PURE Newsletter 1
December 2010
Editorial
Dear Reader,
Municipalities have a key role in improving the state of the Baltic Sea. By upgrading their wastewater treatment to the level recommended in the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan we can fastly cut down the nutrient load that is causing the eutrophication. As we so often hear, the Baltic Sea cannot wait, but needs immediate actions.
In year 2009, altogether 11 water utilities, cities and organisations around the Baltic Sea decided to together take these urgently needed actions, and launched a joint project. This project –called PURE- tackles eutrophication of the Baltic Sea by enhancing phosphorus removal in selected municipal wastewater treatment plants in the Baltic Sea Region. Investments in phosphorous removal, operational improvements and better sludge management at the partner wastewater treatment plants will reduce the nutrient load of the Baltic Sea.
After one year of project implementation, we are now happy to introduce to you the first issue of the PURE Newsletter.
Björn Grönholm
Head of Secretariat, UBC EnvCom, Lead partner
Table of Contents
Interview of Maris Zviedris
PURE Newsletter asked Maris Zviedris, Head of Riga Water’s (Ridas Udens) Daugavgriva wastewater treatment plant about the project achievements and expectations.
What was the situation in Rigas Udens before the start of the PURE project?
The total phosphorous effluent quality of WWTP Daugavgriva (Riga Water Ltd.) in year 2008/2009 was fluctuating from 1 mg/l to 3,7 mg/l. The quality was very much depending on biological circumstances of the active sludge processes. After starting trials with ferric sulphate dosing we have reached the effluent results down to 0,5 mg/l. With the help of the PURE project, Riga Water will be able to keep those results permanently.
What is the best thing about PURE for Rigas Udens?
I’m glad that we were able to finance those technical solutions with EU co-financing and of course to prevent those more than a 100 tons of phosphorous in the effluent to the Baltic Sea.
What other additional benefits or synergies has the project offered to you?
Project partners are sharing their experience among each other, and therefore it is very useful to compare situations in different countries to avoid mistakes that somebody has already made. Thus several different problems could be solved in order to reach good ecological status of the Baltic Sea.
How will the new PURE equipment in Daugavgriva treatment plant help you in reaching HELCOM nutrient reduction targets for the Gulf of Riga?
PURE equipment in Daugavgriva will solve two challenges at once – one is the chemical dosing equipment which will ensure permanent decrease of total phosphorous; and another is the decrease of sludge wash-out risk, improved power consumption and biological phosphorous removal efficiency.
What are your expectations for the next phases of the project: investments at other plants and improvement in sludge handling practices?
Riga Water is on its the way to improve the sludge handling system. We are almost like on the crossroads for which way to choose. Sharing the experience and results of studies will help us to choose the economically and environmentally most appropriate solution.
Text: Lotta Ruokanen
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Fast track solutions for reducing the phosphorus load from municipalities
Riga Water presented its PURE investments, and organized a field trip to the Daugavgriva wastewater treatment plant
Riga Water has achieved significant reductions in phosphorus load from the Daugavgriva treatment plant to the Gulf of Riga with rented equipment for phosphorus precipitation. The average phosphorus content in the effluent has been reduced to 0,8 mg/l. The rented equipment will be replaced with PURE-financed, permanent equipment by the end of 2010. To prevent sludge wash-out problems causing major phosphorus inputs to the sea, also a new decanter centrifuge for excess sludge dewatering is purchased. All these equipment can be used also after currently planned future reconstruction of the biological process at Daugavgriva.
Brest will follow Riga’s steps
PURE technical audit of Brest wastewater treatment plant in Belarus shows that currently the plant lacks capacity for efficient biological nutrient removal. The incoming nutrient load is high, and PURE process specialists concluded that even with improved, modern biological nutrient removal processes the plant will not be able to achieve neither national norms nor HELCOM’s recommendations on phosphorus level in effluent. Thus addition of precipitation chemicals is needed, regardless of the future investments in biological treatment. Chemical precipitation is also the fastest and most cost efficient way to reduce the phosphorus load.
Details of the proposed investment were discussed in Riga workshop in October, and technical specifications for the equipment are underway. PURE-financed chemical storing and dosing station will be built in unused pre-aeration basins. Also new on-line and laboratory analysis equipment of phosphate and total phosphorus will be purchased within PURE to optimize the treatment process. Efficient biological nutrient removal in Brest requires a major renovation, which is currently being negotiated under the leadership of the Nordic Investment Bank. Brest treatment plant receives significant nutrient load from food industries and most efficient option to treat these wastewaters would be precipitation at source.
New wastewater treatment plants in the Baltic countries and Poland achieve good results but have common problems
Gdansk, Jurmala, Kohtla-Järve and Szczecin wastewater treatment plants are all quite new and achieve good results in nutrient removal, although they occasionally exceed the limits for effluent concentrations. All these sites have more capacity than is actually required. They operate with long sludge retention times allowing efficient nitrogen removal, but promoting growth of filamentous organisms and bulking sludge. Bad settleability of sludge can lead to escape of phosphorus with effluent solids. At some plants, insufficient performance of sludge thickening equipment is causing problems.
At Jurmala treatment plant the proposed PURE investment include e.g. an additional polymer station to improve sludge thickening, and new online measurement equipment to improve the process control and balancing.
Towards more sustainable sludge handling
There are legal as well as economical restrictions for the use and disposal of wastewater sludge. On the other hand, the sludge contains valuable materials and energy that could be utilized better. Experiences of PURE partner WWTPs were discussed in Riga workshop, and a future PURE workshop in Lübeck will concentrate on sludge handling.
Text:Tuuli Ojala
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New approach to nutrient loading data from municipal point sources
PURE project will establish a new user-friendly database to monitor the level of performance, technology used and nutrient inputs from municipalities in the Baltic Sea region. The basis is on grassroot local level activity; the municipal wastewater treatment plants themselves have a direct access to the database and their own data, and can complete and update the data whenever there is a need to. This enables accurate and up-to-date information without heavy and laborious centralized reporting, that is often also time-consuming. In setting up the database PURE partner Mariehamn town shares its experiences of database management.
"We are happy to be constructing this new database with UBC, HELCOM and John Nurminen Foundation", says Jan Westerberg, Head of Environment Protection Office of Mariehamn town. "As a local level actor itself, Mariehamn’s opportunity is to include the practical needs and experiences from the municipal point of view in the database development", he continues.
The database will be built on the experiences from UBC Member Cities Sustainable development surveys and the newly established UBC Good Practice Database. The database will encourage in benchmarking and facilitating matchmaking of water utilities with different stakeholders like financiers and policymakers.
Developing and promoting a HELCOM Green List of best practices
The PURE project through its database will also support updating official national data regarding municipal wastewater treatment as contained in the HELCOM Pollution Load Compilation database. This will also contribute to the review of country-wise nutrient reduction targets of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.
The Commission for Protection of Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea (HELCOM) has for 20 years worked hard to improve environmental situation in the region through cleaning up the biggest polluters or so-called hot spots. Although, the work of the HELCOM Member States has already led to halving the list of major polluters, still much has to be done. This requires a new approach when more incentives are provided to environmentally sound industries and municipalities, hence encouraging less advanced sites and spots to follow good examples of “environmental champions”.
"Development of a HELCOM Green List will be a new concept in increasing awareness and promoting the good results already achieved in water management", says Professional Secretary Mikhail Durkin from HELCOM. "The municipalities or water utilities voluntarily reaching the HELCOM recommendations that are stricter than e.g. EU regulations are in need of highlighting and praising for their pioneering activity."
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UBC Sustainable development surveys and UBC Good Practice Database
UBC Sustainable development surveys
The UBC Commission on Environment has carried out sustainable development surveys since year 1998, the latest survey being from year 2009. These assessments monitor the state of sustainable development in the more than 100 UBC member cities, covering a wide range of themes and indicators.
UBC Good Practice Database
The UBC Good Practice Database -known also as the UBC Wheel- presents online practical examples in the Baltic Sea Region. The practices presented in the database cover sustainable development in cities including all topics from transport to water and from social aspects to economic instruments. The Database provides contact details so that further exchange of information is easily possible, and every city is able to share their own experiences through inserting their own cases. Currently the database features almost 500 cases.
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