Petrozavodsk Water and Wastewater Rehabilitation

Petrozavodsk is the capital of the Republic of Karelia and is situated on the shores of Lake Onega which belongs to the catchment area of the Baltic Sea. The Karelian Repubic plays a unique role in the preservation of the biodiversity of northern Europe. Nearly half the Republic is covered in forests and a quarter is made up by 27 000 rivers and 61 000 lakes.

Despite its beautiful natural surroundings, Petrozavodsk has been identified as an environmental Hot Spot by the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) due to pollution of the Lake Onega by wastewater from the city.

Project Description

Drinking water has a destinctive smell and brownish hue due to the high humus content as raw water taken from Lake Onega is only filtered and chlorinated.

The wastewater treatment plant processes around 145 000m3 industrial and municipal sewage daily by conventional biological treatment only. As a result the concentration of phosphorus in wastewater discharged into Lake Onega significantly exceeds HELCOM recommendations.

The investment programme will include:

1. completion of the chemical unit for the treatment plant;
2. rehabilitation of the plant and new equipment for chemical phosphorus removal;
3. construction of a recycling/ dewatering plant for sludge processing.

Environmental Benefits

Rehabilitation of the wastewater structures will reduce phosphorus to Lake Onega by 75 t/a while energy efficiency improvements will reduce CO2 emissions.

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