“Šiaulių vandenys“ UAB
- a contemporary company that specialises in water supply and wastewater management services;
- a leader in water management in Šiauliai Region;
- one of the preeminent companies in water management in Lithuania.
The company was founded on 30 October 1948.
Mission
Ensuring the provision of reliable and high-quality water supply and wastewater management services to clients at the lowest cost and with a minimal impact on the environment.
Vision
An ever-growing, socially responsible, progress-aimed company that improves the quality of the provided services, and creates a satisfactory working environment.
Values
Sustainability, responsibility, transparency, respect.
- In the fields of conservation of natural resources and environmental protection;
- In public relations;
- In relations with customers and partners;
- In relations with employees.
Competency and quality.
- A competent and professional team of employees;
- Encouraged continuous pursuit of knowledge and development of professional competences.
An engaged and motivated employee.
- The organizational structure of the company establishes the working conditions enabling its employees to use their strengths as well as to propose and implement their ideas;
- Competitive wages and a package of added benefits build up motivation in employees.
Strategic priorities and objectives
Service development.
- To increase the scope of drinking water supply and wastewater treatment services.
Service quality.
- To increase reliability of drinking water supply and wastewater treatment services.
- To improve customer servicing and billing systems for the provided services.
Operational efficiency.
- To improve management of the wastewater treatment technological processes.
- To reduce the amount of electricity purchased from the distribution grid.
- To introduce modern water metering and data scanning systems.
- To introduce innovative digital technologies on the service provision and the internal service management levels.
- To ensure long-term stable benefits for shareholders.
Pollution prevention.
- To utilise the capacity of the centralized wastewater collection system by eliminating individual wastewater treatment plants.
- To eliminate long-term wastewater sludge storage sites.
- To contribute to reduction of the impact of factors driving the climate change (air pollution).
Creative and progressive organization.
- To create a transparent, reliable, and socially responsible organization adhering to the principles of sustainable development.
- To increase employee engagement and loyalty.
Principal activity:
- Extraction (preparation) and supply of drinking water;
- Wastewater and sludge treatment;
- Surface wastewater management.
Additional activity and services:
- Design and construction of water supply and wastewater systems;
- Search for water leakages and TV diagnostics of pipelines;
- Lease of special transport and equipment;
- Installation, repairs, and inspection of cold water metering equipment;
- Chemical and bacteriological analysis of drinking water, surface water, wastewater, and sludge.
The following management systems are implemented within the Company:
- Quality management system in compliance with the requirements of the standard LST EN ISO 9001:2015.
- Environmental management system in compliance with the requirements of the standard LST EN ISO 14001:2015.
- Occupational safety and health management system in compliance with the requirements of the standard LST ISO 45001:2023.
- Energy management system in compliance with the requirements of the standard LST EN ISO 50001:2018.
“Šiaulių vandenys” UAB supplies underground drinking water to the residents of Šiauliai City and the settlements of Ginkūnai, Aukštelkė, and Vijoliai located in Šiauliai District, and engages in wastewater collection and treatment.
The Company has approximately 55.4 thousand clients. The underground water supplied to the users is abstracted from deep boreholes with the depth of around 200 m in Birutė and Lepšiai Water Supply Sites. The sites supply approximately 12 thousand m3 of high-quality drinking water a day.
The wastewater treatment site cleans around 22 thousand m3 of wastewater and treats approximately 550 m3 of wastewater sludge a day. The treatment of sludge allows obtaining around 14 MWh of biogas. The shortage of biogas forces the Company to additionally purchase biogas (around 12 MWh) and natural gas (around 12 MWh). Around 9 MWh of electricity and approximately 25 MWh of thermal energy are produced through the combustion of gas mixture. The produced energy is utilized in the processes of sludge and wastewater treatment.
The Company currently exploits the following:
- Birutė and Lepšiai Water Supply Sites*;
- Rėkyva Water Preparation Site;
- Aukštrakiai Water Supply Site;
- 647.9 km of water supply systems;
- 27 high-lift pumping stations;
- a wastewater treatment facility of Šiauliai City;
- a sludge treatment facility;
- a cleaning facility for Aukštelkė wastewater;
- 654.4 km of wastewater systems;
- 76 wastewater pumping stations;
- the central wastewater pumping station;
- 6 surface wastewater treatment sites;
- 264.2 km of surface wastewater systems.
*Bubiai Water Supply Site was shut down in December 2015.
Today “Šiaulių vandenys” UAB is a modern, user-oriented company which has introduced advanced mechanisms, technologies, and effective management methods.
Fundamental changes in Šiauliai water management economy occurred in 1996, when the company “Šiaulių vandenys” signed Loan and Project Agreements with the World Bank, and commenced the implementation of Šiauliai Environmental Protection Project.
Old issues of drinking water quality, water supply, and environmental protection were solved throughout the eight years of implementing the Project. The Project granted funding for the reconstruction of Birutė Water Supply Site, the building of a new wastewater treatment site for the city, the central wastewater pumping station, the building of wastewater pressure line, and the reconstruction of a part of water supply and wastewater systems. 11 joint projects with foreign partners were implemented with the purpose of taking over the experience from modern companies.
2009 was the year of a new stage of investments when “Šiaulių vandenys” UAB initiated the implementation of projects for system development, environmental protection, and water quality improvement that were financed by the Operational Programme for Promotion of Cohesion of the European Union.
In years 2009 through 2015 water supply and wastewater systems were constructed in several individual residential sectors of Šiauliai City: in the micro-districts of Medelynas, Kalniukas, Pabaliai, the section of Tilžės, Verdulių, Kanapių, Girulių streets, 122 city streets or their segments, and in a part of the streets of Ginkūnai Settlement in Šiauliai District. The implementation of the projects gave access to the centralized provision of water supply and wastewater management services for almost another 11 thousand of residents.
Moreover, the Company also realized several projects that were especially significant for environmental conservation during this period. It constructed sludge treatment facilities in the city wastewater treatment site, reformed the process of biological wastewater treatment in wastewater management facilities, reconstructed three wastewater pumping stations and a part of obsolete wastewater systems. Lepšiai Water Supply Site was reconstructed with the aim of ensuring high quality drinking water.
Aiming to improve the services provided, UAB “Šiaulių vandenys” has implemented two new projects funded by the European Union and managed to reconstruct approximately 67 km of the water supply, wastewater and surface water networks within the period of 2017–2020.
At the start of 2020 the Company self-financed and successfully implemented a water supply and sewage network development project in the southeast part of Aukštabalis residential district in Šiauliai City. The installation of the network allowed 66 current and approximately 70 prospective households to have an access to centralized services.
The development of the networks further continued in Šiauliai, thus commencing the installation of water supply and sewage network routes in Lieporiai-Šventupis residential district in 2020–2021. After the installation of the networks, centralized services are accessible for 136 current and another 173 prospective households. The Company implements the project at its own expense and from the net profit gained.
During the period from 1996 till 2023 around 129 million euros (VAT excluded) were invested into the city water management economy, and around 89,3 million euros of these were invested solely in years 2009 through 2021. The majority of investments were provided by the Cohesion Fund of the European Union.
“Šiaulių vandenys” UAB practices the provisions of the Law on Drinking Water Supply and Wastewater Management of the Republic of Lithuania in order to make the services provided by the Company accessible to all of the users in the city and the surrounding districts, and to offer a quality of services that would meet the expectations of the users.
Hard-working employees who are devoted to the Company contribute to achieving great results and creating the value of the Company. 241 qualified employees of various professions are employed with the Company. A modern attitude, professional experience, knowledge and skills ensure high quality completion of the most difficult tasks. The work of qualified specialists highly experienced in water economy supervision is facilitated through the introduction of advanced equipment, mechanisms, and information management systems for technological processes.
