The residents of the Roșu village, Cahul district, have tap drinking water.

On November 8, 2012, in the village Roșu, Cahul district, was inaugurated an aqueduct. It will provide drinking water to over 3700 residents. The water supply project was managed by the Regional Development Agency South with the financial support of the Romanian Government through the "Modernisation of local public services in Moldova" project, implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).Over 2.6 million lei were invested. So far, over 450 households were connected. In total, 14.3 km of aqueduct was built.

The inaugural event marked the 509 years anniversary since the first documented evidnece for the Rosu village. The Secretary of State within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Bogdan Aurescu attending the ceremony, emphasized: "The provision with water of the rural areas is a step in adopting European standards in the field of local public services. By implementing this project, the Rosu community becomes a model for its region." 

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Construction of Moldova, Anatoly Zolotcov, said: "Given that nearly one-third of the rural population has access to water, this project is more than welcome to Rosu community. Depending on how active and responsible the citizens will be, will depend and the sustainability of the water supply. This project contributes to raising the living standards in rural areas and bringing them closer to those of urban areas. "

The mayor of the Rosu village, Gregore Fortuna, said: "This project is like godsend for us, because none of the wells in the village is with potable water. In these circumstances, people complain of liver problems. We are happy that our dream finally came true. ""This project is successful because of the engagement of the entire community, as well as of the local and regional authorities. We hope also to carry out our intention to provide the village with a sewerage system", said the Director of the Regional Development Agency South, Maria Culeșov at the aqueduct launching .

Ecaterina Tronciuc, a resident of the Rosu village, says that her life has changed after being recently connected to the water system. "I feel like I won extra time at my age. Now, I don't have to carry about 15-20 buckets of water every day from the well which is 200 meters from my house."For the next year is expected the construction of 18 km of sewer, connected to the sewerage system of the city of Cahul. The Water and sewerefe service will be managed by the municipal company "Apa-Canal Cahul", which is a beneficiary of the GIZ assistence in optimizing operational management. By the end of 2012, the municipal company "Apa-Canal Cahul" will receive funding for repair works and purchase of equipment necessary for its proper functioning. Similarly, a corporate unit and a website will be created.

In regard to water supply and sewerage, GIZ also supports another pilot project in the Duruitoarea Veche village, the Riscani district. The GIZ approach is to foster intercommunity cooperation, so that the neighboring communities can save from common services and thus increase efficiency and optimize costs.Similarly, a working group, responsible for identifying the most practical legal solution for joint delivery of water and sanitation services by Apa-Canal Cahul in the communities Crihana Veche, Roșu, Manta and Cahul, was created. In 2012, a public water supply infrastructure in the Crihana Veche, Manta and Roșu villages was built. The work in Manta and Crihana Veche was financed from the National Regional Development Fund, managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction.

Recently, the Cahul and Râșcani district councils have approved the updated water and sewer components of their strategies for socio-economic development. With the assistance of GIZ, communities were grouped based on their connection possibilities to the water and sewerage services, depending on access to water bodies, rather than on administrative boundaries. Subsequently, the communities will be assisted in developing their technical documentation for procurement and their feasibility studies, and thus to make it easier to attract investment in this sector.Similarly, local governments are supported in expansion and modernization of local public services in reference to two other areas: energy efficiency and solid waste management. The GIZ project support is ensured through the Regional Development Agencies. Alongside with this, the project provides assistence in regional programs and planning.The "Modernisation of local public services in Moldova" project is implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and is financially supported by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.For more information, please contact the project communication officer , Laura Bohanțov at 069918296 or laura.bohantova @ giz.de