On June 10-11, RDA Srem attended the official in-person kick-off meeting hosted by IAWD at its Vienna headquarters of “D-CLEAN: Improving Water Quality in the Danube River Basin: Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Wastewater and Stormwater Management in Small Settlements”, which is an Interreg Danube Region Programme project co-funded by the European Union.
The project consortium led by the Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe conists of ten project partners from seven countries including institutions, universities, companies, and associations. The two-day hybrid kick-off meeting in Vienna brought together representatives from all ten projects partners, some meeting in person for the first time. The primary objectives of the meeting were:
- Getting to know each other
- A deep dive in the Specific Objectives, including detailed planning.
- Overall context setting for the project, including engaging with Assosiated Strategic Partners.
The intense work program included valuable insights from various experts: Arthur Guichet from the European Association (EWA) and Tom Besinger from the World Bank set the scene by providing information on the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and the status of wastewater management in the Danube Region. In addition, the project partners made a deep dive into the project activities, with sessions around assessing the status quo, stakeholder management, zooming in on pilot areas, the developed GIS tool etc.
The meeting also featured a field trip to Seestadt Aspern, a new city quarter in Vienna that showcases a large-scale dual infiltration-based rainwater management system. Attendees also enjoyed a social dinner, and early arrivals had the chance for an “early bird dinner” at Bootshaus on the shores of Alte Donau.
