An example of Finland's approach to wastewater treatment for households in rural areas

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• An example of Finland's approach to wastewater
  treatment for households in rural areas
• Kimmo Tiilikainen
• Minister of the Environment
• Finland

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2. Finlands phosphorus discharge into
watercourses from industry, Communities and fish
farming sources (tonnes)
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3. Development of water protection policies

• Four National Water Protection Programmes have
  been adopted since early 1970s
• The 1961 Water Act was not effective enough in
  decreasing the load from non-point sources
• The 1998 National Water Protection Programme
  included targets for rural wastewaters
• The 2000 Environmental Protection Act included
  provisions for controlling small discharges
• Finnish Governments Programme for the Protection
  of the Baltic Sea in 2002 included water
  protection actions in rural areas

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4. Onsite wastewater treatment in Finland

• The Government Decree on Treating Domestic
  Wastewater in Areas Outside Sewerage Networks was
  approved in June 2003
• The main objective of the Decree is to reduce
  domestic wastewater discharges
• The Decree covers onsite wastewater systems that
  receive domestic or similar wastewater from
  individual homes, small businesses, and
  communities with a population equivalent of less
  than 100

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5. Requirements of the Decree

• Untreated wastewater should generally be treated
  to remove 90 of the organic material (BOD7), 85
  of the phosphorous content and 40 of the
  nitrogen content.
• Wastewater treatment systems already in operation
  before 2004 have until 2014 to meet the new
  requirements.

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6. Consideration of the local conditions

• The municipality may accept lower rates of
  treatment on less sensitive and vulnerable areas.
  
• However, the pollution load must also be reduced
  in these areas by at least 80 for organic
  matter (BOD7), 70 for total phosphorus and 30
  for total nitrogen.
• The municipalities are encouraged to define
  different zones in their areas based on how
  vulnerable these areas are to pollution.

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7. Definition different zones based on how
vulnerable these areas are to pollution
Normal areas
Less sensitive areas
Special areas
Areas served by sewer networks
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8. Other requirements

• Proper plans for a wastewater system must be
  included in the application for a building
  permit.
• There must be up-to-date operational and
  maintenance instructions for each wastewater
  system.

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9. Development of treatment systems

• There is a growing interest among the Finnish
  manufacturers to bring new products to the
  market.
• It is a challenging task to introduce technology
  which is user-friendly, affordable and easy to
  maintain and operate.
• The Finnish Environment Institute collects
  independent, reliable and up-to date information
  on commonly used treatment methods and
  performance of such methods.

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10. Different solutions are needed

• The costs of improving wastewater treatment
  systems vary greatly according to local
  conditions.
• In some cases, less expensive systems such as
  septic tanks with a soil adsorption system can be
  used. In many cases, more expensive prefabricated
  systems are needed.
• The investments can amount to between 1000 to
  8000 euros per property.

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11. Implementation and impacts of the Degree

• Phosphorus loads will reduce by around 300 tonnes
  a year by 2014. This amounts to an overall
  reduction of 68 in total anthropogenic
  phosphorus discharges in Finland.
• Subsidies for onsite wastewater treatment systems
  are available from the State for rural residents
  with low income.
• Residents can claim tax deductions for the work
  done to improve wastewater systems.
• Some local authorities also provide support for
  improvements of wastewater systems in unconnected
  properties.
• The Government can finance the construction of
  some connecting networks from rural areas to
  urban wastewater treatment plants .

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12. Further information

• The web side of the Ministry of the Environment
• http//www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?node14095lan
  en
• http//www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/2003/en200
  30542.pdf (Government Decree on Treating Domestic
  Wastewater in Areas Outside Sewer Networks
  (542/2003)
• HELCOM recommendations
• http//www.helcom.fi/Recommendations/en_GB/rec28E_
  6/