Sustainable water use is an investment to security
Water is a vital commodity for all of us and water safety is an integral part of citizens' general safety. Water management challenges and solutions were discussed in an event “Riding the Wave - Sustainable Water Management in the Baltic Sea Region” organized by Centrum Balticum as part of the Turku Europe Forum. The discussion was also a European Green Week Partner Event. In the discussion, EUSBSR PA Nutri and four projects presented their solutions related to sustainable water use.
Water is a strategic issue
Opening words were given by Patrick Child, Deputy Director
General at DG Environment. He emphasized the growing importance of effective
water management.
- Climate change, poor practices, over usage and pollution all harm our water economy
and the cost of it was 9 billion euros last year in Europe. Water is not only a local and regional issue but needs wider attention and measures. Therefore the
European Council has added water resilience to the strategic agenda.
- We need to go beyond the traditional legislative instruments and also use technology, innovations and investments in securing water resilience. The existing resources must be utilized effectively. For example, Interreg funds are a good instrument in finding new solutions, Child said in his speech.
Projects help municipalities to lead the way in water management
In water management, cities and towns are in the key position. All four projects participating in the discussion work with public authorities.
City Blues brings together best practices for urban flooding and
stormwater management in cities.
- Climate change increases flooding and stormwaters in northern Europe.
We also experience biodiversity loss. The project promotes nature-based
solutions for these challenges. Sometimes the solutions are even straight
copies from nature itself, Anna Vilhula explains.
In coastal touristic areas, capacity of the wastewater treatment plants
does not match the amount of people during tourism season. This causes overload
and further contamination of the Baltic Sea.
- NURSECOAST-II aims to find alternative wastewater treatment solutions
that specifically adapted to tourist areas. We test pilots such as nanobubbles and
test other new technologies, Anu Reinikainen tells.
In northern Europe, we are used to having plenty of fresh, drinkable
water available. WaterMan promotes the idea that different qualities of water
can be used for different purposes. Treated wastewater or rainwater could be
used in flushing toilets and washing cars, Marcin Żuchowski says.
- Building stakeholder and consumer acceptance is also an important task
of our project. For most actors the idea of water reuse is still a novelty.
ReNutriWater is applying the idea of fit-for-purpose water.
- It means that urban wastewater is treated in a way that it suits the intended
purpose, like cleaning, watering recreational areas and plants as well as for
domestic use, Klara Ramm explains.
- We test different disinfection methods, water plants with different types of
water and test the result. One important factor is to show that the usage of
recycled water is safe.
Both old solutions and new innovations are needed
Coordinator Elsi Kauppinen from EUSBSR Policy Area Nutri noted that
municipalities have an essential role in ensuring resilient use of water, both in
securing the water sources and keeping water and nutrients in circulation.
- Solutions that these projects present lead us towards more resilient
societies, where biodiversity is taken into account in water management, and where
we have systems that protect us from floods and drought.
The participants noted that in resilient water management one method doesn’t fit all, but the solutions must be tailored for each case and situation. New innovations are being made, but many old solutions and existing technologies still work well. Old solutions may also be more affordable, as sometimes it’s still more expensive to apply circular economy.
It is also important to pay attention to where the important technology is produced in order to stay resilient and avoid the dependency of unstable markets.