WAREG Vice-President & Director at EWRC, Bulgaria

Ivaylo Kastchiev

Ivaylo Kastchiev holds PhD in Economics and Management in Sofia University, Bulgaria, MBA in City University of Seattle, USA, and others. He works in the Water and sanitation sector since 2003.

Between 2003 and 2013 Mr. Kastchiev worked in Sofiyska Voda – the biggest water and sanitation operator in Bulgaria and only example of PPP, where he was responsible for strategic investment planning, life-cycle asset management, network operations and maintenance, non-revenue water reduction, business plan preparation and various aspects of WS management.

Since 2013 Mr. Kastchiev works in the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission of Bulgaria, where he started as department manager and later on became Water and Sanitation Services Director. He is responsible for preparation and execution of all aspects of national regulation of quality and prices of water and sanitation services.

Mr. Kastchiev is Board member and Vice-president in WAREG (European Water Regulators Network); previous chair and currently board member of “Institutional Governance and Regulation” specialist group in IWA; works with the World Bank in projects related to the WS sector with countries in Europe and Central Asia; and is author of several scientific publications in the area of WS asset management and sector governance.

Policy Officer at European Commission with DG Environment

Trudy Higgins

Trudy Higgins is a Civil Engineer with over 30 years of professional experience, working in the broad area of water including on wastewater, drinking water, stormwater management and floodplain management. Having initially worked in the private sector, she was involved in the establishment of a national public water utility. She now serves as a Policy Officer in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV), working within the Marine Environment & Clean Water Services unit (C2). Trudy is currently supports the implementation of the recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and actions arising from the European Water Resilience Strategy.

Trudy holds a degree in Civil Engineering from University College Dublin, and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School.

Technical Advisor for Water, BRUGEL (Brussels)

Kevin De Bondt

Kevin De Bondt has been Technical Advisor for the water sector at BRUGEL, the Brussels regulator, since 2017. He leads key initiatives on technical data validation, KPI frameworks, incentive measures, and publishes the Brussels Water Observatory. Kevin is also deeply involved in WAREG activities, contributing to European workshops and reports on KPI benchmarking and regulatory practices. Holding a Master’s in Geology (ULB), a specialization in geohazards and environmental management (ULg), and a PhD in Science (VUB) on urban water cycles, he brings strong expertise in economic regulation, water resource management, nature-based solutions, climate adaptation, and asset management.

Head of the Quality Department at ERSAR

Susana Rodrigues

Susana Rodrigues is the Director of the Quality Department at ERSAR (Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços de Águas e Resíduos), Portugal’s regulatory authority for water and waste services.

She holds a PhD in Environmental Science (Universidade Nova de Lisboa), a degree in Environmental Engineering (Instituto Superior Técnico), and a postgraduate diploma in Integrated Management & Waste Recovery.

With over 20 years of experience in the environmental sector, Susana has held key technical and leadership roles in both public institutions (e.g., national water institute, municipalities) and private water companies (e.g., Grupo Aquapor, FomentInvest).

Her current responsibilities include overseeing the regulation of drinking water quality, implementing risk-based quality control programs, and evaluating the performance of water and waste service providers.

She is also active in international regulatory networks, such as ENDWARE and RegNet, and contributes to cutting-edge policy discussions on water losses, infrastructure rehabilitation, and circular-economy approaches.