Water and wastewater infrastructure will be upgraded and extended in the Kaštela-Trogir agglomeration to reduce water loss and pollution and ensure compliance with European Union directives for these two key public services the project will construct 59.86 km of new water supply network reconstruct 65.4 km of existing water supply network build four pumping stations and two 500 m3 water reservoirs Preparatory work for installing 1 640 new water supply connections will be done The wastewater component will involve building 215 km of new sewerage network and reconstructing 4.04 km of the existing network Other works include constructing  6.03 km of pressure pipeline 0.64 km of overflow structures and  13 pumping stations the wastewater treatment plant Divulje will be upgraded from a capacity of 40 000 population equivalent (p.e.) to 100 000 p.e meaning that it fails to meet treatment requirements set out in national and EU legislation The project will upgrade it to allow for biological treatment capacity wastewater treatment plant will be constructed on Čiovo island and will allow for biological treatment of sewage Both plants will reduce the water content in the resultant sludge by up to one third It will then be channelled to the Stupe waste water treatment plant where a system to dry the sludge will be built The agglomeration covered by the project has a total population of around 63 000 inhabitants and 3.9 million overnight stays from tourists annually It includes the City of Kaštela (which includes the towns of Kaštel Sućurac Kaštel Novi and Kaštel Štafilić); the City of Trogir (Trogir Mastrinka and Arbanija on the north-eastern part of Čiovo island) and the coastal part of the Seget municipality (Seget Donji and Seget Vranjica); the Okrug municipality on Čiovo (Okrug Gornji) and Slatine on the north-eastern part of Čiovo which administratively belongs to the City of Split 42 % of the drinking water from the public supply system is lost The project intends to reduce this to 36 % A total of 87 % of the agglomeration’s population is currently connected to the public water supply network The project intends to increase this to 99 % by providing water to 7 700 more inhabitants – residents living in the northern parts of Kaštela This equates to 2 548 new connections The connection rate to the sewerage system in the agglomeration is 45 % (28 350 people) The project aims to increase this to 97 % with an extra 8 613 connections to benefit 32 477 additional inhabitants The aim is to push the connection rate up to 98 % by 2028 The upgrade of the Divulje and the construction of the Čiovo wastewater treatment plants will ensure there is sufficient capacity to handle the new connections A high volume of storm water and sea water – in the coastal areas – gets into the existing sewage collection system A project financed by Croatian water utility ViK Split is being implemented in parallel with the project to reduce the amount of rain and seawater that gets into the sewerage system as this negatively affects the biological treatment of sewage some of the untreated sewage is discharged directly into the sea the project will ensure compliance with the EU’s Water Framework and Bathing Water directives The sewerage system and the wastewater treatment plants will be connected to one supervisory control and data acquisition system A geographic information system will be used to enable better planning of maintenance and reconstruction of the networks Total investment for the project “Improvement of the water communal infrastructure – Kaštela-Trogir agglomeration” is EUR 189 314 243 with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 105 687 206 through the “Competitiveness and Cohesion” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period The investment falls under the priority “Environmental Protection and Sustainability of Resources” Ministarstvo regionalnoga razvoja i fondova Europske unije A few weeks ago, Texas volleyball coach Jerritt Elliott said he had a funny story to tell this story hasn't always made Elliott laugh he had just taken over at Texas and his first-ever recruit was struggling to hit the ball over the net during the team's first practices Mira Topić looked a lot better when he was recruiting her "I did have that little anxious moment," recalled Elliott who had been hired to turn around a program that had won 10 matches the previous season anyone who has seen the UT record books can understand why Elliott now finds that story humorous Topić eventually left Austin as the volleyball program's all-time leader in kills and aces And her 2,116 kills are still the standard for a program that has defined excellence during Elliott's tenure A two-time All-American and the 2004 Big 12 player of the year, Topić was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor last month She became the 15th member of the volleyball program — only four of which are tied to the Elliott era — to receive that recognition who was a 6-foot-3 outside hitter at Texas from 2001-04 and I'm very proud that I was a part of this university and volleyball program." how did Topić become Elliott's first recruit Elliott's first freshman class at Texas included Bethany Howden, who attended nearby Westlake LaTonya Coates was a high school All-American out of Michigan Elliott said he first spotted Topić playing at an international competition But the start of her recruitment wasn't as easy as a simple introduction between prospect and coach "The Internet wasn't as efficient as it is now," Elliott recalled "So we had to go over to these world championships and we would get all of these manuals and had to try to find these athletes and try to figure out who they were and had to try to figure out where they lived and how you would get to them." The only thing was that Elliott wasn't coaching at Texas at the time Elliott was actually the head coach at USC when he initially recruited Topić He told her during her recruitment that he had an inkling that he'd be leaving for Austin Topić later called him while he was interviewing with Texas and said she'd be interested in joining the Longhorns if he got the job Topić signed with Texas without ever visiting the state She received guidance from a family friend who had a son attending college in America "It was something that I really wanted him to be my coach," Topić said I will follow him to Texas and I came here It was the best decision I made in my life when I was younger." "It was such a different style of coaching for her and trying to train her and develop her was fun I think she really embraced it and did a good job with that and we just had a really good relationship Texas won seven more matches than it did the previous year and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament The Longhorns won 23 times during her sophomore season and then went 26-5 two years after that Topić never won a conference or national championship The furthest that Texas advanced in the NCAA tournament with her on the roster was a Sweet 16 appearance her senior year But Topić helped Elliott lay a foundation. The coach calls her "a catalyst to turning this program around.” Eight years after Topić's college career ended, Texas won its first national championship since 1988. The Longhorns were crowned again in 2022 and 2023 Texas won a dozen Big 12 championships between 2011-23 and is favored to win the SEC crown this fall has compiled a 597-117 record with the Longhorns "I'm really proud I was the base of everything," Topić said On Sept. 20, the volleyball program that Topić helped restart, renew and rejuvenate recorded a four-set win over Hawaii at Gregory Gym. Not too far away at the LBJ Auditorium and Conference Center, Topić participated in a ceremony honoring the 12 newest Hall of Honor inductees she was recognized during the Texas football game against Louisiana-Monroe It was Topić's first time in Austin in a decade she enjoyed a 10-year professional career after finishing college but her primary focus right now is being a mother to her 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son and their family lives in Egypt where he coaches So Topić Losert is married to a famous handball player he's married to a famous volleyball player," she retorted with a smile Texas fans would certainly agree with that sentiment Clergy of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Split-Makarska Pope Francis has appointed the Reverend Ranko Vidović, of the clergy of the metropolitan archdiocese of Split-Makarska, as bishop of the diocese of Hvar, Croatia until now parish priest and rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island in Solin Ranko Vidović was born on 6 May 1961 in Ćerlek in the metropolitan archdiocese of Split-Makarska After completing his philosophical and theological studies at the major seminary in Split he was ordained a priest on 29 June 1986 for the same metropolitan archdiocese he served as chaplain in Kastel Kambelovac (1986-1988) and parish priest in Split-Lovrinac (1988-2014) he has been parish priest and rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island in Solin since 5 December 1988 he has been a member of the Archdiocesan Council for the Seminary and Vocations The Holy Father also has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Charlottetown he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of London and then ordained to the episcopate on February 2 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto where he served until his appointment as Bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown on July 11 Bishop Grecco was installed as Bishop of Charlottetown on September 21 As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) Bishop Grecco was a member of the former National Advisory Committee on Adult Education (1984-1987) of the former English Sector Commission for the Christian education (1999-2001) of which he became president (2001-2005) of the former English Sector Commission for the Evangelization of Peoples (2005-2007) of the Commission for Doctrine (2014-2017) ) of which he became president (2017-2020) and of the Dialogue of Orthodox and Catholic Bishops (2009-2021) He was also a representative of the CCCB to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace-Caritas Canada (OCCDP) from 2007 to 2011 and a member of the Standing Committee for Development and Peace from 2011 to 2014 he accompanied the Pontifical Mission Societies (2005-2009) and the Charismatic Renewal in Canada (2008-2016) and he was also a delegate of the CCCB to the Canadian Council of Churches (2016-2017) Bishop Grecco was the Moderator of the Appeals Tribunal of Canada from 2011 to 2017 Pope Francis to young couples in an unpublished text: believe in the “joy of love” Cardinal Parolin at the Novendalia Mass: “Mercy leads us to the heart of faith” Pope Francis’ Tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore Tweets by Pontifex Total Croatia News If you think you’ve tried all broad bean recipes known to mankind Kaštela’s gastro festival is bound to surprise you with a new recipe or two traditional broad bean gastro festival is taking place in Kaštel Kambelovac on May 14 This is the 11th edition of one of the most interesting gastro events in Dalmatia and this year more than 12 associations will present their new recipes with this vegetable which is widely grown in Kaštela and its surroundings Last year we were able to try cherry and broad bean pies various savoury combinations such as salth cheese and broad bean roll traditional broad bean and cuttle fish stew and accodring to one of the organisers Vlado Perišin this year all participants were very creative in their use of broad beans and it is on the main square in Kaštel Kambelovac 4-member panel will select the winner of this year’s edition and considering they will have to choose between over 50 dishes Festivities will be accompanies by wines produced in Kaštela so a great time will be had by all If you are in Split and don’t have a car 37 bus or Denis van and ask the driver to let you know when you reach Kaštel Kambelovac Then it’s just a very short walk to the riva and the main square See you there at 5 PM and in case you cannot make it and website in this browser for the next time I comment Daniela Rogulj The week of international folklore begins on Thursday The International Folklore Festival is a series of events that has been held for years in the cities and municipalities of Split-Dalmatia County Reported on the CIOFF folklore festival’s world calendar the first initiative for the festival was started by KUD “Ante Zaninović” from Kaštel Kambelovac who organized a humorous folklore evening called “Za jubav tance igraše˝ 15 years ago.  KUD “Pleter” from Dugopolje joined the organization with the commemorative “Ljepota u kamenu kamenitom,” and just one year after that KUD” Branimir 888” from Muć joined with multiple meetings KUD “Dalmatia” from Dugi Rat has also been associated with the event This year’s folklore meeting takes place in two coastal and two inland areas in Croatia the program includes folk groups from neighboring countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina Central and South-Eastern Europe (Macedonia Lithuania) and Western European countries (France Kaštel Kambelovac: 15th International Folklore Festival “Za jubav tance igraše” Dugopolje: 14th International Folklore Festival “Ljepota u kamenu kamenitom˝ Muć: 16th International Folklore Festival “Stara je škrinja otvorena˝ Dugi Rat: International Folklore Festival “Kolo In addition to the joint performances of the folklore groups from Bosnia and Herzegovina each evening has its own speciality where local folklore societies will perform.  This is also the first year where meetings were announced together with the intention of organizing the festival as a unique international folklore event in Split-Dalmatia County