Sweden is threatened for the first time by a lack of chemicals that clean the emissions from sewage – and this could affect the water we bathe in.
– We have not been in this situation before, says Klara Westling, expert at Swedish Water.
Low-speed production and closed factories in Europe as a result of the economic situation and high energy prices can now have direct consequences for the water in Sweden. In order to be able to purify our drinking water and waste water, hydrochloric acid is required, a by-product that is created during the production of, for example, paint, plastic, varnish and fertiliser.
This hydrochloric acid is imported from Europe in order to produce precipitating chemicals, which purify the water before it becomes drinking water or is released from treatment plants into lakes and oceans.
Since a few weeks ago, Sweden is now facing a shortage of hydrochloric acid for the first time.
– We know that a lack of cleaning chemicals results in impaired water treatment, which in the long run can make the water unusable, says Klara Westling, expert on sewage and the environment at the industry organization Swedish Water.
Can make the bath water unusable
In order to secure the production of drinking water, a guideline has been drawn up that prioritizes drinking water treatment over sewage treatment. Something which, according to Klara Westling, could mean that the treatment in some sewage works is now compromised.
Around half of the country’s treatment plants release their waste water into the sea, which is considered more robust in the event of a chemical shortage. However, treatment plants that discharge into lakes, waterways and towards raw water withdrawals for drinking water production end up higher on the list of those that suppliers must prioritize if the availability of chemicals runs out.
So far, the chemical suppliers have managed to secure deliveries of hydrochloric acid so that the shortage has not reached the point of pain.
– But the future is very uncertain. The shortage has so far only lasted for a few weeks and the swimming season is starting now. If the lack of hydrochloric acid becomes greater, it can absolutely happen that municipal bathing areas have to close now during the summer, says Klara Westling.
Fact: Drinking water must be purified with chemicals
(TT)
Most larger water utilities have lakes as a surface water source and require chemicals to be able to create serviceable drinking water. Today, drinking water is produced for around 50 percent of the country’s population – including for all metropolitan regions – using surface water as raw water.
In order to purify surface water, which, unlike groundwater, is not purified through the ground, organic matter and particles must be removed with precipitating chemicals.
Of the water purification chemicals that are imported into Sweden, 10 percent goes to drinking water production, 80 percent to sewage treatment and 10 percent goes to other industry, for example the purification of forest products. The VA organizations buy their chemicals from private companies which in turn have several customers, including the forest industry.
It is the treatment plants themselves that measure that the water meets the treatment requirements. County boards or municipalities supervise. Treatment plants can be prosecuted if they do not comply with the requirements. A priority list for how the suppliers should distribute the purification chemicals to drinking water plants, sewage plants and industry already exists today.
An ongoing government investigation will propose at the end of August that that priority be legislated.
Source: Swedish Water