Bucharest’s local councillors voted on Friday, 28 August, for a project to invest more than €520 million in the city’s water and sewer infrastructure, of which €300 million will be brought by the operator Apa Nova. The investments will be spread over 11 years. The city says the money will pay for modernising and resizing the networks for higher housing density, extending them and protecting Bucharest against flooding.

Why the city is doing it

According to City Hall, the capital turns into “a small Venice” during torrential rain, with flooded streets, yards and basements. No less than 80% of the city’s surface is impermeable or semi-permeable. Mayor Ciprian Ciucu said that Bucharest has grown considerably and that the sewer system no longer copes.

What the plan covers

The project was initiated by the general mayor and set out in detail with Apa Nova representatives. It is organised around the following areas:

  • Coordination with major urban works: water and sewer works linked to the modernisation of tram line 32, works in the Giulești area, and interventions associated with the development of the Dimitrie Pompeiu – Pipera area.
  • Resilience and climate adaptation: investments where the terrain favours water accumulation during heavy rain; rehabilitation of major collectors more than 80 years old; retention basins to take peak flows during high and very high intensity rainfall; and separate sewer systems that discharge stormwater directly into the natural receiver in certain areas, where feasible.
  • Capacity and network improvement: additional modernisation and works on old networks in the central and historic area, and adapting the networks to urban development to improve collection and transport capacity.

Coordination with other works

City Hall says the water and sewer works will take into account and be coordinated with its other projects, for example road infrastructure, tram track modernisation and district heating. The aim is to avoid digging up the same stretch of street twice. In his statement, the mayor said that if these decisions are not taken now, Bucharest will remain in the same situation.