Warning: Undefined array key "idscope" in /home/wwc/www/Board_Mandate_2019-2021/index.php on line 1838

Warning: Undefined array key "idlanguage" in /home/wwc/www/Board_Mandate_2019-2021/index.php on line 1839
Organization : Portuguese Association of Water and Wastewater Services
Acronym: : APDA
Nationality of the organisation of establishment : Portugal Year of establishment : 1988
college to which your organisation belongs to :
College 5:Professional and academic organisations
Scope of your organisation : National
 Are you organiation's activities focused primarily on water and sanitation ? : Yes No
Please indicate your organisation's field(s) of expertise and activities :
  • Water resources management
  • Basic Human needs or health
  • Development or infrastructure
  • Climate or natural hazards
  • Environment or ecosystems
  • Water supply or sanitation
  • Agriculture or food production
  • Human rights or social issues
  • Education or capacity building
  • Human settlements or habitats
  • Regulation and governance
  • Economics or finance
  • Research or development
  • Energy or industry
  • Media awareness
  • International cooperation or humanitarian relief
You may specify your activities by providing a list of more precise keywords:
Description of your Organisation's activities : APDA is the nationwide non-profit Portuguese Association of Water Supply and Wastewater Utilities, aiming to represent these utilities and promote their objectives and interests. APDA enhances knowledge, thinking, planning, management and technical skills, based on its governing bodies (board of directors, advisory board and scientific commission) and on several specialised committees: Legislation & Economy, Water Supply Systems, Water Quality, Water Metering, Wastewater Systems, Human Resources, Research & Development, Users` Management, Information Systems, Management Indicators, Asset Management, Climate Change, Circular Economy, Corporate Communication & Environmental Education and Young Water Professionals. The main objectives of the Association´s work is to analyse, discuss and prepare strategic thinking and positions, either though position papers or participation in meetings and discussions, and also the dissemination of knowledge and the exchange of experiences between the concerned stakeholders. For such purposes, APDA organises yearly several nationwide meetings, seminars and workshops with thematic scopes, as well as, on a biennial basis, the wider Portuguese congress (ENEG) for the water sector, fulfilling a significative role on the training and capacitation of Portuguese water sector professionals. With the same goal, APDA runs a fortnightly on-line newsletter (“APDA News”), edits a quarterly on-line technical magazine (“Revista APDA”) and publishes distinct printed works, either on a periodic basis (“O Mercado e os Preços”, a biennial edition analysing the evolution of law issues related with the sector as well as the evolution of water and wastewater prices, both national and international), or without periodicity (in 2017, a practical guide of asset management and a recollection of corporate experiences related with information systems; in 2018, the bilingual prospective study “Water Services The next 30 years”). APDA is a permanent partner of Portuguese authorities related water and wastewater sector, such as Portuguese Environment Ministry, Portuguese Environmental Agency, Water Wastewater and Solid Waste Regulator (ERSAR). The association is a member of Portuguese Water Council, a consultation body of the Environment Minister, and is also represented in all Portuguese river basin councils, ERSAR´s Advisory Council and several technical committees, as CEN, ISO and Instituto Português da Qualidade. On an international level, APDA has a long track record of cooperation and is a member of several bodies: Portuguese Speaking Countries Community (CPLP), OECD, World Water Council and EUREAU and its committees.

Governor representative :
First Name : Rui Last Name : Godinho
Title : Mr. Position : President
Nationality : Portugal Gender : Male Female
Email : rui.godinho@apda.pt
background : Rui Manuel de Carvalho Godinho, President of APDA (2018-2020). Former President of APDA General Assembly (2015-2017) and President since 2009-2014. Member of IWA Portuguese National Committee and IWA Governing Assembly, EUREAU - European Federation of National Associations of Water Supply and Wastewater Services, and of the OECD Water Governance Initiative. Member of the CNA – Portuguese National Water Council, Advisory Council of ERSAR – Portuguese Regulator of Water, Wastewater and Solid Waste Services and Strategic Advisory Council of the Water Portuguese Partnership. He served as Vice Mayor of the City of Lisbon and as ACOPS Vice President – Advisory Committee on Protection of the Sea (London, UK). As academic and professional positions he is Chemical Engineering – Technical University of Lisbon and Sanitary Engineering – New University of Lisbon, High-Graduate (Specialist) on Sanitary Engineering by the Portuguese Order of Engineers and High-Level Councillor of the Portuguese Order of Engineers. Currently he is Associate Professor of Water Governance and Public Policies on Water at Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies (Lisbon). Since 1983 was Professor at several Portuguese Universities, namely the New University of Lisbon and the University of Lisbon. Member of the Executive Board of EPAL – the biggest Portuguese Company on Water Supply: 2.8 million customers, Executive Board of VALORSUL – Multi-Municipal Solid Waste Treatment and Recycling Company of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, 2 million customers, and Board of ICAT – Technologies, Innovation and Applied Science Institute of the Lisbon University; Consultant for the UNECE – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe – Team-Leader Water Resources for Serbia EPR - Water and Environmental Performance Review. Within the academic, professional and public activities, more than 400 conferences, statements, presentations, papers and articles were performed and published into technical, scientific, university revues, books, magazines and newspapers, at national and international level. Distinguished with the National Honorary Order of Merit by His Excellency the President of the Portuguese Republic, with the Gold Medal of the City of Lisbon awarded by the Municipality of Lisbon and awarded by the City of Aalborg as Honorary Citizen.

Alternate representative :
First Name : José Henrique Last Name : Zenha
Title : Mr. Postion : Vice-President
Nationality : Portugal Gender :
Email : jh.zenha@gmail.com
background : José Henrique Zenha, a Portuguese lawyer graduated by Lisbon Law School, born November 6, 1949, is currently Vice-President of the Board of APDA and a member of its Law and Economics Committee. As a lawyer, he worked as legal advisor of a leading bank and was chief legal advisor of EPAL, the Lisbon water utility and Greater Lisbon water provider, having namely participated in the building-up of the concepts for a new framework of regional utilities in Portugal; he then coordinated the preparation of the legal framework of the water sector institutional reform of 1993 in Portugal, which granted a significant evolution of the sector at regional level and also allowed the accession of private companies to the water sector. As a member of the first Board and managing director of Águas de Portugal, sgps, S.A., a Government owned holding company, he helped to create an institutional framework of new regional companies to provide water and wastewater services, and the actual making of such utilities. In the following years he was chairman, CEO or member of the board of several regional water and wastewater utilities (Sanest, Águas do Cávado, Águas do Oeste and Simtejo), each of them with relevant investment, covering hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. He was also a member of the Advisory Board of Portuguese regulator and of EurEau Committee 3. Recently he helped to design a new water sector legislation for Cape Verde Islands and worked as consultant of World Bank on a comparative study of aggregated systems. His diversified experience, both as legal advisor and managing director, are relevant for the build-up of international solutions to the many issues pending yet in the global water sector and for a contribution of World Water Council to enhance national developments.

Organisation statement:
Please describe the involvement of your organisation within the World Water Council and state how long it has been involved in World Water Council activities : Recent relevant events concerning the involvement of APDA within the World Water Council, must be highlighted. In November 2017, the President of World Water Council, Benedito Braga, attended the Congress of APDA, ENEG 2017, invited as Keynote Speaker (Évora, Portugal, 21st November 2017). It was a remarkable moment at the Open Session, chaired by the Portuguese Minister for Environment, where the President Benedito Braga spoke about “Water Security to improve Socio - Economic Development”. Strong messages were adopted into the “ENEG Conclusions and Recommendations” and are at the moment enclosed into “APDA Programmatic Lines” for the coming three years. In August 2018, attendance of the President of APDA, Rui Godinho, to the Stockholm World Water Week, where took place several meetings organized by the WWC to which Rui Godinho was invited, namely the Special Session of discussion of the “Triennial WWC Strategy to 2019/2021”. These debates have continued as Webinar. APDA was also represented at the 2009 World Water Forum (Istambul) and 2018 World Water Forum (Brasília), having assumed before a relevant participation on the National Portuguese Organizing Committees. APDA also follows carefully the WWC activities through the Newsletter, Letters of the President and other relevant disseminated information on the Web Site and Digital Network.
For what reasons do you wish your organisation to have a seat on the Board of Governors ? APDA is the most representative organization of the Portuguese Water Sector with a nationwide scope, to which belong the Water and Wastewater Operators, both State and Private Owners Companies, Regional, Municipal and Inter-Municipal ones, Water Professionals and the Members of Water Industry. APDA, its Directors and Members are very much committed to the study, research and discussion of all dimensions of the water management in order to achieve the best solutions and influencing political decision-makers to act. The objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (nºs 6, 11 and 13, specifically) and 2030 Agenda are as well included in our concerns. We follow António Guterres, UN Secretary-General: “Achieving the 2030 Agenda requires immediate and accelerated actions by countries along with collaborative partnerships among governments and stakeholders at all levels. This ambition Agenda necessitates profound change that goes beyond business as usual” (The Sustainable Development Goals Report, May 2018). We are convinced that the proven knowledge, international experience and leadership skills demonstrated by APDA representatives in several international bodies related to water and wastewater give to us appropriate competences to help the implementation of the WWC “Triennial Strategy 2019/2021: Water Security, Sustainability and Resilience,” the three key issues to improve a “Better Water Governance”. Specifically, it is recognized our large experience and expertise shown into important international organizations and projects, like OECD, IWA and EurEau, namely the deep involvement in the preparation and launching of the “OECD Principles for Good Water Governance”, “The Blueprint to Safeguard Europe´s Water Resources” (EurEau) and “The Lisbon 2014 IWA World Congress”. Additionally, we have to emphasize the important role of APDA in Portugal as a permanent partner of Portuguese Authorities related water and wastewater sector, as well as the strengths of APDA’s organizations, supported by is different technical committees. APDA is ready and wants to be useful and cooperate with the several Bodies of WWC to upgrade its role and the prestige of the organization for the coming three years.