The project led by Riga City Council has been granted funding by the decision of the INTERREG Central Baltic Programme's Steering Committee on 26 August 2015. Its official implementation period started on 1 December 2015 and will last until 1 June 2018.

iWater aims to improve urban planning by developing integrated and multifunctional storm water management in Central Baltic cities thus creating higher quality, cleaner and safer urban environment and  increasing urban sustainability. Project will provide a platform for science-practice collaboration targeted at finding and developing common management methods and solutions for Integrated Storm Water Management (ISWM).

The student competition organised by the Aalto University will result in innovative, applicable to BSR conditions stormwater management solutions for seven Central Baltic cities: Riga and Jelgava (LV), Söderhamn and Gävle (SE), Helsinki and Turku (FI) and Tartu (EE). These solution will afterwards create a basis for investment plans to be realized after the project life-time.

The partner cities will adopt new ISWM programmes, and more than 30 other municipalities from the region will be trained to use the developed methods. Within iWater UBC Sustainable Cities Commission is responsible for capacity building and piloting multifunctional storm water solutions, as well as overall project communication activities.

More information about the iWater project available from olena.zinchuk@ubc.net at UBC Sustainable Cities Commission.