"We need to find optimal solutions in River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) to achieve the objectives of sustainable water management in Bulgaria. I believe that all participants in the consultations on the draft updated plans will jointly succeed in achieving this goal through the series of discussions." With these words, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Reneta Koleva opened today's meeting on "URBAN ENVIRONMENT - Households and the Water Sector" as part of the national meetings with stakeholders on the draft RBMPs 2022-2027, which will continue until 30 September.

The experts discussed measures related to the water and sanitation sector included in the draft river basin management plans. The meeting was attended by representatives of stakeholders from the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Bulgarian Water and Sewerage Holding, the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, the Bulgarian Water Quality Association, the Bulgarian Water Association, representatives of scientific institutes, funding institutions and NGOs. The heads of the four basin directorates and experts participated and presented information on each plan and the measures envisaged therein.

The Directorate for Water Management at the Ministry of Environment and Water presented the requirements in the directives related to the water and wastewater sector, the compliance with the current requirements, and how the requirement are related to the measures in the plans. The attention and efforts of the participants in the meeting were focused on the implementation of the measures set out in the plans and the discussion of proposals for modifying or supplementing them.

In order to reach more stakeholders to actively participate in the consultations, meetings at national and basin level are foreseen, which can be found here. The published drafts of the RBMPs can be found here. Information on how to submit comments and proposals is published here.