Strengthening Water Safety in Albania: SHUKALB Co-organizes Workshop on Water Safety Planning

On 11 December 2024, in Tirana, the Water Negotiations and Investment Planning Support (NIPS) project supported by SHUKALB, co-organized a workshop on Water Safety Planning (WSP). NIPS project provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and to the National Agency of Water Supply, Sewerage (AKUK) for: 1) The development of key strategic documents for the water sector, and 2) Increasing their capability to implement investment policy in the water sector. The Project supports Albania’s negotiations with the European Union in regard to Chapter 27 of the acquis.

The workshop on Water Safety Planning was organized in the framework of Task 8 of the project which is specific and targeted technical assistance to AKUK to apply the Water NIPS project results during Albania’s  EU negotiation process for Wastewater and Drinking Water (Chapter 27).

The National Strategy for the Water Supply and Sewerage Sector, 2023 – 2030 aims to have  complete Water Safety Plans (WSPs) by 2029. The main responsibility for preparing the WSPs lies with the Regional Water Supply and Sewerage Companies, but their preparation will require adequate resources and training for the Companies’ staff.

Participants included representatives from several water utilities, AKUK, the University of Tirana, the Italian Institute of Public Health, Confservizi Cispel Toscana, SETEC-SWECO, and SHUKALB. The workshop emphasized the objectives of WSPs and the training opportunities SHUKALB offers in this area. Discussions covered guidelines for implementing WSPs in Albania, practical case studies from Italy and Kosovo (presented by SHUKOS), and lessons learned with recommendations for future action.

SHUKALB’s Program Manager and Training Coordinator, Olta Alla, delivered a presentation titled “State of Implementation and Training Offer for Regional UKs in Albania.” The presentation outlined the WSP concept, its legal framework in Albania, training programs for risk assessment and crisis management, and the WSP planning methodology. It also provided an overview of monitoring practices, risk assessment criteria, crisis management cycles, and the current state of WSP implementation in Albania.

During the discussion, participants explored the methodologies and tools used for risk evaluation within the Water Safety Plan framework. Questions focused on the availability of tools for static risk assessment and their integration into current training programs. SHUKALB clarified that its training, delivered as part of the D-LeaP programs, adheres to established methodologies for risk evaluation.

The workshop reinforced SHUKALB’s commitment to building capacity in the water sector through comprehensive training and collaboration with national and international stakeholders. SHUKALB plans to offer the D-LeaP Water Safety Planning Program in the year 2025, for the interested water utilities.