World Water Day has been held on 22 March every year since 1993 and is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the preciousness of every drop of water.

Within the EU4Green project, we are dedicated to enhancing water management in the Western Balkans. Our efforts focus on improving water quality monitoring and implementing crucial EU directives such as the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive & Nitrates Directive.

Our goal is to ensure clean and safe water for all communities in the Western Balkans region.

To address these issues, the EU4Green project has prioritized actions in three areas:

• Water monitoring
• Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive implementation
• Nitrates Directive implementation

There are many ways to monitor water conditions. Monitoring specialists sample the chemical condition of water, sediments, and fish tissue to determine levels of key constituents such as dissolved oxygen, nutrients, metals, oils, and pesticides. They also monitor physical conditions such as temperature, flow, sediments, and the erosion potential of stream banks and lake shores. In this area of water protection, EU4Green will provide workshops and training on network design, sampling, assessment procedures, and reporting will be provided through the project.

The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) is designed to safeguard water environments in the EU from the harmful impacts of urban wastewater discharge. The EU4Green project aims to support the directive’s implementation by providing workshops and training sessions on various topics, including managing sludge, defining roles and responsibilities, standardizing parameters, exchanging data formats, and establishing data management procedures.

The Nitrates Directive aims to prevent agricultural nitrate pollution of water sources and promote good farming practices. EU4Green will use a regional approach, tailoring efforts to each beneficiary’s needs, and emphasize cooperation between water and agricultural sectors.