Nearly all St. Petersburg sewage to be treated within five years

Chemical phosphorous removal begins this year with Finnish help

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Emissions of phosphorus into the Gulf of Finland are expected to decline by up to 20 per cent when chemical removal of phosphorous begins this year and next year at sewage treatment plants in St. Petersburg, at the far end of the gulf..
      Experts believe that the improved treatment of waste water in the Russian city will lead to a reduction in the summertime growth of toxic blue-green algae in the Gulf of Finland within a few year's time.
      The city of St. Petersburg is the greatest single producer of emissions into the Gulf of Finland, generating 40 per cent of the phosphorous that goes into the narrow and shallow body of water.
      The chemical phosphorous removal is a joint project of the John Nurminen Foundation and the water utility of the City of St. Petersburg.
      The Nurminen Foundation has collected EUR 2.7 million for the project from Finnish companies, private individuals, and the Ministry of the Environment.
      The executive of the foundation visited the largest treatment plant in St. Petersburg on Friday.
      "Chemical phosphorous removal begins in October, and at two other large treatment plants within two years", promised Feliks Karmazinov, head of the city's water works.
      Until now, waste water emitted by the facility contained two milligrams of phosphorous per litre, but after the improvements, this will go down to half a milligramme.
      it is slightly more than the 0.3 milligrams of phosphorous that Helsinki's treated sewage contains, but significantly less than the maximum 1.5 recommended by the Helsinki Commission for the Protection of the Baltic Sea Environment.
     
The Russians are currently upgrading St. Petersburg's central and northern treatment plants with an extensive programme involving both chemical and biological treatment.
      An even bigger project is aimed at chanelling the city's remaining waste water from many different sewer lines to a single collector tunnel and to proper treatment. Currently about one fifth of the city's sewage is dumped untreated into the Gulf of Finland.
      "The collector tunnel is being built in three stages, so that next year we will be treating 85 per cent of all waste water, and 97 per cent in 2012", Karmazinov says.
      Taking part in the visit of the Nurminen Foundation to St. Petersburg were the foundation's chairman Juha Nurminen, Finland's Chief of Defence Juhani Kaskeala, and University of Helsinki Chancellor Kari Raivio.
      "This is a very cost-effective way of helping the Baltic Sea", says Ilkka Herlin, one of the members of the board of the foundation.
      Herlin, Chairman of the Board of Cargotec, has been involved in starting up the Baltic Sea Initiative project, which is seeking out similar projects to assist in all Baltic Sea countries.
     "I go fishing in the Gulf of Finland and I know what kind of pea soup the sea is in July. People are inspired to help when they know on a concrete level where the money goes", says another board member, Peter Fagernäs.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  New St. Petersburg sewage treatment plant to be inaugurated today (22.9.2005)
  Bottom of Gulf of Finland remains in poor condition (22.8.2005)
  St. Petersburg wastewater treatment plant scheduled for completion in summer 2005 (12.11.2003)
  St. Petersburg, major polluter of Gulf of Finland, gets help for cleanup (5.6.2001)
  Finland contributes FIM 5 million to St. Petersburg waste management project (22.5.2001)

Links:
  Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission

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