Water metering issues in focus of meeting between Agriculture Ministry, experts

Water metering challenges in Georgia and the identification of the needs within the European Union programme EU4Environment – Water Resources and Environmental Data were discussed during a meeting between the Agriculture Ministry, parties involved in the programme and experts on Thursday. 

The launch of the implementation of “large-scale reforms” in water resources management through the EU supported projects was also noted at the meeting, with the parties highlighting the Water Resources Management bill, currently considered by the country’s legislative body, the Agriculture Ministry said. 

Photo: Georgian Agriculture Ministry

The bill introduces a river basin management system, which would see Georgia’s water management be divided into river basins and large rivers, Nino Tandilashvili, the Deputy Agriculture Minister, said on Wednesday during a review of the draft. 

Drafted within the EU Water Initiative Plus for the Eastern Partnership (EUWI+ 4 EaP) programme, the move seeks to restore the water use permit system, with the expansion of state monitoring of qualitative and quantitative indicators of water resources. 

The EUWI+ unified six countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, which aimed to bring legislation of the states closer to the EU policy in water management, with a total budget of €24.8 million. 

Set to run between 2021-2024, the EU4Environment programme - a continuation of the  EUWI+ - seeks to contribute to “EaP countries’ longer-term environmental, climate, and socio-economic resilience” with a budget of €12,75 million.