The Bulgarian government has recently adopted a new strategy for the development of the water sector which has been prepared for many years. The problems in this field are huge and have been delayed for a long time. In fact, the water losses in the old water conduits reach 50% to 80% in Bulgaria which is perhaps the highest in the whole EU. Statistics regarding the waste waters is also very alarming. Currently only 66% of the Bulgarian population benefits from the sewerage systems and only half of the households’ sewerage systems are connected to water treatment plants. Thus, by end 2010 only Romania and Malta were lagging behind Bulgaria in this indicator.

The ten-year strategy which aims at solving these huge problems is quite ambitious, but its fulfillment resembles the Mission Impossible movie. There are two critical elements in this strategy- the need of huge finances and the slow pace of the projects carried out in this sphere until now.

The necessary investments in the Water and Sewerage Sector exceed EUR 12.2 billion in Bulgaria which is a huge amount for this country. It equals 25% of the country’s gross domestic product. The money under EU funds amount to under EUR 2 billion for the whole 2007-2020 period. In fact, Bulgaria has so far failed to absorb this money. Nearly 60% to 70% of the finances must come from the Bulgarian government and the revenues of the companies operating in the Water and Sewerage System. In other words, we can expect a drastic increase of the water price in the future.

If Bulgaria continues to spend an average of EUR 83 million per year for sewerage systems and water treatment plants, it will need a total of thirty five years to meet the requirements of the EU in this field. The problem is that the eight-year transition period negotiated with the European Union for the construction of water treatment plants is to end pretty soon- on December 31, 2014. Water treatment plants in two hundred and eighty two towns and villages must be constructed in Bulgaria. So far, only eleven started to function. Sixty six projects are transferred to the 2014-2020 period and the rest are in a different stage of preparation and fulfillment. It is still unclear whether Bulgaria will manage again to delay the deadlines. Otherwise, all Bulgarians are to pay hefty fines for the country’s failure to meet the given EU directive.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov