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Tampere Water is responsible for the water supply and distribution but also waste water collection and treatment in the Tampere area. The operations of Tampere Water comply with the ISO 14001 environmental management standard.
The company acts under the control of the City Council. In its area of operation, Tampere Water takes care of the water supply, purification and distribution to the customers, as well as the construction and maintenance of the pipework. Wastewater and storm water management, maintenance of the sewer system and wastewater treatment also fall under its area of responsibility.
In the city of Tampere, the history of the water supply and sewerage services goes back to 1835, when the first water and sewer pipes were constructed. The first common water pipes serving the City of Tampere were taken into use in 1882, taking water from the Lake Näsijärvi until it became unsuitable because of pollution entering it from industry in the surrounding area. Due to this decreasing water quality, in the 1960´s a new source of drinking water needed to be found, it was then that Lake Roine, situated 20 km to the east of Tampere, was discovered.
Hyhky groundwater purification plant
Today the raw water still comes to Tampere and the surrounding five municipalities from Lake Roine to be treated at Rusko water purification plants. Small quantity of raw water that is still abstracted from the Lake Näsijärvi is treated at Kaupinoja, a reserve water catcher, Polso and Kämmenniemi water purification plants. Groundwater is pumped from Messukylä, Mustalampi, Pinsiö, Julkujärvi and Hyhky groundwater purification plants. It is aimed to have all drinking water coming from groundwater supplies by the year 2010 gradually decreasing the amounts of surface water pumped to the network.
The water distribution system includes about 700 kilometres of pipes, booster stations and elevated reservoirs. The water towers also serve to equalize pipeline pressure and function as standby reservoirs in case of a system failure.
The water is treated in accordance with the quality requirements and quality is constantly monitored in co-operation with the health authorities. Tampere Water has its own laboratory that insures the purity of the water by monitoring its quality in water supply facilities and pipelines.
Tampere Water participates in several research projects and co-operates closely with institutions such as the Tampere University of Technology to develop water supply and sewerage solutions. Thanks to all these measures, the water quality in Tampere is among the best in Finland.
There are two sewer systems in the Tampere area: much of the city centre uses a combined sewer system and other areas a separate sewer system in which only the wastewater is directed to the wastewater treatment plants. Storm water is led directly to natural bodies of water. The total length of the sewer pipelines is about 1.200 kilometers.
The largest proportion of the city’s wastewater is processed in the Viinikanlahti and Rahola treatment plants. The extended Viinikanlahti wastewater treatment plant treats water from the area of city that lies east of the Pispala ridge, Kangasala municipality and some of the Pirkkala municipality’s wastewater. The Rahola treatment plant receives wastewater from the Pirkkala municipality and from the city of Ylöjärvi. Small wastewater treatment units are located in Polso and Kämmenniemi. The highly efficient treatment methods means that all of the treatment plants meet the requirements of the legislation set not only by the Finnish Government but also those of the European Union.
The wastewater treatment plants produce 30.000 cubic meters of sludge per year. Each year, the sludge treatment produces 3 million cubic meters of biogas - with a value of 300.000 euros - which is utilized in energy production. The sludge is used in agriculture, landscaping, road bank covering, and landfill sites. The quality of sludge meets the demanding Finnish standards.
Tampere Water provides individual service to its customers at Vesitalo in Nekala. Customers can also access services via the Internet – where they can check information about their own connection, water use and invoicing in real-time. Tampere Water is continuously improving its services, even today the price of water in Tampere is already almost the lowest in Finland.
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