Our goal is to raise money for a floating sewage pump-out station which will be located in Ekenäs Archipelago in Southern Finland to reduce the inflow of septic waste in the Baltic Sea
Var och en kan bidra på något sätt i dessa viktiga projekt. #itämeripuhtaaksi
Keep
the Archipelago Tidy Association is passionate about building a sustainable
Baltic Sea region. We concentrate on tackling several environmental issues
concerning the Baltic Sea both locally and through our input in different
projects. Our operative tasks include managing 200 waste and recycling stations
and 30 floating sewage pump-out stations in the maritime and lakeside Finland.
We are also responsible for the maintenance and service of appr. 170 excursion harbours.
One of our constant efforts is to reduce the inflow of nutrients in waterways
through sewage disposal. The dumping of sewage water in the sea and lakes was
banned in 2005 in Finland, yet it is estimated that almost 50 per cent of
boaters still do their sewage dumping into the waterways on a casual
basis. This particular fact became
evident in a survey conducted by the University of Turku in 2016. The reason
for this casual dumping was also made clear. The shortage of pump-up stations
or the poor condition of the existing ones are more than often the primary
reasons for the disposal of sewages in our waters. This issue could easily be
dealt with through new stations and better management.
Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association is always looking to improve our pump-up
station network. Since we’ve gotten a lot of feedback concerning the poor
possibilities of sewage disposal in the Ekenäs Archipelago, we’ve decided to
locate our efforts there. As the area has a national park with a fragile
ecosystem and at the same time it is the most trafficked waterway in Finland,
it is evident that all efforts to reduce eutrophication in these areas are essential.
Floating stations are effective in these regions, since a stationary unit would
require further adjustments in terms of finding a suitable location on shore. This
particular unit would have a capacity of appr. 10 m³ with two suction units, which effectively eliminates pressure
from constant maintenance (emptying) and allows bigger boats an easier use of
the service. Two pumps would also make the stations more reliable, because even
if one pump would be broken, the other one would still be working.
For a floating pump-up station, we’ll be needing a sum of 43 000 euros. If the sum cannot be reached, we would still be able to afford a stationary unit (approximately 10 000 euros), even though this would require more adjustments, as mentioned previously. The costs for a floating unit is 40 000 euros, with transportation, installation, and coordination requiring an additional 3 000 euros. We have this price estimation from a professional consultant, who has been negotiating the possibilities to build this kind of pump-out station with several manufacturers. The consultant company is Aikari Oy and contact information can be found from www.aikari.fi.
The quantified nutrient reduction/removal is 7.0 kg for 20 year(s).
According to a study conducted by the University
of Turku and Keep
the Archipelago Tidy Association, our standard pump-out station model with a sewage
storing capacity of 6 m3, equals to an amount of 3 kg phosphorus and
5 kg nitrogen. A model of 10 m3 would
therefore hold an amount equalling to 5
kg phosphorus and 15 kg nitrogen (nutrient input equals to about 2 kg phosphorus ),
respectively. Depending on location popularity, a 6 m3 station has
to be emptied 1-3 times during one boating season, with the most popular stations
requiring emptying up to five times per season. As Ekenäs has no floating
station from before, it is hard to give exact numbers on the emptying frequency
(and therefore the total amount of nutrients), but numbers are likely to be
high, regarding the areas general popularity and the number of visitors in the
national park. Finlands most
trafficked boating waterway goes through this are and all existing pump-out
stations are quite a long detour from the route. Also, the first station will give a good idea about
future demand and further actions regarding this particular area, as well as clues
about the potential amounts of sewages that might without further actions end
up directly in the sea.
As we have quite the solid experience in this area, the risks will be negligible, with the biggest concern being location, if a stationary unit has to be preferred due to insufficient funding. Long term risks include maintenance during its lifespan and the eventual replacement of the unit after 15-20 years.
The pump-out station would be placed by the end of the
year 2018. Pump-out stations should work reliably approximately 15-20 years.
About KAT
Established in 1969, the Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association (Pidä
Saaristo Siistinä ry) is a Finnish environmental organisation for boaters and
all those travelling in and around Finnish waterways. The Association serves
the archipelago and coastal regions, as well as the network of lakes in the
Finnish Lakeland region.
The task and aim of the Association is to keep Finland’s coastlines and archipelago clean, and to support opportunities for recreational boating and the enjoyment of all the waterways in and around Finland. The activities of the Association are diverse and concrete, from environmental maintenance tasks and educational work to national and international project work.
The operations of the Association are divided into three distinct areas of activity:
The Project team
Keep
the Archipelago Tidy Association has its own project team, consisting of a
project leader and project coordinator, that manage all ongoing projects in
cooperation with the rest of the staff. We also have a field crew, who attend
to tasks in maintenance in our several service stations.
Oona Lavonsalo
said 4 years ago
Pidä Saaristo Siistinä ry tekee erittäin tärkeää työtä saariston ja Itämeren suojelun eteen. Toivottavasti tämä hanke saa ansaitsemansa rahoituksen!
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