Working Areas
Information & Technology (GIS, IMIS, Smart Systems…)
Operation & Maintenance
Other
Organizations Involved
Water Supply & Sewerage Authority Bethlehem — Lead Mentee
Barcelona Cicle de l'Aigua — Lead Mentor
The Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance
—
Broker
SDGs
6.2Access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all
6.3Improved water quality, reduced untreated wastewater and increased recycling & safe reuse
Project description
The Framework of Cooperation between BCASA (Barcelona) and WSSA (Bethlehem-Biet Jala-Biet Sahour, Palestine) was signed in 2015 during the 3rd Global WOPs Congress, and focuses on increasing service provision and efficiency for the mentee operator (WSSA). A number of topics were identified as areas to be addressed through the WOPs, including:
- Train WSSA technicians in the implementation of a GIS (Geographic Information Systems);
- Management model of a sanitation network;
- Implement electronic management of the system from a database.
In order to carry out the agreements contemplated in the agreement, a project was created in BCASA and was assigned an amount of € 25,000 for the first year to be assumed from the budget of BCASA and € 25,000 for in the second year, to assume by the City Council of Barcelona. Therefore, the resources allocated to this partnership add upIn order to carry out the agreements contemplated in the agreement, a project was created in BCASA and was assigned an amount of € 25,000 for the first year to be assumed from the budget of BCASA and €25,000 in the second year, to be assumed by the City Council of Barcelona. Therefore, the resources allocated to this partnership add up€ 50,000 from Barcelona.
This financing is intended to cover travel and accommodation expenses related to the reciprocal visits scheduled to the agreement, but above all the hours that the personnel of the operator of BCASA dedicates to the project. The agreement already makes it clear that each operator must reserve staff of the entity to developall the work agreed upon in the agreement.
Describe WOPs activities
The agreement started with a visit by a delegation from the WSSA to Barcelona in March 2016 and lasted one week, covering all the topics programmed. It was shown how BCASA manages water and sanitation with visits to the headquarters, control center, rainwater retention infrastructures and a sewage treatment plant in El Prat de Llobregat and the ETAP of Sant Joan Despí. The computer part was also displayed along with all the access and protection of the documentation to the server / cloud, rent (outsourcing) of servers, as well as the security procedure of data loss prevention, etc. In the case of WSSA, however, they have a single computer for the whole company, which makes it unlikely that they can apply the systems they use in BCASA.
An institutional visit was also carried out, since it should not be forgotten that a partnership is made between operators but also between two municipalities that maintain a cordial relationship.
In the beginning BCASA identified that the technical training of WSSA staff in the implementation of a GIS could be the subject in which they could best advise WSSA. So, during the visit of the WSSA delegation in Barcelona, the work began on these terms. Once the WSSA visit to Barcelona was completed, the collaboration continued through online channels, led by the cartography department. The GIS technician's place was defined and WSSA hired a person with the required profile. From here the work has focused on designing the GIS model that best suits WSSA. The structure of the GIS layers has been defined so that the Palestinian operator begins to upload the information they collect to the field. The cartography department of BCASA is the one who has been in constant contact with the WSSA GIS technician in order to carry out the implementation of the jointly designed model, always with the coordination of the General Manager of the WSSA. In short, the cartography department has led the technical work for more than one year (mid-2016 - end of 2017) focused on the GIS, which was the first point of the initial agreement. At the moment only the first objective has been thoroughly studied, which is the most interesting.
In the last quarter of 2017 (October), a new visit to a WSSA delegation was held in Barcelona, where the GIS technician WSSA was able to meet first hand the reality of Barcelona and thus be able to better understand the Catalan context and the functioning of BCASA. The visit was also attended by the WSSA Project Manager. The technical training visit lasted a week focusing on managing a GIS.
On the other hand, in December 2016 there was an institutional visit of the Barcelona City Council to Bethlehem in order to comply with the reciprocity of the partnership at the institutional level, being the visitors:
• Responsible for international cooperation projects. Department of International Cooperation and International Relations of Barcelona City Council.
• Architect of urban projects of the City Council of Barcelona
• Director of Cooperation and Global Justice of the City Council of Barcelona.
It was stipulated in the agreement that BCASA's staff would also travel to see the WSSA work context and conduct an interchange visit to operators, but the existence of the conflict between Palestine and Israel advised against displacement in Bethlehem. BCASA's staff were not comfortable with traveling to land in a potentially dangerous area
- Train WSSA technicians in the implementation of a GIS (Geographic Information Systems);
- Management model of a sanitation network;
- Implement electronic management of the system from a database.
In order to carry out the agreements contemplated in the agreement, a project was created in BCASA and was assigned an amount of € 25,000 for the first year to be assumed from the budget of BCASA and € 25,000 for in the second year, to assume by the City Council of Barcelona. Therefore, the resources allocated to this partnership add upIn order to carry out the agreements contemplated in the agreement, a project was created in BCASA and was assigned an amount of € 25,000 for the first year to be assumed from the budget of BCASA and €25,000 in the second year, to be assumed by the City Council of Barcelona. Therefore, the resources allocated to this partnership add up€ 50,000 from Barcelona.
This financing is intended to cover travel and accommodation expenses related to the reciprocal visits scheduled to the agreement, but above all the hours that the personnel of the operator of BCASA dedicates to the project. The agreement already makes it clear that each operator must reserve staff of the entity to developall the work agreed upon in the agreement.
Describe WOPs activities
The agreement started with a visit by a delegation from the WSSA to Barcelona in March 2016 and lasted one week, covering all the topics programmed. It was shown how BCASA manages water and sanitation with visits to the headquarters, control center, rainwater retention infrastructures and a sewage treatment plant in El Prat de Llobregat and the ETAP of Sant Joan Despí. The computer part was also displayed along with all the access and protection of the documentation to the server / cloud, rent (outsourcing) of servers, as well as the security procedure of data loss prevention, etc. In the case of WSSA, however, they have a single computer for the whole company, which makes it unlikely that they can apply the systems they use in BCASA.
An institutional visit was also carried out, since it should not be forgotten that a partnership is made between operators but also between two municipalities that maintain a cordial relationship.
In the beginning BCASA identified that the technical training of WSSA staff in the implementation of a GIS could be the subject in which they could best advise WSSA. So, during the visit of the WSSA delegation in Barcelona, the work began on these terms. Once the WSSA visit to Barcelona was completed, the collaboration continued through online channels, led by the cartography department. The GIS technician's place was defined and WSSA hired a person with the required profile. From here the work has focused on designing the GIS model that best suits WSSA. The structure of the GIS layers has been defined so that the Palestinian operator begins to upload the information they collect to the field. The cartography department of BCASA is the one who has been in constant contact with the WSSA GIS technician in order to carry out the implementation of the jointly designed model, always with the coordination of the General Manager of the WSSA. In short, the cartography department has led the technical work for more than one year (mid-2016 - end of 2017) focused on the GIS, which was the first point of the initial agreement. At the moment only the first objective has been thoroughly studied, which is the most interesting.
In the last quarter of 2017 (October), a new visit to a WSSA delegation was held in Barcelona, where the GIS technician WSSA was able to meet first hand the reality of Barcelona and thus be able to better understand the Catalan context and the functioning of BCASA. The visit was also attended by the WSSA Project Manager. The technical training visit lasted a week focusing on managing a GIS.
On the other hand, in December 2016 there was an institutional visit of the Barcelona City Council to Bethlehem in order to comply with the reciprocity of the partnership at the institutional level, being the visitors:
• Responsible for international cooperation projects. Department of International Cooperation and International Relations of Barcelona City Council.
• Architect of urban projects of the City Council of Barcelona
• Director of Cooperation and Global Justice of the City Council of Barcelona.
It was stipulated in the agreement that BCASA's staff would also travel to see the WSSA work context and conduct an interchange visit to operators, but the existence of the conflict between Palestine and Israel advised against displacement in Bethlehem. BCASA's staff were not comfortable with traveling to land in a potentially dangerous area
Most significant results
Describe the overall results
• Implementation of protocols to start working online (via web, webinars, ...) in training WSSA.
• An approach was made between the two operators, deepening with the GIS and the hydraulic models.
• Institutional visit of the Barcelona City Council to Bethlehem.
Lessons learned:
• Need to carry out an in-depth identification before starting to work.
• Increase the weight of the institutional part in the partnerships, as they have a considerable weight in establishing a relationship between two municipalities.
• It is necessary to know the mutual reality between the two operators.
• Evaluate the possible incorporation of other actors such as the university in the case of technical and long tasks.
• Implementation of protocols to start working online (via web, webinars, ...) in training WSSA.
• An approach was made between the two operators, deepening with the GIS and the hydraulic models.
• Institutional visit of the Barcelona City Council to Bethlehem.
Lessons learned:
• Need to carry out an in-depth identification before starting to work.
• Increase the weight of the institutional part in the partnerships, as they have a considerable weight in establishing a relationship between two municipalities.
• It is necessary to know the mutual reality between the two operators.
• Evaluate the possible incorporation of other actors such as the university in the case of technical and long tasks.