Successful work with waste water management in St. Petersburg to be continued in Northern Karelia in Russia

The Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) and SUE ‘Vodokanal of St. Petersburg” are developing a road-map to reduce adverse impact on the Baltic Sea, the Ladoga and the Onega Lakes as they form an integrated aquatic system. SUE ‘Vodokanal of St. Petersburg’ has successfully implemented new technologies and efficient operation of wastewater treatment plants in St. Petersburg. This development will be continued in Lake Ladoga and Onega catchment areas.

A new 5 – 7 years programme on the enhancement of the Ladoga and Onega Lakes will be started. Within this programme SUE “Vodokanal of St. Petersburg” will identify top-priority sites and give recommendations on effective implementation of development methods. As a result of the discussions between  experts  from SUE ‘Vodokanal St. Petersburg’ and the BSAG, main directions of activities on the reduction of the negative impact on the environment were determined for the short-term. They are as follows:

– treatment of household sewage;

– treatment of industrial sewage, which contain hazardous substances;

– disposal of sewage sludge, manure and poultry manure as well as recovery of their useful qualities.

This work will be carried out in close co-operation with regional authorities, private sector and international non-governmental organizations.

The expected expiry date of the commitment is March 2018.

For the purpose of further interaction in a wide range of issues related to the environmental protection in the Baltic Region, the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between HELCOM and SUE ‘Vodokanal of St. Petersburg’ is under consideration.