Nordic countries are stepping up support for Ukraine’s infrastructure recovery with three major financing agreements to modernize wastewater treatment in Lviv, home to over 900,000 people including many internally displaced persons, according to a press release from the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco). Denmark and Sweden announced new contributions during Ukraine Recovery Conference week in Rome to tackle outdated infrastructure that’s been dumping excess effluent into the Poltva River. The project will transform Lviv’s largest energy consumer into an energy provider while dramatically cutting pollution that flows all the way to the Baltic Sea. City officials expect the upgrades to reduce phosphorus discharge by 69% and biological oxygen demand by 64%.
Lviv’s wastewater crisis has worsened as the western Ukrainian city absorbed displaced populations fleeing the war. The aging treatment plant can’t handle the load, sending untreated sewage into waterways that eventually reach the Baltic Sea. This pollution directly threatens Nordic environmental restoration efforts in the fragile Baltic ecosystem. Multiple international partners, including Denmark, Sweden, financial institutions and multilateral funds, are backing the comprehensive modernization through loans and grants.
The ambitious project rolls out in two phases starting this year. Phase one involves building Ukraine’s first large-scale biogas facility for renewable electricity generation, set to come online in 2027. The facility will power both the treatment plant and supply energy to the city while reducing sludge volume and harmful emissions. Phase two implements a modernized, energy-efficient treatment process meeting European standards and HELCOM recommendations, scheduled for 2026-2027.
“Our wastewater facility is the largest energy consumer in the city,” said Dmytro Vankovych, Director at LCCE Lvivvodokanal. “With this project, Vodokanal will move from being solely an energy consumer to becoming an energy provider.”
The transformation promises significant environmental and energy benefits extending far beyond Lviv’s borders. The renewable energy component will cut CO2 emissions by 40% while boosting local energy resilience during wartime. Cross-border environmental gains will directly support Nordic countries’ Baltic Sea restoration goals by dramatically reducing nutrient pollution flowing downstream from Ukraine.
