specia-list of NanCIE, Mrs. M. BAL-LESTERO and Mr. H. MENDEZ,members of INBO’s Liaison Bu-reau for Latin America:❶ Improvement of knowledge of

water resources, different usesand withdrawals, dischargesand pollution sources, quality ofwater and related aquatic eco-systems (Standardization of da-ta - integrated geographic infor-mation systems, computerizedexchange formats - the setting-up of national and basin obser-vation systems - observatories).

❷ Organization of appropriateinstitutional frameworks

(legislative reforms, organiza-tion of power, the setting-up ofbasin organizations, users’ par-ticipation in River Basin Com-mittees, training for public ser-vants and representatives ofusers and local authorities...).

❸ adaptation of funding systems(corporate management of wa-ter supply and sanitation utili-ties and of community irriga-tion, application of the “user-polluter-pays” principle, feasi-bility studies and establishmentof water charges systems to fi-nance community investmentsin the basin. Registering ofpeople liable to pay taxes, Mas-ter Plans for Water Develop-ment and Management - Natio-nal Plans for water resources...).

❹ management of transboun-dary rivers (internationalagreements - mixed Commis-sions - data exchanges).

This Action programme will in-clude specific training on admi-nistrative know-how relative tothese four priority topics, interna-tional specialized appraisal mis-sions and real-sized field experi-ments on transboundary rivers,whenever possible.


FROM ONE CONTINENT TO ANOTHER

KAZAKHSTANThe Bolivian and Peruvian autho-rities are convinced of the benefitand urgency of combining theirforces to solve the problems rela-ted to the degradation of waterresources in Lake TiticacaBasin . The binational entity“Lake Authorities” has beenworking for several years to findsolutions on the scale of thebasin.● The European Commission

has funded the formulation ofan “Overall binational masterplan for flood control - preven-tion and for improving the ma-nagement of Lake Titicaca, RioDesaguadero, Lake Poopo andLake Salar de Coipasa (TDPSSystem)”, but this plan mainlyfocuses on the technical mea-sures to be taken to improve thesituation.

● Over the last 3 years, the bilate-ral French-Peruvian coopera-tion has mainly covered theparticipation of the Internatio-nal Office for Water, WaterAgencies and the French Minis-try of the Environment in mee-tings of “Rednamac” (Red Na-cional de Manejo de Cuenca)

and appraisals of the Peruvianand Bolivian Water Law pro-ject.

The French Ministry of PublicWorks (DAEI) requested IOW tocarry out an appraisal mission inMay 1998, specific to the LakeTiticaca basin, in order to identi-fy a more ambitious institutio-nal cooperation programme,prepare the terms of referencesand discuss about its advisableconditions with the differentdonors.With this in view, the experienceacquired in the setting-up andmanagement of the InternationalCommission for the Protectionof Geneva Lake is of particularinterest. The incentives that led tothe setting-up of this French-Swiss Commission are close tothose relative to Lake Titicaca:the pollution of a transboundarylake by the economic activities ofboth riparian countries.

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CHINATHE YELLOW RIVER COMMISSIONIS INTERESTED IN THE FRENCH SYSTEM

IOW received delegations fromthe Chinese Ministry of WaterResources and Yellow RiverCommission in Sophia Antipolison September 17 and October 20,

1997, to present them the Frenchorganization of water manage-ment and the role of WaterAgencies.

PILOT INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PROJECTFOR THE IRTYSCH RIVER BASINDuring their visit to France, organi-zed by ACTIM and HORIZONScompany, Mr. BAÏCHEV, PrimeVice-Minister of Ecology andBiological Resources and Mr.CHAMENOV, Director ofKazguidromet, an institution res-ponsible for hydrometeorology andpollution monitoring, were receivedat IOW in order to better unders-tand the latter’s activities and dis-cuss about a cooperation project forthe integrated development andmanagement of the Irtysch riverbasin, that runs across China,Kazakhstan and Russia before flo-wing into the Ob in Omsk.This project was launched duringan interministerial working ses-sion that took place on January 15to 17, 1997 in Almaty, in whichwere associated the users and

communities of the Irtysch Riverbasin. This session managed byMessrs. BERNARD from IOW,MURAT from the FrenchMinistry of the Environment andMARTINEZ from the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, enabledthe study of the appropriate legaland institutional arrangementsnecessary for implementing apriority action programme, jointlyproposed by ANTEA, SAFEGEand IOW, in order to improvedrinking water supply and sanita-tion in the towns of Pavlodar,Semipalatinsk and Oust-Kamenogorsk.The Committee of the FrenchFund for the Environment deci-ded in principle to fund this pro-ject within its international watermanagement component.

UZBEKISTANAMU DARYA AND SYR DARYA

A three-day seminar, funded bythe French Ministry for ForeignAffairs, was organized inTashkent and dealt with “theprinciples of integrated watermanagement by way of riverbasins and the establishment of adialogue within River BasinCommittees”. It was organized bythe State Committee for theProtection of Nature.This seminar, held under the jointchairmanship of Mr. A. KHABI-BULLAEV, Minister andPresident of the State Committeeand Mr. Jean-Claude RICHARD,French Ambassador, gathered 50

specialists from the Ministries ofAgriculture, Statistics, Urban andRural Public Utilities.Such issues as water quality andsalinization, management of theAmu Darya and Syr Darya riversthat supply water to the Aral Sea,were discussed.The agreement, signed at the endof the session, plans to continuethis cooperation on an internalriver of Uzbekistan to test theriver basin approach with all itscomponents in order to laterapply it to these transboundaryrivers

EASTERN EUROPE

UKRAINEAN AMBITIOUS

TRAINING PROGRAMME

The Seine-Normandy WaterAgency, VERSEAU and theFrench Ministry of theEnvironment have been develo-ping close relationships for seve-ral years with the Ukrainiandecision-makers in the water sec-tor.

Therefore, the InternationalOffice for Water is developing anambitious training and assistanceprogramme with these organiza-tions for Ukrainian executiveswith the support of the TACIS-Partnership Programme and theFrench Ministry for ForeignAffairs.

Under the impulse of theMinistry of EnvironmentalProtection and Nuclear safety,Ukraine is now launching a signi-ficant reform process for waterresources management: during 18months, training courses, legaland institutional assistance mis-sions and study tours ofUkrainian executives in Francewill support these efforts.A visit in July 1998 to the offi-cials of this Ministry permittedthe last arrangement update andthe implementation of these trai-ning actions should start at theend of the year with an informa-tion seminar to be held in Kiev.

RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT

PAGE 16


AFRICA

“OMVS”ORGANIZATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

OF THE SENEGAL RIVER

The Organization for theDevelopment of the Senegal River(OMVS), established on 11thMarch 1972, regroups the threeriparian countries of the Senegalriver: Mali, Mauritania, Senegal. Itprovided the impetus for the buil-ding of two dams, Manantali andDiama, that have partly regulatedthe river since 1988. An ambitiousproject, using the Manantali damfor providing energy to the threecountries, is under way. When thisproject will be completed, OMVSwill have to make sure that themanagement of these two damswill ensure electric energy produc-tion, agricultural development andriver shipping in the long-termwhile minimizing the adverseimpacts on the environment.In 1994, the donors of the “Energy”project, together with OMVS, ana-lyzed the conditions necessary forthe management of hydropowerinfrastructures and proposed strin-gent institutional reforms.At OMVS’s request, InternationalOffice for Water was given the

responsibility by the FrenchMinistry of Cooperation of assis-ting in the improvement of themanagement of common infra-structures built on the Senegalriver and in the setting-up of anew institutional system: twocompanies were created at thebeginning of 1997:Management of ManantaliEnergy (SOGEM) and DiamaManagement and Operation(SOGED) Companies.Several interventions of Messrs.ARCANGELI and MANCELfrom IOW enabled the prepara-tion of the “Energy” Project eva-luation, the drafting of SOGED’sstatutes, the estimate of its bud-gets and provisional operatingcosts and the study of conditionsfor water sale.Meanwhile, the Office carried outan audit of Diama dam and prepa-red a cost estimate for its rehabili-tation and maintenance.At the same time, IOW organizedand supervised a priority trainingprogramme for SOGED person-

GHANASTUDY ON THE MANAGEMENTOF TRANSBOUNDARY RIVERS

Ghana has launched a wide-ran-ging study to improve the mana-gement of its water resources.This ambitious programme hasbeen supported by many bilateral(AFD) and multilateral donors(The World Bank, UNDP...) andcomprised 6 components to coverall issues: institutional, regulato-ry, social, economic, political andfinancial aspects.The French DevelopmentAgency (AFD) has selected thepart concerning the “manage-ment of international waters”.A joint venture of GhanaianComwasan and NII consultants,assisted by the InternationalOffice for Water, undertook thestudies on this topic. The objecti-ve is to propose solutions for the

integrated management of trans-boundary rivers, such as Bia andTano rivers, and the Volta in par-ticular, that also crosses BurkinaFaso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Togoand Benin.A mission was carried out inGhana and Burkina Faso inMarch 1998. It should lead to thesetting-up of a joint commissionby both countries for theNAKANBE (White Volta) rivermanagement.

MAURITIUSINTEGRATED WATER RESOURCESMANAGEMENT PROJECT

In order to avoid a too fragmenta-ry and sectoral approach of thewater issue, the MauritiusAuthorities decided to review thelegal and institutional system ofthe country. Recommendations had been for-mulated during the seminar on“Integrated Water ResourcesManagement” that took place inMauritius in May 1996, and aTask Force was created to facili-tate their effective implementa-tion.Thanks to the support of theFrench Ministry of Cooperation,IOW has been participating in theTask Force work to assess thepresent situation and formulateproposals for a new law.

This legal and institutional assis-tance started during the last quar-ter of 1997 and a mission whoseaim was to define the “mainorientations of the Law” tookplace at the beginning of 1998with the support of a specialistfrom the Ministry of theEnvironment. The final text of thelaw should be approved this year.

nel, one with EDF (Electricity ofFrance), for the managers ofDiama dam.

This programme was completedduring the first quarter of 1998with training courses for SOGEDexecutives, held in WaterAgencies, ENGEES and ParisChamber of Commerce.

Within the framework of this on-going reorganization, the refocu-sing of OMVS’s responsibilitiestoward administrative tasks thatare common to the three Stateswas chosen with financial bac-king from the French Cooperationfor a programme amounting toMFF 7,000 from 1998 to 2000:

● water sharing among the threecountries and harmonization oftheir water laws,

● follow-up of environmentalprotection measures.

The following is needed to achie-ve these objectives:● the establishment of informa-

tion tools for the forecast andmonitoring of flow rates,

● the determination of the optimalhigh water levels necessary forsupplying water to flood reces-sion crops, for groundwater re-charge, ecosystem protectionand electricity production,

● the setting-up of an observationsystem of the environment.

Diama Dam

A NEW INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGE-MENT OF INTERNATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES

MOROCCOOUM ER RBIA:

THE PILOT AGENCY

PAGE 17



THE MEDITERRANEAN

ALGERIAPROTECTION OF THE MITIDJAAGAINST POLLUTIONThis 4-year project that was ela-borated to monitor and protect thewaters of the Mitidja plain thatsupply Algiers, is going on.IOW is intervening as programmecoordinator with our Algerianpartners, associating Frenchenterprises advanced in this field.The following actions were com-pleted in 1997:● two training courses on the

analyses of hydrocarbons,pesticides and eutrophication.These training courses of a two-week duration on the averagetook place in June, October and

November in SAGEP and Tou-louse University.

● three research projects on“the possibility of establishing abiological index based on thebenthic macro invertebrate fau-na”, “Experiment on a systemof absorption by cork-oak - stu-dy of the warning system” and“Mathematical model for waterquality”. These thirteen-weekstays of Algerian officials tookplace in September, Octoberand November in France (SA-GEP, GEOLAB and ToulouseUniversity).

Within the framework of the newMoroccan law that in particularplans the setting-up of RiverBasin Agencies and Committees,several missions had already beencarried out in 1996 whose objec-tives were to prepare, with theDirectorate General of Water, a2-year programme for the set-ting-up of an Agency in thepilot Oum Er Rbia basin.In December 1996, twoMoroccan officials, one to be thefuture Director of the Oum ErRbia Agency, came to France fora study tour in the Adour-Garonne Water Agency. It wasfollowed by a mission inMorocco of two specialists fromthis Agency for legal and admi-nistrative assistance.In agreement with the WaterDirectorate of the FrenchMinistry of the Environment andIOW, the Moroccan DirectorateGeneral of Water formulated itspriority requirements for 1997:● two 15-day training courses we-

re organized at the Adour-Ga-ronne Water Agency and addres-sed, on one hand, to Messrs. OU-BALKACE, chargé de missionand SLASSI, head of the planningdepartment in the Regional Direc-torate of Oum Er Rbia, concerningcommunication and, on the other,to Mr. ERRAJI, head of the pro-gramming department and Mr.YACCOUBI, chargé de mission

by the Director General as regardslegal, administrative and financialaspects;

● an audit of the analysis labo-ratory and operating proce-dures was carried out by a Nan-CIE specialist in Rabat and Be-ni Mellal;

● a study tour, dealing with“flood warning”, was carriedout in Toulouse, Nimes andGrenoble. It concerned Messrs.BENABDEL FADEL, head ofthe hydrology department in theRegional Directorate of Waterand HAKANI, head of the hydro-logy department in the RegionalDirectorate of Oum Er Rbia;

● an additional training coursewas organized in Morocco onthe administrative aspects rela-ted to the organization of anAgency;

● assistance dealing with commu-nication aspects and the aware-ness raising of stakeholders wasaddressed to Moroccan officialsin charge of preparing the firstBoard of Directors of the Agen-cy. It was carried out during thelast week of February.

A new mission of the FrenchWater Directorate and IOW wascarried out at the end ofNovember in order to prepare the1998 cooperation programme anda more ambitious project relativeto priority studies and equipmentfor the Oum Er Rbia basin.

TURKEYPROTECTION OF IZMIR BAYAND OF THREE AEGEAN RIVERS

When they met in Paris on 5thMarch 1997, the Turkish andFrench Ministers for theEnvironment agreed to supportthe pilot project dealing with theintegrated management of waterresources (infrastructures andpollution control) of the threeAegean rivers, GEDIZ, KUZEYEGE and MENDEREZ, in theIzmir area.A joint steering committee iscomposed of the Ministry ofEnvironment, DSI, IllerBankasi and SPO, on theTurkish side, and of theMinistry of Environment, theFrench Embassy in Turkey, theRhone-Mediterranean-CorsicaWater Agency and theInternational Office for Wateron the French side.This project consists of a feasi-bility study for a master plandealing in particular with thefollowing:● Formulation of a Priority In-

vestment Programme,● Assessment of water users’

ability to pay and the simula-tion of a financial system ba-sed on withdrawal and pollu-tion charges,

● Definition of the best adaptedstructures for dialogue andmanagement,

● Preliminary studies for the set-ting-up of an integrated infor-mation system in the form of abasin observation system.

The French Ministry ofEconomy, Finance and Industryhas agreed to pay an amount of3.200 million French francs outof the FASEP Fund for this pro-gramme. It will be implementedby a technical field team ofTurkish partners, supported byIOW together with ANTEA ,BRL Engineering and SPACEInternational.According to the conclusions ofthis first phase, the SteeringCommittee will endeavour tomobilize the financial resourcesnecessary for implementing thePriority Investment Programme,in particular by appealing toEuro-Mediterranean credits(MEDA) and to multilateral agen-cies, especially within theMETAP III Programme.

Information

“River Basin Management” DivisionAlain BERNARD

Fax: +33 4 93 65 44 02E-mail: [email protected]

The Gediz river

NIGEROPERATION OF DRINKING

WATER PRODUCTION PLANTS

PAGE 18


Did you know it?

The International Office forWater proposes its exper-

tise to governmental authoritiesor municipalities that would beinterested in:● the decentralized organization

of drinking water supply andsanitation services,

● the corporate management ofthese utilities, in particular forthe calculation and tariffing ofwater prices,

● the formulation of priority in-vestment programmes and inproject evaluation,

● a “privatization” strategy forchoosing the best manage-ment method, the most appro-priate contracts to sign withprivate companies, depending

on Authorities’ choice, proce-dures for invitations to tenderand the follow-up of their exe-cution.

In addition, IOW can organize:● training courses, directly in

French, English or Spanish, orwith a translation for otherlanguages, in France or in ea-ch country concerned,

● information seminars for offi-cers in charge, local electedofficials in particular, as wellas training courses on admi-nistrative or economic, orga-nizational and managerial is-sues for executives, and

● technical courses on design,operation and maintenanceaddressed to all kinds of per-sonnel concerned.

AFRICA

Within a project aimed at streng-thening the “Training” Unit of theNational Water Company ofNiger, led by GTZ and partly fun-ded by the French DevelopmentAgency, IOW organized a trai-ning course addressing to opera-tors of the GOUDEL andYANTALA water plants that sup-ply water to Niger’s capital.This seminar provided operatorswith basics of chemistry, watertreatment and the benefit of bac-teriological control. The combi-

nation of theoretical lectures,technical visits and laboratorywork could better illustrate theo-retical notions. It also enabled totrain the trainers so that they maypass on the information.A visit to the drinking water pro-duction unit of TILLABERI (120km north-west of NIAMEY), wasorganized as this unit suffersfrom a quality problem. This casestudy initiated reflections thatshould end in a rehabilitationscheme for this plant.

GHANAAt the request of OTUI company,a series of three training courseswas organized on the premises ofthe Ghana Water and SewerageCorporation (GWSC) and addres-sed to its staff. It concerned thetraining of:

● 10 engineers on the technolo-gy related to urban water sup-ply,

● 8 engineers on drinking watertreatment,

● 6 engineers on the protectionof metallic pipes against cor-rosion and on the protectionof electrical devices againstelectromagnetic disturbance.

GUINEA - BISSAUA series of five training courseswas organized in 1997, at therequest of the Guinean ELEC-TRICIDADE E AGUAS DAGUINEA-BISSAU company, andaddressed to various categories ofits staff. It concerned the trainingof:

● 10 plumbers on the technolo-gy related to leak detectionand stoppage,

● 10 operators on the operationand maintenance of bore holes,

● 4 technicians on the operationof electrical equipment ofpumping stations,

● 5 draftsmen and plumbers onthe management of water sys-tems’ cartography.

MAURITIUSCREATION OF A NATIONALWASTE WATER AUTHORITY

The quick growth of activitiesand population has caused thedeterioration of coral ecosystemsin the lagoons that surround theisland and constitute a touristattraction and an ecological heri-tage of prime importance.A major pollution control pro-gramme, using waste water col-lection and treatment, has beenformulated with the support ofthe World Bank, the EuropeanCommission, the FrenchDevelopment Agency, etc. Itrequires, among other things, areform of the institutional organi-zation:

● change of the national sanita-tion utility into a national bo-dy corporate,

● definition of responsibilities,● guarantee of its sustainable

funding.IOW is assisting the Governmentof Mauritius in the drawing up ofa draft law and of the regulationsrequired by this reform.

The master plan foresees 44 MUS$ for priority works (1996-98),141 M$ (1998-2000) and 100 M$(2002-2007).

LATIN AMERICA

VENEZUELAHIDROVEN

Three experts from HIDROVENundertook a one-week visit toFrance at the end of October1997. Mrs. Magda JosefinaMONTILLA LOPEZ and Messrs.José Gregorio SOTTOLANOGONZALES and Pascuale G.MOLINARO FAZIO visitedIOW’s installations at LaSouterraine as well as the drin-king water production and wastewater treatment plants ofLimoges city. Then they met the executives ofthe Marseilles’ Water Company(SEM).

Following this visit, a closecooperation programme has star-ted in 1998 between HIDRO-VEN, IOW and SEM, with thesupport of the French Embassy inVenezuela. It deals with threetopics:● the strengthening of training

capacities in Venezuela,● assistance in the decentraliza-

tion process and in startingthe private sector’s participa-tion,

● specialized technical assistan-ce to drinking water supplyand sanitation utilities.

MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE UTILITIES

ROMANIATECHNICAL SEMINAR

FOR THE ROMANIANTRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTRE

PAGE 19


MOROCCOEVALUATION:

THE NATIONAL LIQUID SEWAGEMASTER PLAN

THE MEDITERRANEAN

MIDDLE EAST


In 1994, with United Nations’funding, the Moroccan Ministryof the Interior started a wide-ran-ging national study to organizewaste water treatment inMorocco.All aspects were dealt with (legaland legislative, technical, institu-tional, etc.) and Morocco reques-ted French technical assistancefor the follow-up of this studyand the evaluation of the workalready completed by variousconsulting firms.This task was entrusted to IOWby the French DevelopmentAgency.

IOW’s specialists thus dealt withthe following topics:● analysis of Moroccan legisla-

tion, basis for the new Moroc-can Water Code,

● waste water treatment tech-nology that can be used inMorocco, in waste water reu-se in particular,

● problems encountered instorm water disposal and inthe sizing of installations.

TURKEYDIYARBAKIR AND SHANLIURFA:EUROPEAN COMMISSIONPROJECT EVALUATION

At the request of the EuropeanCommission (DG1), IOW carriedout an evaluation of the invest-ment needs expressed by thetowns of DIYARBAKIR (1 mil-lion inhabitants) and SHAN-LIURFA (400,000 inhabitants) inthe field of drinking water supplyand sanitation.A mission identified the effectiveroles of the various national andlocal authorities.All projects were estimated byTurkish experts to a total amountof some ECU 100 million. Theyinclude 1,000 km of sewers, 580km of water supply networks,100,000 m3 of storage and allnecessary pumping equipment.These needs in infrastructure areobvious but the mission emphasi-zed some difficulties for the fun-

ding, especially related to the per-enniality of the new equipmentthat will not be efficiently ensu-red without changes in the orga-nization of municipal services.Some of them have already star-ted.Since then, the project presentedby the town of SHANLIURFAhas receive an aid of ECU 31,3million from the European Union.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATESDESALINATION OF SEA WATER

In this region of the world whichis richly endowed with energyresources (oil, gas), the almostentire lack of freshwater ledLocal Authorities to develop seawater desalination as a by-pro-duct of electricity production.Distillation and reverse osmosisare well-known techniques. Bothtechniques have high productioncost, from 10 to 15 FF/m3 beforetax. Yet, improvements in pro-cesses and economies of scale canreduce this cost to the level ofsophisticated production and treat-ment used in industrialized coun-tries, as some examples in theEmirates have already proved it.

At the request of the Emirates’authorities, the French Ministriesfor Foreign Affairs and Industryentrusted IOW with initiating areflection for the development ofeconomic desalination technolo-gies in the Emirates that could beexported to new markets. An informal brainstorming groupgathered several of our partnersin the Emirates: TOTAL,Lyonnaise des Eaux, DEGRE-MONT, SIDEM, Electricity ofFrance, CEGELEC, as well asADEME and NanCIE.

Contact: Lionel ROBAUXFax: +33 1 40 08 01 45


EUROPE

The National Committee ofRomanian Water Producersand Suppliers (CNPDAR)regroups more than sixty majorwater companies of the countryand is the main driving force inthe modernization of the watersector.A close partnership was establi-shed in 1995 between CNPDARand the International Office forWater.In order to prepare, in the bestway possible, the restructuringand modernization of theRomanian water companies, theCNPDAR has always stronglysupported the creation of aProfessional Training Centre forthe Water Sector in Romania,taking IOW’s centre of Limogesand La Souterraine as a model.This is the reason why the CNP-DAR requested IOW’s expertiseto carry out a feasibility study forthe creation of such a trainingcentre in Romania. This initiative has been strongly

supported and financially backedby the French Limousin Regionand Ministry for Foreign Affairs.In addition, still in keeping withthe decentralized cooperationwith the Limousin region, andwith the financial support of theEuropean Union (Leonardo daVinci Programme), training semi-nars were organized in Franceand Romania, in June and July1998 in close collaboration withthe CNPDAR:● Management of a training

centre: methods and means,● Human resources manage-

ment in water companies,● Technical management of

drinking water supply sys-tems.

GEORGIA - TBILISIMODERNIZATION OF WATER SUPPLY UTILITIES

EUROPE

SWITZERLANDTRAINING FOR OPERATORS

OF WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS

PAGE 20


MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE UTILITIES

POLAND“FRENCH-POLISH SEMINAR”

Five training courses were orga-nized in France, in close partner-ship with Gdansk WaterFoundation, and intended forPolish engineers of the water sec-tor to facilitate contacts withFrench industrialists.Three seminars were organizedin November 1997:● “Drinking water treatment and

supply in order to reach Euro-pean standards”,

● “Nitrogen and phosphorus re-moval in urban waste watertreatment plants and the corres-ponding European directive”,

● “Water management in Europe:impact of the European direc-tives” and “the French WaterModel”.

Two seminars in June 1998:● “Waste water treatment”;● “Sludge treatment and dispo-

sal”.Each seminar was attended by 40Polish managers of the water sec-tor.This project is in keeping with theinternational decentralized coope-ration and was implemented byIOW, thanks to the financial sup-port of the French LimousinRegion and Ministry for ForeignAffairs.

Within the reorganization of Tbilisi’s water utilities, the capi-tal, with 1,400,000 inhabitants,ICEA was entrusted by the WorldBank to propose, in collaborationwith IOW, a project for institutio-nal capacity building.An identification mission was car-ried out in February 1998 by Mr.VERGES in collaboration withMr. ROBAUX.

It confirmed that the water utilityhad to become more independentand improve its management: onone hand, tariffs have to be determi-ned, and on the other, the tasks haveto be distributed between suitableoperators. The “user-pays”, subsi-diarity and decentralization prin-ciples should be the key issues.The project is awaiting the WorldBank’s decision.

ITALYDRINKING WATER PRODUCERSVISITED PARISTwenty Italian managers of drin-king water treatment plants cameto Paris from 25 to 27 Septemberto broaden their knowledge of themethods used for removingplanktonic algae.To illustrate this training pro-gramme, undertaken by specia-lists of the International Officefor Water, visits of plants dealingwith the treatment of surfacewater that is affected by algae

growth were organized in theParis region. During these mee-tings, the Italian operators greatlybenefited from their French coun-terparts’ know-how (DEGRE-MONT, SAGEP, SAFEGE,TRAILIGAZ) and exchangedtheir experiences.This training course was imple-mented in collaboration with theItalian Research and TrainingCentre HYDROCONTROL.

Information

“Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Utilities”Division

Jean-Paul LECOMTEFax: +33 4 93 65 44 02


In 1997, IOW organized a trai-ning programme of 6 five-dayseminars in partnership with FES(French Speaking Group for thetraining of Swiss operators ofwaste water treatment plants).They gathered about forty partici-pants each.The recipients of these trainingseminars were mainly operatorsof treatment plants but there werealso engineers from consultingfirms or from enterprises thatbuild equipment or supply treat-ment plants in Switzerland.IOW’s expertise was used in thevarious stages of this trainingprogramme for operators, frombasic training to specialized

courses on the operation of wastewater treatment plants and sludgetreatment.These new activities are in kee-ping with the partnership establi-shed in 1990 with FES.The Swiss ALPHA Environmentcompany organized visits ofCNFME’s educational units(French National Training Centrefor Water Professions) ofLimoges and La Souterraine inSeptember 1997.

Polish engineers in seminar in Limoges


AFRICA“OMVS”AN ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATION SYSTEMIN THE SENEGAL RIVER BASIN

WATER DATA MANAGEMENT

The International Office forWater, which is operator

of the National Water Data Basein France, partner in the “ InlandWater “ Topic Centre of the Eu-ropean Environment Agency,and in the project for a Euro-Me-diterranean System on Know-How in the Water Sector (EM-WIS), has a wide experience and

know-how to offer useful assis-tance, either organizational ortechnical, to institutions that areconcerned with water data ma-nagement throughout the world,in particular as regards the set-ting-up of new integrated infor-mation systems as recommen-ded during the Paris Conferenceof last March.

DID YOU KNOW IT?

On the initiative of the French Mi-nistry of the Environment, thescientific and technical committeeof the International Office for Wa-ter developed on Internet an appli-cation to promote French exper-tise in “Information Systemsand Monitoring Networks usedin water resources manage-ment”: in French “SIREME”.

This application is now operatio-nal in its provisional version. Itcan be consulted on“http://www.oieau.fr” and willbe improved in the comingmonths.It already enables the retrievalof information in French andEnglish on more than 500 com-panies and 100 products (moni-toring equipment and software).

The entire Senegal River basinhas been suffering for years froman accelerated deterioration of itsenvironment.As OMVS Council of Ministershad envisaged the setting-up ofan environmental observationsystem in the basin, the FrenchMinistry of Cooperation entrustedthe International Office for Waterwith its feasibility study.This study was carried out byMessrs. Haener (IOW) andCrouzet (IFEN) who went toDakar, Saint Louis, Nouakchottand Bamako.The report, handed over at theend of the study, presented:● an assessment of the main en-

vironmental problems en-countered in the basin;

● the possible objectives for theobservation system;

● an inventory of the present si-tuation as regards the monito-ring of the environment;

● proposals for the setting-up ofthe observation system, withtask definition:- indicators, collection net-work, publications ...- identification of the condi-tions for its installation;- cost estimate for a 3-year de-velopment programme thatwould result in an environmen-tal inventory of the whole basin.

THE MEDITERRANEAN

ALGERIARE-ORGANIZATION:THE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATIONCENTRE OF THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKSThe Ministry of Public Workslaunched in 1997 and 1998 anambitious programme for thetechnological updating of itsdocumentary tools (mainly soft-ware) and for the training of itsexecutives.IOW is assisting this informationservice in this task by:● choosing the necessary hard-

ware and software,● organizing training pro-

grammes,● helping to install the equip-

ment and getting the serviceunder way.

In 1997, the main actions carriedout were the following:● Setting-up an Algerian water

data base to identify impor-tant hydraulic infrastruc-tures, water supply and sani-tation systems. Three hydrau-lics engineers from the informa-tion service were trained forthree weeks in November, in or-der for them to operate and sup-ply daily this GIS system, which is a real assistance toolfor decision making.

● Equipping the documentaryservice with software whichallows for more dynamic ma-nagement of documentationwhich comprises thousands ofdocuments, including all theAlgerian hydraulic studies.

Electronic management of thedocuments (EMD) accompaniesthe project.Two documentation specialistswere also trained to master thesenew techniques, as well ashydraulics engineers, with regardto electronic management ofdocuments.Finally, some general training onInternet was conducted, in orderto familiarize the service with thisnew technological support inview of exporting Algerian refe-rences and be connected withinternational networks dissemina-ting information.In 1998, the training will focusmore particularly on the dissemi-nation of data on Internet (maps,bibliographic references, statis-tics, ...).

TURKEYAN INTEGRATED OBSERVATION SYSTEMFOR AEGEAN RIVERSOne of the three components ofthe project funded by the FrenchMinistry of Economy andFinance for the “ Integratedmanagement and pollutioncontrol of the Gediz - Kuzey Ege- Menderes rivers” in Turkey,includes a feasibility study for thesetting-up of necessary monito-ring networks and integratedinformation systems (basin obser-vatory).

A preliminary mission was car-ried out in Ankara and Izmir fromNovember 17 to 29, 1997 by the

International Office for Water. Itaimed at:● assessing the current situation

as regards data managementin Turkey;

● informing the Turkish part-ners of French expertise inwater data management;

● defining the objectives of in-formation systems;

● studying the organization ofthe partners’ network to bedeveloped.

Information

“Data Management”Divison

Paul HAENERFax: +33 4 93 65 44 02

E-mail:[email protected]

WATERINFORMATION SYSTEMSAND MONITORING NETWORKS“SIREME”:


TRAINING AND DOCUMENTATION CENTRES

Did you know it?

The International Office forWater, whose priority is profes-sional training, receives about4,000 trainees a year in its Trai-ning Centre for Water Profes-sions. It develops “tailored” internatio-nal courses that can be imple-mented either in French, Englishor Spanish.

It offers to assist countries inter-ested in developing their ownprofessional training capacities:● by training national trainers,● through the technical design

and equipment of trainingcentres,

● by supplying modern educa-tional tools in the languageused and in organizing effecti-ve documentation centres.

AFRICA

BOTSWANAA THREE YEAR TRAINING PROGRAMME

FOR WATER UTILITIES

Within the financial agreementsigned by the French andBostwanese Governments, the“Water Utilities Corporation”(WUC) of BOTSWANA signeda three-year (1996-1998)contract, amounting to 5.500million French francs, with theInternational Office for Water(IOW) and LYSA (Lyonnaisedes Eaux Services Associés) forthe implementation of a technicalassistance and training capacitybuilding programme for thedepartments of the Ministry ofMineral Resources and Water(MMRWA).This programme especially dealswith:❶ training of Botswanese trai-

ners, organized in BOTSWA-NA, to enable them to acquirethe basic educational tech-niques necessary for them totrain the different categoriesof water utilities personnel intheir country.

❷ specialized technical trai-ning programmes, intendedfor improving the skills of theBotswanese technicians innetwork operation, in opera-ting treatment plants, electro-mechanical technology andremote management, in mana-ging water utilities.It includes, on one hand, prac-tical training in France forBotswanese managers whowill perform in real-time un-der working conditions in re-

gional departments of theLyonnaise des Eaux and in theNational Training Centre forWater Professions (CNFME)of Limoges-La Souterraine,and, on the other, practicaltraining in the South AfricanRepublic in a Branch of theLyonnaise des Eaux in SouthAfrica, to familiarize them-selves with water treatmentand distribution technology,in JOHANNESBURG, KWA-ZULU (Natal) and QUEENS-TOWN (Eastern Cape) res-pectively.

❸ establishment of documen-tation and computerizedcentres, equipped with mo-dern documentary materialsand software adapted to theneeds.

❹ a feasibility study for thesetting-up of a regional wa-ter training system intendedfor all countries, membersof SADC (Angola, Botswana,Lesotho, Malawi, Mozam-bique, Namibia, South Afri-can Republic, Swaziland,Zimbabwe) in order to deve-lop long-term vocational trai-ning capacities for water pro-fessions in Botswana to meetthe very important require-ments in this sector.

NIGERIA - KADUNAEDUCATIONAL PILOT UNITS FOR NWRIHANDOVER OF A PILOTWASTE WATER TREATMENTUNITWithin the cooperation agreementsigned by the French Ministry forForeign Affairs and the NationalWater Resources Institute(NWRI), the International Officefor Water supervised the deliveryand installation by the SOAFcompany of an educational unitfor waste water treatment withactivated sludge.This unit, designed by IOW witha treatment capacity of 200pop.eq, will treat NWRI’s wastewater and will be used for appliedresearch and training purposes(practical work). It is also ademonstration model of theFrench technology to be presen-ted in a highly industrialized anddensely populated country whereenvironmental constraints willrequire the building of wastewater treatment plants in the shortterm.The Minister of Water Resourcesand Rural Development, Mr.ALHAJI ALIYU J. YELWASARDAUNAN YAURI and theCultural Attaché of the FrenchEmbassy in Lagos Mr. AUMISinaugurated the installations withDr. ABDULMUMIN, NWRI’s

Director and Dr. BAMGBOYE,Deputy Director. These peoplewere able to appreciate theconcrete results of the French-Nigerian cooperation by visitingthe documentation centre and theother technical installations, alsodesigned by IOW: the pilot waterpotabilization unit (OTV), equip-ment for water intake, flowmeters and water analyzers, thatwere offered to create a technicalassistance service for waste watertreatment.

AUDIT OF THE LABORATORYWithin the same cooperationagreement, Anne LE PEN carriedout an audit of NWRI laboratoryto check existing equipment andmethods and assess the meansneeded to implement pollutionassessment campaigns.NWRI’s aim is to have its labo-ratory become the reference tobe used in terms of analyses inthe whole northern country. Itnow benefits from gifts of equip-ment within the French-Nigeriancooperation and, in the future, theresources generated by these pol-lution assessment campaignsshould enable NWRI to becomeself-sufficient to finance otherequipment.

After assessing training needs anddefining job descriptions for theKenyan Ministry of Water in1996, thanks to a specialist of theInternational Office for Water onsecondment for 2 years, an expe-rimental training programmeinvolving executives and staff(staff interviews, formulation ofobjectives, discussion on trai-ning plans, adequacy oftraining results, ...) was imple-mented in 1997 on theMachakos district, situated 70km from Nairobi.The long-term objective is that alldepartments of the Ministry ofWater use the same method andthat local training of short dura-tion be more systematically resor-ted to than long training coursesabroad (Europe, United States, ...)that cause the paralysis of depart-ments by depriving them of theirexecutives.

This requires the up-grading ofavailable training programmes inKenya, another objective that willbe achieved thanks to the streng-thening of the Kenyan WaterInstitute (KEWI) that will orga-nize, with the assistance ofIOW’s specialists, the main trai-ning courses planned in 1998,with the support of the FrenchMinistry for Foreign Affairs.A seminar on the participationof the private sector in themanagement of water supplyutilities will be organized inSeptember 1998. It will beaddressing the high-level officialsconcerned (local authorities,water resources, finance...) in thethree countries of the EastAfrican Community (Kenya,Uganda, Tanzania) and will try toshare the French experience inthis field.

KENYAHUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT


AQUADOC-INTERIN HUNGARY

VITUKI

“EAUDOC”, IOW’s documenta-tion bank, was installed at VITU-KI under CDS-ISIS. The on-lineaccess to banks via Internet wassuccessfully tested and will beused by VITUKI’s engineers tosearch for scientific and technicalinformation.IOW has opened a credit for theorder of primary documentsselected by VITUKI staff andgiven specific access codes toconsult “ EAUDOC-plus “ onInternet http://www.oieau.fr,without any time limit.

In addition, it has been thoughtthat the Hungarian “AQUADOC-INTER” focal point could beestablished at VITUKI. Thiswould enable, on the one hand, tomake available on the Web, inHungarian and English, about ahundred studies carried out byVITUKI in 1993-1994, and, onthe other, the integration of thebibliographical bulletin of theHungarian Ministry ofEnvironment (KGI) which ismaking an inventory of all studiesundertaken by this Ministry overthe last years.

The National Office for PotableWater (ONEP) is planning to setup, in a first phase, anInformation and DocumentationCentre on Water for its personnelto be opened to all users later on.This centre would be set up in theBou Regreg plant in order, amongother things, to:● constitute a complete docu-

mentation on the drinkingand waste water sectors, in afirst phase, and in some otherfields such as wastes, agricultu-re and environment in a secondphase. It should become a realreference centre on water andthe environment in the longterm,

● store ONEP’s reports andmake them accessible to usersof the Central and Regional Di-rectorates,

● consult international databases,

● disseminate ONEP’s docu-mentation by producing biblio-graphical bulletins or other in-formation products,

● establish close relationshipswith foreign water documen-tation centres (accessible re-pertories, data bases...).

ONEP requested technical assis-tance from the InternationalOffice for Water for the purchaseof equipment and the organiza-tion of the centre, the training ofdocumentation specialists and ofa multimedia technician in 1997and 1998.

AUDIT FORTHE MINISTRY

OF ENVIRONMENT

The Directorate for Observation,Studies and Coordination, mana-ged by Mrs. Bani LAYACHI,requested IOW to carry out anaudit of the Information Systemfor Environmental Data inMorocco (SIDEM).Jean Antoine FABY, in charge ofSNIDE (National Documentationand Information Centre on Water)and Pierre POQUET, in charge ofBNDE (National Water DataBase) undertook a mission thatconcluded by the need to:

● modernize the computerizedmeans of the documentationcentre for it to become the re-ference information centre inMorocco,

● set up a national network ofdocumentation specialists,

● use Internet daily,

● establish a standardizationsystem for inter-regional ex-change of information to fos-ter SIDEM and its supply bydata producers from all Mo-roccan regions.

THE MEDITERRANEAN

MOROCCO ALGERIANATIONAL INSTITUTEFOR THE IMPROVEMENTOF PUBLIC WORKS

In 1997, the executives of INPEchose to focus their co-operationactions with IOW on the impro-vement of the techniques andmethods for the educationalmanagement of a training centre.Three 15-day courses have beenimplemented:● successful management of a

training centre: methods andmeans,

● training on legislation regar-ding human resources,

● training techniques.The 1998 programme continuesto meet the “INPE’s” needs withtwo new 15-day seminars whichwill be organized in August andSeptember:

● training of trainers: for an in-depth training intended for“INPE’s” external lecturers,

● quality in professional trai-ning with the practical appli-cation of ISO 9001 standard.

A 15-day course on environmen-tal impact assessment will beorganized in October 1998.The support of the FrenchEmbassy in Algeria led to thetraining of about 400 days/trai-nees in 1997 and approx. 300 in1998, not to mention the provi-sion to “INPE” of diverse educa-tional materials, educationalsoftware and self-training videos.

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE


“SIDEM”:

INFORMATION ANDDOCUMENTATION CENTRE“ONEP”:

:“INPE”

CZECHREPUBLIC

T.G. MASARYK INSTITUTE:A TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTREFOR DECISION-MAKERS

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ROMANIATHE NATIONAL TRAINING CENTREFOR WATER PROFESSIONS

WAWAMAN:REMOTE TRAININGIN CENTRAL EUROPE


Within the “PHARE-Partnership”Programme between the FrenchMinistry for Foreign Affairs andthe European Commission, a jointproject of the T.G. MasarykInstitute in Prague and IOW star-ted in 1997 with:● a training programme on the or-

ganization and operation of atraining centre was held inFrance for Mrs. NESVADVO-VA, Responsible for the newstructure in the Masaryk institu-te,

● Mr. DVORAK, Deputy Direc-tor of the Masaryk Institute, vi-sited IOW’s National TrainingCentre for Water Professions inorder to change the structure ofthe centre under creation to-wards technical training,

● a training programme was heldin October in France for sevenCzech trainers on the legal, eco-nomic and technical aspectsthat derive from the applicationof the European directives,

● a training course particularlyfocusing on the trainer’s educa-tional technique was held inPrague with J.L. LERMITERIEfrom IOW.

The International Office forWater furthered its cooperationwith the MASARYK Institute fordeveloping a water and environ-ment-related data base at nationaland river basin levels and for set-ting up a documentation centre.4 training seminars were organi-zed in March and June 1998 forlocal elected officials and stafffrom administrations, two beingcarried out in Bohemia and two inMoravia. They mobilized the 7Czech trainers who came toFrance.

The National Committee ofRomanian Water Producersand Suppliers (CNPDAR)entrusted IOW with the under-taking of a feasibility study forthe setting-up of a TrainingCentre for Water Professions inRomania, with the support ofthe French Limousin Regionand decentralized cooperation.The International Office forWater jointly undertook the follo-wing activities with Alpha andOmega consulting firm and CNP-DAR in 1996/97:● An in-depth “quality approa-

ch” type audit of the 3 compa-nies, taken as “models”,CONSTANZA, SATU-MAREand BAILE HERCULANEwith respective staffs of 2,044,780 and 50.

● A national survey using ques-tionnaires sent to other compa-nies regarding their trainingneeds. It enabled their identifi-cation on a sample of 18,500agents.

● A study of the technical, opera-tional, administrative and eco-nomic parameters to constitutea data base for a national ob-servatory of Companies.

The objectives of this study cove-red four aspects:● Identification of the operatio-

nal difficulties encounteredby the 41 member companiesof CNPDAR regarding eitherwork organization or the pro-fessional skills of their staff.

● Analysis of former trainingpractices used in the compa-nies and the identification ofpriority needs regarding quali-tative and quantitative aspects.

● Formulation of a nationalstrategy dealing with conti-nuing training of the staffconcerned, including forexample a budget line reservedfor this activity as well as itsamount relative to the payroll ofthe companies.

● Definition of equipment speci-fications and operational pro-cedures for the future Natio-nal Training Centre in Roma-nia.

The WAWAMAN project isdirected by Gdansk WaterFoundation (GFW) and isaimed at developing remotetraining in the water sector,intended for countries ofCentral Europe.IOW is associated in this initiati-ve, as is the CNED (FrenchCentre for Remote Education),the CNDPAR (RomanianCommittee of Water Suppliers),the Masaryk Institute in theCzech Republic, and theEcological EngineeringInstitute of Lithuania.This project is financially sup-ported by the EuropeanFoundation for Training,within the framework of thePHARE programme.The concept is to organize remoterefresher training courses onwater management and on thechanges required by Europeanintegration, first by relying on

Internet and on the network ofCentres for Remote Studies andEducation created by PHARE inthe countries concerned.IOW offers its expertise in trainingfor water professions and assess-ment of requirements, as well as indesign of remote training.The project, which started at thebeginning of 1998, is due to last18 months.

Information

Gilles NEVEUFax: +33 5 55 77 71 15


Jean-Paul LECOMTEJosiane MONGELLAZFax: +33 4 93 65 44 02

E-mail:[email protected]

By request of the HarvardInstitute for InternationalDevelopment and on USAID fun-ding, IOW participated, with allthe executives of the StateCorporation APELE ROMANE,in a working group on reforms tobe undertaken in the Romanianwater sector. It was presided overby the Secretary of State in char-ge of water.In addition to the French experien-ce, that of USA (Delaware RiverBasin Committee), UK (NRA andOFWAT) and Denmark have beenthoroughly studied by theRomanian officials.The working group emphasizedthe positive aspects of the pre-sent situation in Romania:● the regrouping of all measu-

rements regarding water, hy-drology and meteorology inone institute,

● the existence of a structuredadministration for water sup-ply and an organization ac-cording to the river basin sys-tem.

It recommended the following: ● the separation of data collection

and management from waterlaw enforcement and from thetechnical management of instal-lations,

● an in-depth decentralization andthe establishment of basin com-mittees planned in the new wa-ter law.

The specialists underlined thatimportant training needs wereappearing as regards technicalaspects but also administrativeand managerial ones: water lawenforcement, water pricing, fun-ding of investments. The setting-up of Basin Com-mittees will also require the trai-ning of their future members forthem to work together and useparticipative methods.

TOWARDS A REFORMOF WATER MANAGEMENT

POLAND

THE POLISH NATIONAL TRAINING CENTREGdanska Fundacja Wody

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The Polish National TrainingCentre for Water Professionswas inaugurated on 5th

December 1997.Its setting-up required anamount of 11.400 millionFrench francs that was co-finan-ced by the French (national anddecentralized) and Danish co-operation, the Polish Authoritiesand by the European Com-munity’s “LIFE programme forthe Baltic”.The Gdanska Fundacja Wody(GFW) is a foundation underPolish law, whose founder mem-bers are the Polish Ministry ofEnvironment, Gdansk Voivoid-ship, City Hall and RegionalEnvironment Fund, as well as theFreshwater Centre (Denmark),the Limousin Region and theInternational Office for Water( ) that represents all theother French partners.Officially registered in May1995, the Foundation has beenmanaged since July 1995 by Mr.Zbigniew SOBOCINSKI who isseconded by a permanent repre-sentative of . GFW has atpresent a full-time staff of seven.Located ul. Rycerska 9, right inthe centre of Gdansk city, theadministrative centre is compri-sed of the necessary offices andconference rooms, computerizedand audio-visual equipment and adocumentation service that hasaccess to the “ ” data-base and that can be consultedlocally or on-line via Internet.The building of the technicalunit, situated on the premises ofthe Wschöd waste water treat-ment plant (Gdansk city), is now

completed. It consists of variouseducational equipment, in parti-cular a pilot waste water treat-ment plant provided bySTEREAU company, a laborato-ry for water analysis equippedwith Polish material and an edu-cational drinking water supplysystem for the training on leakdetection, using materials provi-ded by Pont-à-Mousson compa-ny.This unit, designed in conformi-ty with the practical trainingprinciples that have beenapplied by the French NationalTraining Centre for WaterProfessions (CNFME) for yearsin the town of La Souterraine,enables employees and techni-cians of water utilities to attendon-the-job vocational trainingunder real working conditions.The first training programmeshave been organized since thesecond quarter of 1995. Anincrease has been noted in theparticipation of municipal waterutilities and regional, departmen-tal and municipal administrationsin the training programmes pro-posed on catalogues (20 to 30training courses per year): 146 participants in 1995, 506 in1996 and 715 in 1997.The technical unit will enable awider offer of training courses.G.F.W. will thus propose a com-plete range of training courses forstaff at all hierarchical levels ofPoland and riparian countries ofthe Baltic Sea (Baltic coun-tries...).

Contact: Josiane MONGELLAZFax +33 4 93 65 44 02

E.mail: [email protected]

EAUDOC

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1998GFW’s Training Programme

- 1st Semester -February: • Microbiological analyses of drinking water• Sanitary recommendations for the use of swimming poolsMarch:• Microbiological analyses of drinking water• Water protection: legal principles governing the building ofsmall waste water treatment plantsApril:• The new legal aspects governing the work of a specialist inenvironmental protection• Leaks in water supply systems: detection, methods for clea-ning and rehabilitating networksMay:• Technical and economic aspects of the management of sludgeto be used for agricultural land spreading• Microbiological analyses of drinking water• The use of water in the manufacture of alcoholic and non-alco-holic beverages (production and heating)• Analyses of the items composing the construction and opera-tion costs of waste water treatment plants• Legal issues related to the adaptation of the European Union’sregulations on environmental protection - amendments, law of1997• The latest generation of swimming pools: sanitary recommen-dations, planning and project regulationsJune:• Changes in regulations pertaining to the law on environmentalprotection • Leaks in water supply systems: detection, methods for clea-ning and rehabilitating networks

andTraining courses in France and Germany

PARTICIPATION OF FRENCH COMPANIES

Provision of pilot units and equipment, participation in training courses, technological information and supervision of trainees during study tours in France

BAYARD - BSDV - BUREAU VERITAS - GENERALE DES EAUX - COMEF - DEGREMONT - E.M.O.FRANCE ASSAINISSEMENT - GENERIK - GUINARD CENTRIFUGATION - HYTEC - LEGRAND - LYONNAISE DES EAUX

MECAMIDI - METRAVIB FLUIDE - O.T.V. - PERAX - PONT A MOUSSON - QUERV INFORMATIQUE - SAFEGE - SAURSADE - SCHLUMBERGER - SITE - SOCLA - SOFRESID - STEREAU - SYBRON - TROUVAY & CAUVIN

The Polish Training Centre for Water Professions

“GFW”:GDANSKAFUNDACJAWODY


On 6th October 1997, duringthe visit to France of thePresident of the United

States of Mexico, Mr. Ernesto Ze-dillo, the Mexican Minister of Fi-nance, Mr. Ortiz, signed with hisFrench counterpart, Mr. Domi-nique Strauss-Kahn, an agreement,amounting to 5.500 million Frenchfrancs, for funding the technical en-gineering and educational servicesprovided by the International Offi-ce for Water ( ) for the set-ting-up of a training centre thatthe National Water Commission(CNA) of Mexico is going to buildin Texcoco (Federal District ofMexico).

The project of setting up aMexican Training Centre forWater Professions will last threeyears (1998-2000). It will provideall professional categories of thewater sector, of Mexico andneighbouring countries of CentralAmerica, with a range of on-the-job vocational training pro-grammes dealing with all thetechnical issues related to drin-king water supply and sanitation,from the design of infrastructuresto the operation, maintenance andmanagement of utilities.

The trainees will come from theNational Water Commission(CNA), water utilities of the FederalDistrict of Mexico and largeMexican cities, from Mexican,French or other companies workingin this sector in Mexico (enginee-ring, equipment, public works, dis-tribution, treatment)...The project originality lies withthe implementation of a technicalunit, regrouping all equipmentand materials that are used in themunicipal water utilities ofMexico, to develop an effectivevocational training in which thetrainees are performing underreal working conditions.

The centre will be built on theshore of the Texcoco Lake, on theoutskirts of Mexico city, near thesite of the future waste watertreatment plant that is planned forthe Federal District.It will be managed by a non-profitfoundation under Mexican law.The chairmanship of its Board ofDirectors will be assumed byCNA and the vice-chairmanshipby . The large Mexicanorganizations in the water sectorwill be their partners and thefinancial resources of the centre,when full completion is achieved,will come from the sale of its trai-ning programmes.The project cost is estimated atabout 35,000 million Frenchfrancs, shared between theNational Water Commission(CNA), on the Mexican side,and the French partners,regrouped under the aegis ofthe French Embassy in Mexico(PEE) for an amount of 18,500million French francs.This French funding is distributedas follows:● 5,500 million French francs as

a grant from the Ministry ofEconomy and Finance,

● 2,000 million French francsfor technical know-how, and

● 6,000 million French francsfor the payment of trainingrequired by the two Frenchgroups of the Compagnie Gé-nérale des Eaux and Lyonnai-se des Eaux, in particular forthe training of their Mexicanstaff working in the Federal

District of Mexico and in Mexi-can towns such as Aguasca-lientes...

● 5,000 million French francsfor materials and equipmentprovided by more than twentyFrench specialized companies(appended list).

In a first phase, the training centrewill be provided with a drinkingwater clarification plant, a worksta-tion with desinfection process byozonisation, a laboratory, pumpingunits, a pilot unit for leak detectionin drinking water distribution sys-tems, a unit for the training on thelaying of mains and, of course, alldevices necessary for automationand remote control...In a second phase, it will beequipped with a pilot waste watertreatment plant and sanitation-related units.

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MEXICO


LATIN AMERICA

LIST OF FRENCH COMPANIES

PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL

EQUIPMENT

A.K.AAERAL

CHARLATTEDEGREMONT

ENDRESS & HAUSERFRIATEC

HUOTMETRAVIB FLUIDEOLDHAM FRANCE

OTVPCM POMPES

PERAXPRONAL

R & O DEPOLLUTIONSALMSON

SAPPELSEPEREF

SERESSOFREL

TRAILIGAZTROUVAY & CAUVIN

ULTRAFLUXYSM

This list may evolve according to the interest

of other industrialists in the project

AMEXICAN TRAINING CENTREFOR WATER PROFESSIONS


EVENT

The Marseilles Euro-M e d i t e r r a n e a nConference on Local

Water Management (Novem-ber 1996) emphasized the needof all partner countries for acqui-ring wide-ranging and in-depthinformation on the parties invol-ved, available tools and docu-mentation, technology andmethods used, programmes andresearch results, training oppor-tunities, etc.

The conditions for the implementa-tion of the Euro-MediterraneanInformation System on Know-how in the Water Sector(EMWIS), using modern commu-nication technology and providingfor the networking of existingsources, were studied andapproved in Naples(Italy) on the 9th and10th December1997 during aconference thatgathered theWater Directorsand the mainoperators invol-ved in this pro-ject in the 27c o u n t r i e sconcerned byE u r o - M e d i t e r -ranean agreements.

EMWIS is a co-operation ins-trument that aims at facilitatingaccess to available informationon know-how in the water sec-tor, at sharing other usefulinformation, elaborating jointproducts and at fostering co-operation programmes in fourfields:❶ INSTITUTIONS,

❷ DOCUMENTATION,

❸ TRAININGAND RESEARCH,

❹ DATA MANAGEMENT

From a technical viewpoint,EMWIS will become effectivewith the setting-up of a system ofshared and approved informa-

tion and will use the Internetthat is already accessed

in the 27 countries.

EMWIS ORGANIZATON

EMWIS USER

International Level Technical UnitEMWIS

Coordination Unit

International InformationSources

(International Organizations)

N.F.P.(National Focal Point)

N.F.P. N.F.P.

Information Sourcesin the Country

National Level

Topic LevelNational or Local

IS = Information System= Remote access of quality= Local access= Remote access= Functional relation

LEGENDE

IS

ISIS

IS IS

ISIS

N.F.P.

Internet

IS

ManagementCommittee

Information will be made avai-lable by a “national focal point”in each country and by a central“Technical Unit”. Access toinformation using this systemwill be limited to the sources thathave received a “quality label”from EMWIS managers.

The National Focal Points willgather in a “Co-ordinationCommittee” under the chairman-ship of Algeria and vice-chair-manship of France.

Approval of the conditions for EMWIS’s implementation during Naples Conference (9 and 10 December 1997)

A “Management Committee”composed of 10 countries, desi-gnated for a three-year term, willformulate the main strategic gui-delines and approve the budgetsand yearly progress reports,under the chairmanship of Italyand vice-chairmanship of Jordan.The “Technical Unit” will beled by a European consortiumcomposed of French ( ),Spanish (CEDEX) and Italian(SOGESID) operators that havecreated a special EuropeanEconomic Interest Groupwhose headquarters are located atSophia-Antipolis (France).The total budget of this projectfor a three-year period (1998-2000) has been estimated at25.000 million French francsand will be co-funded by thecountries of the European Unionthat participate in the “TechnicalUnit”, the European Commissionand all other countries as far astheir “National Focal Points” areconcerned.

Contact: Paul HAENERFax: +33 4 93 65 44 02

E.mail: [email protected]

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EMWIS: E U R O - M E D I T E R R A N E A N INFORMATION SYSTEM ON KNOW-HOWIN THE WATER SECTOR

All training coursesof the Training

Centre for WaterProfessions

+ Documentationservice allows its subscribers

to have access to its 175,000 bibliographical

references availableand to its legal data base

EAUDOC

EAUDOC

O f f i c eInternationald e l ' E a u

Information onWater

Management inFrance and abroad

http://www.oieau.frhttp://www.oieau.fr

- N° 6 - 1ER SEMESTER 1998Publishing Director: J.F. DONZIER

Production - CAP: Eau et Développement International - Limoges - France - Tel.: +33 5 55 42 60 30Printer: Imprimerie Rivet - Limoges

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.oieau.fr

IOW on InternetIOW on Internet

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