Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Belarus

The project objective was to improve the quality, efficiency and sustainability of water supply and wastewater treatment services in selected cities and towns in Belarus. The project also aimed to support the modernization of the water sector, including benchmarking utility performance and reviewing norms and standards. One of the project components was to improve the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in selected cities and towns, which included upgrading the biological treatment processes to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus content in the treated wastewater. This would help to prevent eutrophication and improve the water quality of the rivers receiving the wastewater. Second, the project also supported the development of a national strategy for sludge management, which included assessing the potential for using sludge as a fertilizer or a source of energy. Sludge is a by-product of wastewater treatment that contains organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus.