For the quality of life - evolution of and lessons learnt from water and sanitation services in...

Petri S. Juuti, Tapio S. Katko and Riikka P. Rajala / Natural Resources Forum 29 (2005) 109–119 109

© 2005 United Nations. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

Natural Resources Forum 29 (2005) 109–119

For the quality of life — evolution of and lessons learnt from waterand sanitation services in Porvoo, Finland, 1900–2000

Petri S. Juuti, Tapio S. Katko and Riikka P. Rajala

Abstract

The paper describes and analyses the 100 year development of water supply and sanitation and the lessons learnt in Porvoo,a municipality of 46,000 people on the southern coast of Finland. In urban areas the municipality-owned utility has alwaysdominated. Over 90 per cent of the investments for the recent wastewater treatment plant went into services, equipment andgoods bought from the private sector through 12 tenders, all based on competition. In the neighbouring rural areas, recentlymerged with the city, there are nine consumer-managed, non-profit water cooperatives that buy water in bulk from the citywater utility. Although the solutions are based on local conditions and subsidiarity, some more general principles are alsohighlighted and discussed. Past decisions inevitably also affect future development options.

Keywords: Water supply and sanitation; Lessons learnt; Environmental history; Public-private cooperation; Porvoo; Finland.

1. Introduction

Proper water supply and sanitation are some of the keyrequirements as to the evolution of cities or communities.In most cases, water and sanitation have been the first mod-ern public services provided by cities. In Finland, a Nordiccountry, frequent fires and the need for good householdwater and a healthier environment created the demand forthese services (Hietala, 2002; Juuti, 2001).

Except for the smallest systems, local authorities andmunicipalities have played the key role in Finnish watersupply and sanitation. In cities, towns, and rural centres,municipalities have at least indirectly acted either as ser-vice providers or facilitators through municipality-ownedwater and sewage utilities of various forms. Various typesof inter-municipal water and sewerage systems have alsobeen established since the 1960s (Katko, 1997).

In the mid-1800s, urban water supply was still largelybased on systems similar to those in the countryside: privateand public wells. The first attempt to organise common watersupply in Finnish urban areas took place in Tampere in

1835, when a German-made pump was installed. It wasused for an unknown short period, while it took almost 50years to implement a reliable gravity water pipeline (Juutiand Katko, 1998). The first modern urban water supplysystem was completed in Helsinki, the Finnish capital in1876 (Herranen, 2001).

2. Objectives, methods and theoretical basis

The objective of this article is to describe and analyse the100 year evolution of water and sanitation services in Porvoo,the second oldest town in Finland, located some 60 kilo-metres east of Helsinki and to suggest some of the key les-sons learnt for wider application. The article is largely basedon a 470-page book written on the case city by the authors(Juuti et al., 2003). Instead of being a “classical historicalsurvey” by a single author, the study combined the differ-ent views and backgrounds of the authors. The first authorconcentrated on earlier phases and historical documents,the third on technological development and expansion ofthe systems, and the second on more general developmentprinciples like public–private cooperation and urban–ruralinteractions. The evolution of water and sanitation servicesin Porvoo was also examined within a wider national andinternational context (e.g., Hukka and Katko, 2003; Juuti,2001; Juuti and Katko, 1998; Katko, 1992, 1997) as part ofthe activities of the CADWES (Capacity Development inWater and Environmental Services) research team based atTampere University of Technology.

Petri S. Juuti is Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of History, University ofTampere, Finland, E-mail: [email protected]

Tapio S. Katko is Senior Research Fellow, Institute of EnvironmentalEngineering and Biotechnology, Tampere University of Technology,Finland. E-mail: [email protected]

Riikka P. Rajala, Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechno-logy, Tampere University of Technology. E-mail: [email protected]

110 Petri S. Juuti, Tapio S. Katko and Riikka P. Rajala / Natural Resources Forum 29 (2005) 109–119

A systematic analysis of the city and waterworksarchives and literature was first made. Articles in localnewspapers and the available histories of the city were alsoreviewed. Open-ended theme interviews of 13, present orpast, staff members of the Porvoo Waterworks were con-ducted, representing all levels of the utility. Through theseinterviews and other personal contacts and checks it waspossible to gain tacit and unrecorded knowledge and ex-perience that would otherwise have been missed. Visits tothe works were another essential component of the project.

The five key principles of sound water management byProfessor D. Okun, a world famous US sector expert,1 arethe theoretical basis of the paper. They are:

(i) Projects are unique — one-off by nature: the optimalsolution for each water-related problem is unique, andstereotype solutions may prove costly.

(ii) Efficiencies and economies of scale: technical prob-lems related to water supply or wastewater removalare as complex with small as with large systems. How-ever, technical problems related to small systems areoften more difficult to solve.2

(iii) Integration of water supply, sewerage and pollutioncontrol services: as cleaning of wastewaters becomesincreasingly effective, wastewaters of the past becomeimportant water sources. The wastewaters of one com-munity may be water resources of another, rather thanproblems, if all possibilities are effectively utilised.

(iv) Sound financial policies — “housekeeping”: the roleof water supply and sewerage has changed from beingprimarily a provider of public health and well-beingto a public utility. Thus, the financing philosophy hasalso evolved towards charging consumers for servicesreceived. In order to be able to maintain the quality ofwater supply and sewerage services, the fees must coverthe actual expenses and all consumers are to be treatedequitably.

(v) In the case of domestic water, priority must be givento pure rather than polluted water sources for potablewater: even if polluted or otherwise low quality pools ofraw water could be treated to render them satisfactoryfor use, it is better to use such waters, for instance, forindustrial or other needs that do not require top qual-ity. The highest quality water should be reserved fordomestic consumption — such as groundwater. Bydoing so we can avoid unknown health risks that maybe present in low quality treated water — for instance,due to chemicals (Okun, 1977).

The applicability of these principles will be later assessedafter presenting the key findings on the evolution of watersupply and sanitation in Porvoo.

3. Towards establishing modern water andsewerage systems

3.1. Start and growth of the city

Porvoo, Finland’s second oldest city, is assumed tohave been founded in 1346. Even its name is related towater, since Porvoo originates from the Swedish wordBorgå (borg = castle, å = river). For centuries the towns-people got along using traditional water sources — wells,springs and surface waters. As the city grew, water be-came scarce and the environment started showing symp-toms of deterioration, new measures were called for. Onesuch measure was to set up a municipal water supplysystem in 1913 following 25 years of discussion andplanning.

Gradual construction of a sewerage system was launchedin Porvoo at the end of the 19th century. Since its estab-lishment Porvoo City Waterworks has been a municipalutility operating in accordance with the economic andoperational goals laid down by the City Council. In keep-ing with the general Finnish practice, a sewerage systemwas built alongside the waterworks — yet they remainedseparate organizations. However, the first wastewatertreatment plant did not start operating until the 1970s— somewhat later than in most other cities. Since thewastewaters were discharged into the river, and furtherout to sea, creating awareness and social pressure formodern water pollution control took longer in Porvoo.In the 1960s such discharge of untreated wastewatersinto the sea was still commonly accepted even amonghydrobiologists.

Presently the City of Porvoo has some 46,000 in-habitants, of whom 64% are Finnish-speaking, 34%Swedish-speaking and about 2% others. Earlier the shareof the Swedish-speaking people was higher. The totalland area of the city is 654 km2. The city is the thrivingcentre of an economic region in the eastern part of theprovince of Uusimaa. Porvoo lies along the Gulf ofFinland on the Baltic Sea, about 50 km east of theHelsinki metropolitan area and the Helsinki-Vantaaairport (Figure 1).

More than half of the citizens of Porvoo earn their live-lihood from trade and services, a third work in the indus-trial sector. The city originally grew as a trading centre,and it continues to be an attractive hub of business andcommerce. Old Porvoo is famous for its narrow lanes andbrick-red riverside warehouses. The low wooden houses inthe Empire-style part of the city were built according to theclassical town plan based on blocks (http://www.porvoo.fi/en/enytporvoosta/index.html).

1 Although Okun used this category for regionalisation of water ser-vices in England and Wales, these principles can obviously be appliedelsewhere.2 This applies only up to the optimal size and with relatively high popula-tion density. For instance, it is not necessarily worthwhile merging with alarger unit at a great distance. In a country with a dispersed population,water cooperatives have several advantages due to their small size andlight administration.

http://www.porvoo.fi/


owners, for their part, had an economic incentive to havepublic sewerage in town because they were responsible forthe maintenance of ditches and sewers along their sectionof the street (Mäkelä-Alitalo, 2000; Juuti, 2001).

The know-how to solve the water problem in Porvoo wasacquired particularly from Stockholm, Sweden and Hel-sinki, the Finnish capital. However, the first initiative camefrom within the town itself: Professor Strömborg, involvedin town administration, suggested as early as 1889 that awaterworks be established. House owners also supportedthe idea. A waterworks utilising groundwater was com-pleted a quarter of a century later in 1913 (Rindell, 1914).The delay was comparable to those in other Finnish towns.

The Porvoo Waterworks was designed by the directorof Helsinki Waterworks, Albin Skog, who also designedthe first waterworks of several other Finnish towns. In prin-ciple, he preferred use of ground water to surface water. Inaddition, the city officials in Porvoo had gained less posit-ive experiences of using surface water in Helsinki (Juutiet al., 2003). The contractor was Yleinen Insinööritoimisto,YIT — Allmänna Ingeniörsbyrå, AIB. The headquarters ofthat company were in Stockholm but it established a branchoffice in Finland in 1912. The Porvoo Water Tower wasactually the company’s first project in Finland and thebeginning of its later growth into a leading sector contractorin the country. Construction of sewers had started at theend of the 19th century (Rindell, 1914; Juuti, 2001; Katko,1997).

The loan granted by the National Fire Insurance Com-pany, owned by cities, was of major financial importancefor Porvoo as well as many other cities at the time. However,the initial estimates on the sufficiency of water appearedtoo optimistic in hindsight due to population growth. Aftera few years it was noticed that the water was not sufficientfor the growing needs. The city newspaper Borgåbladetreported often about this development (Borgåbladet, 1913–1914).

The measures undertaken made the built environmentsafer and eliminated the immediate problems. As the citygrew, the open sewer ditches were straightened, dug openand covered. However, this was not enough, and the grow-ing problems made the city’s decision makers plan an un-derground sewerage system following the English example.Thus, progress from the bucket system to a “proto” systembegan (Juuti et al., 2003).

The first waterworks at Kaupunginhaka (Figure 2),however, proved to be an interim solution in hindsight.Its economic performance improved, and since 1921 theutility has turned a profit. Despite the large investmentsearly on, it continued to grow. Thanks to the selection ofthe groundwater alternative, Porvoo avoided major prob-lems such as epidemics which occurred in cities usingsurface water. The new facility completed in Linnanmäkiin 1923 (Figure 2) ended the water shortage, but qualityproblems, such as an excessive iron content, remainedunsolved (Waterworks, 1913–1923; Juuti et al., 2003).

Figure 1. Location of Porvoo.

3.2. From early to modern systems

Documents mention Porvoo Parish in the early 14th cen-tury. For hundreds of years the city extracted water fromwells, springs and the Porvoo River. Before the establish-ment of the waterworks most houses had a well in the yard.Several public wells also existed — the first mention datesback to 1622, but it is likely that there were some earlier.Water was also drawn from the river. In the 18th centurythere were at least two public wells and a natural spring forcommon use (Mäntylä, 1994).

Although great fires did not occur in Porvoo as oftenas in other Finnish cities, the founding of a waterworkswas facilitated by the fear of fires and the scarcity and poorquality of well water. The environment also became pol-luted as habitation spread.

Despite various reforms, the bucket remained the keyimplement in water supply, latrines and waste disposal un-til the end of the 19th century. Sewers were laid to get ridof rain waters that flowed into basements and also hinderedmovement of people. At that time, people still believed inthe so-called miasma theory according to which humidityand dirty air spread disease. Yet, this belief for its part alsofacilitated the introduction of sewers (Juuti, 2001). House


Figure 2. Development of water consumption in Porvoo, 1913–2002. The volume of water pumped into the network increased up until the 1970s asthe supply network expanded.

3.3. Water consumption and fees in the first decades

Water pipe connections were governed by written agree-ments and regulations already in place in 1913. Oneregulation read as follows: “Each plot to which water isled is to have its own pipe extending from the street pipeto the water meter. The waterworks shall procure and laysaid pipe at the expense of the house owner, charging thefee confirmed by the council, in the order applications aresubmitted and performance of the city’s own works allows;the city also undertakes to put right without charge anypossible defects in the pipes due to poor workmanship ormaterials for a period of one year” (Regulations, 1913).

During the first years all distributed water flowed throughthe tower (elevated reservoir), whose capacity of 400 cubicmetres was enough for about a week. Water consumptionincreased quite rapidly as the network expanded. Today thecombined capacity of the water towers is about ten-fold —while only a fraction of the water goes through them.

Since the beginning water was billed based on metereduse. The waterworks ordered the meters to be installedwhere “basic and surface water cannot penetrate into the

dial housing to obstruct its reading, the meter is not ex-posed to subzero temperatures or other harmful influences,and the meter is accessible enough to allow attaching, read-ing and removing it without hindrance”. If a house ownerdoubted the accuracy of his water meter, he could askthe waterworks to check it. If the reading error was lessthan five per cent, the house owner had to pay the costsof inspection. This rule is still in force 90 years later(Regulations, 1913). After Helsinki, the capital had intro-duced metering around 1880, it became standard forFinnish waterworks by the early 1890s (Katko, 1997). Yet,in Tampere the first waterworks from 1882 to 1897 fixedcharges were used which proved unsuitable, and meteringwas introduced with the new system starting in 1898(Juuti & Katko, 1998).

In Porvoo, it was not always possible for house ownersto connect to the city’s water supply network. For instance,in the old town the bedrock lying close to the surface pre-vented the laying of a water pipe. Public standposts wereprovided for these consumers; the key required to use themcould only be given to the occupants of the house. Personson poor relief could obtain water free of charge. In 1914


there were a total of 159 water connections and consump-tion was around seven cubic metres per inhabitant. In 1952connections numbered 520 and consumption was up to38 cubic metres per inhabitant annually. In 1940, duringthe Winter War, water consumption dropped significantly(Figure 2) since a major portion of the city’s populationwas evacuated (Regulations, 1913; Waterworks, 1913–1914,1940–1945, 1952).

3.4. Water supply and sanitation in the rural district

In Porvoo rural district (municipality) water supply in thefirst half of the 20th century depended on private wells.Alongside them, the largest water consumers started tobuild their own modest water pipes. Water shortage en-couraged cooperation between inhabitants which led laterto consumer-owned and administered water cooperativesand common wells. The rural district concentrated on sup-plying water to its own institutions and offices in the early1900s and maintained a few public wells and latrines.

In the early 20th century public health requirementsgradually tightened. Well water quality monitoring wasintroduced, for instance, at schools. Yet, the state of theenvironment deteriorated badly in places due to the highincrease in living standards and the spread of flush toilets.For instance, in 1969 the Board of Health noted that thewater bodies were polluted to such an extent that only afew beaches had safe enough water for swimming (Porvoorural district, 1964–1969).

The water supply and sewerage system of Porvoo ruraldistrict has made use of the expertise and services ofauthorities, other water utilities and the private sectorfrom the beginning. For instance, water analyses werecommissioned from Porvoo City Laboratory. Designs andconstruction work were commissioned from private com-panies. Intermunicipal cooperation in water supply andsewerage was also practiced at one time with the Cityof Porvoo. At first, the rural district bought water from thecity’s waterworks. When the Saksanniemi Waterworks(Figure 2) of the rural district became operational in 1975the roles switched and the district supplied water also tothe city. The 120 km Päijänne Water Tunnel constructedthrough bedrock — completed in 1982 — was among themost prominent projects of intermunicipal cooperation inthe Helsinki metropolitan area. The rural district took part inits financing in order to secure the raw water needs of thepetrochemical industry (Porvoo rural district, 1969–1975).

4. Development of the City Waterworks, 1920s to1980s

The new water intake plant was finished in January 1923.A concrete well 8 m deep was dug in Linnanmäki (Fig-ure 2), and the water was pumped through a six-inchcast iron pipe. Originally the water was treated only by

adding soda lye to increase pH. The water intake plantoperated satisfactorily for the first years. In 1923 about70 per cent, and the next year 87 per cent, of the water needwas covered by it. The rest came from the first groundwaterintake in Kaupunginhaka (Figure 2). But the water at thenew major intake was quite rich in iron and carbon diox-ide. On request, the engineer Skog in Helsinki designed aniron removal plant incorporating aeration of raw water, ironprecipitation by adding lime water, filtration and storageof clean water in a tank (Christiernin, 1934; Waterworks,1923–1927).

During the reconstruction after WWII water consump-tion increased steadily, outstripping the capacity of theLinnanmäki plant (Figure 2). In 1951 it was operating22–23 hours per day. The technical department of theFederation of Cities prepared a plan for the expansionof the water treatment plant: accordingly, the capacitydoubled and could be tripled later on. The expansion wascompleted in 1956 (Waterworks, 1944–1956).

In 1966 a new 2,000 cubic metre water tower was erectedon Roviovuori in the City of Porvoo condemning the oldone into disuse. Despite public discussion it was decidedto blow up the old tower. A street had been planned to gowhere it stood but was never built. The demolished watertower reflects the super modern design philosophy prevail-ing in Finland and elsewhere in the 1960s: the old hadto be removed and replaced with something new and mod-ern (Waterworks, 1965–1966; Uudenmaan Sanomat, 1958;Uusimaa, 1966, 1970; Borgåbladet, 1969). Luckily only oneother instance of such demolition occurred in the countrywhich has a tradition of diversity in water tower designs(Asola, 2003).

The Linnanmäki water treatment plant (Figure 2) wasfurther expanded in 1971 by constructing a special recharg-ing system. The filtration plant was also renovated. How-ever, the water still contained too much iron, manganeseand salts. Use of artificial recharge with basin infiltrationwas tested by taking raw water from the Porvoo River in1972–1978. All of the tests failed since the river water wasnot of adequate quality for this purpose. Meanwhile, waterconsumption in Porvoo doubled between 1966 and 1973and levelled off thereafter (Figure 2) (Waterworks, 1960–1969; Uudenmaan Sanomat, 1966; Porvoon Sanomat, 1984;Uusimaa, 1988).

4.1. Water pollution control increased in effectivenessfrom the 1970s to the new millennium

The sea area off Porvoo in the eastern Gulf of Finland isloaded with domestic and industrial wastewaters as wellas the substance flows of rivers. Mäntsälänjoki River (alsoknown as Mustijoki) is about 70 km long with a relativelylow flow rate. It is loaded, for instance, by the upstreamhuman settlements of Mäntsälä and Pornainen. PorvooRiver is about 80 km long with a slightly higher flow rate.It originates to the south of the Salpausselkä ridge and


is heavily loaded starting from its upper reaches. Thewastewaters of the City of Lahti (Figure 1) have contrib-uted to the state of the Porvoo River in the 1960s through1990s. The municipalities of Orimattila, Pukkila and Askolaare also located by the river. However, currently the mostsignificant loading source of the river is diffuse loading, ofwhich the major part originates from agriculture.

Before wastewater treatment was introduced in Porvoo,rain waters and domestic wastewaters were led untreatedinto water bodies. Domestic sewage was led via “settlingwells” or septic tanks to the city’s sewerage system and onto the sea off Porvoo. Finns started paying attention to thestate of the country’s waters and, especially, the harmfuleffects of their loading in the 1950s. As a result, the 1961Water Act and Decree were enacted to establish detailedrules for water protection which launched water pollutioncontrol in towns, cities and industries (Katko, 1997).

Initially Porvoo had a combined sewer system, but sincethe 1960s, as the system was expanded and renewed, separ-ate sewers were built in most cases. This made it possibleto start wastewater treatment in the 1970s. Special attentionhas been given to the rehabilitation of the sewer network.The investments improved substantially the condition ofthe network and reduced the amount of wastewater. Thefirst wastewater treatment plant at Kokonniemi, along theriver downstream of the downtown area, was completed in1973. Its treatment process was based on so-called chem-ical direct precipitation based on Swedish technology. Thesea area off Porvoo has been the subject of water studiessince 1965 — first through random observations, and sincethe 1970s through regular monitoring. The state of PorvooRiver started to improve gradually towards the end of the1970s (Waterworks, 1960–1966).

In 1983, negotiations on a joint wastewater treatmentplant were started with Porvoo rural district. The appointedworking group suggested then that wastewaters be con-ducted for treatment to a joint treatment plant inHermanninsaari, an island south of the city. From theretreated wastewaters were to be led to the open sea offSvartbäck by the mid-1990s (Porvoon Sanomat, 1984;Waterworks, 1983–1996).

At the end of the 1980s, rehabilitation and expansionof the Kokonniemi wastewater treatment plant could nolonger be avoided as the permit conditions tightened. Themaximum BOD7 loading of treated wastewater was set at40 mg/l instead of the earlier 60 mg/l. The BOD7 removalrate increased from 70 to 80% and that for phosphorusfrom 80 to 90%. A maximum total phosphorus content of1.2 mg/l was allowed as earlier. The rehabilitation andexpansion works were completed in 1987 which helpedthe city get by until the new Hermanninsaari plant wasfinished in 2000 (Waterworks, 1988–1995).

In November 2001, the wastewaters of Kokonniemi couldbe led to Hermanninsaari thereby relegating the old plantto disuse. In 2002, the treatment requirements for the newplant were not only easily met, but with a wide margin as

Table 1. Treatment and effluent requirements set by theenvironmental permit authority, and the results achieved from

April to December, 2002 at the Hermanninsaari wastewatertreatment plant in Porvoo

Parameter Requirement Result achieved4–12/2002

Organic substance, BOD7 >90%, <10 mg/l 98–99%, <3–5 mg/lTotal phosphorus, P >90%, <0.5 mg/l 97–98%, <0.2–0.3 mg/lTotal nitrogen >70% 73–83%, (>12 °C)Total solids, SS >90%, <35 mg/l 98–99%, 1–10 mg/lChemical oxygen >75%, <125 mg/l 94–97%, 25 –35 mg /l

demand, CODcr

shown in Table 1. The removal rates for BOD, and phos-phorus, the key parameters, are 98 to 99%. The plant isusing the best available technology: the denitrification-nitrification process with simultaneous precipitation (Water-works, 2000–2003; Uusimaa, 2000).

The construction of the wastewater treatment plant isa good example of public-private cooperation in its realsense based on many competing tenders. The Waterworkshired a project manager from the private sector to managethe 16.8 million EUR (1 Euro = 1.2 USD, June 2004)project. Goods, equipment and various services were boughtfrom a total of 12 companies, all based on competitivebidding. Their share of the total budget was about 95 percent (Table 2). The waterworks together with the City StreetDepartment took care of landscaping and pipeline re-location. In many respects this arrangement maximised thecooperation between the public and private sectors. Dueto the extensive competition this arrangement certainly hasseveral advantages compared to any long-term concessionor management contracts by private operators where thereis competition just for the project as an entity (Juuti et al.,2003; Hukka and Katko, 2003). Unfortunately, and un-professionally, such arrangements are not remembered orpresented at international symposia and workshops underthe category of “private sector participation or involvement”,such as the Stockholm Water Symposium in August, 2004(Hukka and Katko, 2004).

4.2. Artificial recharge, declining consumption and bettermaterials

One of the key strategic long-term issues in Finnish watersupply has been whether to use ground or surface water.This is the case with Porvoo, too. The total water distrib-uted by public waterworks in Finland increased especiallyin the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Simultaneously, the com-bined relative share of groundwater and artificial ground-water increased. Only in the beginning of the 20th centurydid the relative share of groundwater fall as many Finnishcities chose surface water plants (Katko, 1997). The choicebetween surface and groundwater was also discussed inPorvoo as shown above (Juuti et al., 2003).


Table 2. Public-private cooperation in the implementation of the Hermanninsaari wastewater treatment plant, 1996–2002, with a total budgetof 16.8 million EUR

Activity Company million EUR Share of budget %

Transfer and outlet sewers 3.82 22.8Transfer sewer and outlet pipe Lemminkäinen LtdPipe delivery Uponor Finland LtdHermanninsaari wastewater treatment plant 9.53 56.8Main contractor Skanska-Tekra LtdSub-contractors:main machinery YIT-Construction Ltdsupplementary machinery Seinäjoki VI-tehnology Ltdplumbing, heating, ventilation Porvoo LVI asennus Ltdelectrical installations Tekmanni Ltdautomation and instrumentation Pantek Automation Ltdlandscaping and pipeline relocation City Street Dept, WaterworksKokonniemi pumping station 1.10 6.3machinery and building YIT Construction Ltdautomation Pantek Automation LtdHamari pumping station 0.27 1.6

Watercon LtdManagement, planning, permits, etc. 2.10 12.5Consultancy servicesOthersTOTAL 16.78 100

The view generally held still in the early 1970s that waterconsumption would increase rapidly proved wrong towardsthe end of the decade (Figure 2). In 1965, the amount ofwater pumped to the network exceeded one million cubicmetres for the first time. The increased consumption in theyears leading to the 1970s was primarily due to higherprivate consumption. The city council decided in April 1965to supply water from standposts only to so-called consumerassociations. From 1960 to 1975 water consumption in-creased about 200%. In the same period connections in-creased by 150%, the city’s population by about 60% andspecific water consumption (litres per capita per day) byabout 30%. As elsewhere in Finland, water consumptionstarted to decrease towards the end of the 1970s. Between1975 and 1996 water consumption in Porvoo fell by about35% — specific consumption by as much as 40% (Water-works, 1965–1996).

Increasing energy prices as well as the Sewage Fee Actenacted in 1974, and introduced also in Porvoo, sloweddown growth in total and specific water consumption. Ear-lier, sewerage services were paid through taxes but nowthrough fees which more than doubled the water and sew-age charges of users. In Porvoo another reason for declinedspecific consumption was the systematic search for leaksconducted since the mid-1970s. Porvoo City Waterworksis, as far as is known, the first waterworks in Finland tocarry out a systematic leakage survey of its water supplynetwork (Pietilä, 1977; Juuti et al., 2003). Changes inwater consumption also made the waterworks reform itstariff structures. Earlier, the income of the Works waslargely based on water consumption. Therefore, a basic fee

was introduced in phases in 1987–89. The sewage worksstarted collecting a connection charge in 1992 (Waterworks,1974–1975, 1987–1989, 1992).

By the 1980s the water quality of Linnanmäki (Figure 2)had deteriorated further, and the need to extract waterexceeded the resources available there. Especially the ironand chloride contents had increased. A committee estab-lished in 1977 initiated planning and construction of theSannainen artificial recharge plant (Figure 2), completedin 1982. The following year the water pumped from theSannainen plant covered as much as 96% of the city’s totalconsumption. Later, the volume extracted from Linnanmäki(Figure 2) decreased, and in 1986 the plant served onlyas an auxiliary unit and headquarters of water supplyand sewerage utilities. The Linnanmäki filtration plantwas demolished in 1986–87. Later in 1996 another rawwater intake plant was completed in Böle which pumpedextra water to the recharge area (Uusimaa, 1977, 1979,1981, 1992; Waterworks, 1976–78, 1982–83, 1986–87,1996–97).

The original water supply network was built using steelpiping. Later cast iron pipes were introduced as they aremore durable. Plastic piping became prevalent in Finlandin the 1960s, first as water pipes in the countryside andlater also as sewer pipes. Construction of the city’s sewersystem began in the late 1800s. At the time, larger conduitswere made of natural stone and smaller ones of glazed claypipes. The primary material of the sewerage system wasconcrete prior to the changeover to plastic piping. In 1978plastic sewers became the standard throughout the city area(Eriksson, 1978; Waterworks, 1978).


4.3. Päijänne Water Tunnel and Mustijoki Waterworks

According to Finnish tradition, the large industrial plantsoperating in Porvoo have for the most part provided theirown water. The customer base of Porvoo City Waterworkshas never included any major process or large-scale indus-try that would use the works’ water in its process or thatwould lead its wastewaters to the city’s treatment plant.The population growth of Porvoo was above average in1964 at 750 people or 6%. The strong growth was prim-arily due to Neste Oy operating in the rural district — itsemployees lived in the rural district as well as in the city(Juuti et al., 2003).

One of the largest investments in the rural district inthe 1970s and ’80s was the Päijänne Water Tunnel builtin three phases in 1973–1982 for leading raw water to theHelsinki metropolitan area and its surroundings. It wasowned by the Helsinki Metropolitan Water Company.Porvoo rural district subscribed to shares in this wholesalecompany in the early 1970s in order to secure raw waterfor its industry, should the local Mustijoki River be unableto provide enough water. In 1963 the not-for-profit MustijokiWater Ltd. was established. Its task is to acquire and dis-tribute raw water to industry at cost. In 1986 the operationswere automated and remote-control of the pumping stationfrom the control room of the oil refinery began (Porvoorural district, 1973–1982, 1986).

The rural district was the largest owner of Mustijoki WaterLtd with 60% of the shares. As the city of Porvoo and therural district merged in the beginning of 1997, the right touse the Päijänne Water Tunnel transferred to the City ofPorvoo. The rest of the shares in the company are ownedby two industrial enterprises.

5. Municipal merger and organisational changes

5.1. New Porvoo and water services

An idea of establishing a federation of municipalities forwater supply in the Porvoo region was proposed at the endof the 1970s and some more concrete plans were developedin the 1990s. For their part water services probably alsoinfluenced the merger of the two municipalities — creatingNew Porvoo at the beginning of 1997. The merger meant alot of work for the waterworks in the harmonisation ofprocedures and development of operations. New Porvooplaced special emphasis on the development of land useand environmental quality and also granted subsidies forthe establishment of water cooperatives in dispersed settle-ments. Many villagers were content with using well wateralthough a trunk main ran right by the plot. Well water wasused even in areas where the inhabitants had expressed thewish for piped water due to the poor quality of groundwater.

The investments of the Waterworks subsequent to themunicipal merger were exceptionally high. The targets were

the new wastewater treatment plant on Hermannisaari island,the rural water supply network, automation, rehabilitationof the Saksala groundwater intake plant and construction ofnew office space. The combined turnover of five years wasinvested in six years.

5.2. Organisational changes

From the early days Porvoo Water and Sewage Works hasmanaged to have relatively high autonomy. This has beenthe case independent of the branch of administration, com-mittee or board it has operated under. Administratively thesewerage works was under a construction bureau or equiva-lent until the mid-1970s. The networks for larger housingprojects have, naturally, been built in cooperation, whichhas also been practiced in other daily activities.

Table 3 summarises the organisational changes duringthe 90 years towards a more autonomous water utility alsotaking care of sewerage. Such merging of water and sewer-age services into one utility is common in Nordic countriesunlike in other parts of Europe. The general trend in Porvooas well as the rest of the country has been toward integratedwater and sewerage works which, in the authors’ view, isone of the most practical means of implementing IntegratedWater Resources Management (IWRM).

In May 2003, the name “Porvoo Water and SewageWorks” was shortened to “Porvoo Water” but certainlycovered sewerage as well. The name change reflects thesemantic change in Finland — the desire to make commun-ication easier (Juuti et al., 2003).

6. Discussion and implications

The evolution of water supply and sewerage services inPorvoo is now assessed in terms of Okun’s principles above.The first principle of uniqueness was applied successfullyin Porvoo. The expertise of the director of Helsinki Water-works, the engineer Albin Skog, was utilised and adaptedto the conditions of Porvoo. However, the expert estimatesabout the growth of the city and the related capacity andexpansion needs of the first waterworks were too low, andthe planning of an expansion had to start almost immedi-ately. Yet, other case histories and studies by the authorsand colleagues clearly show that overall sector develop-ment in the country was not as capital-centred as assumedby some other researchers (e.g., Nygård, 2004).

The second principle of efficiencies and economies-of-scale applies well to the city area, but only partly to theseveral water cooperatives that have cropped up in therural district since the late 1990s, to which the workssells water in bulk. A joint water and sewerage works forthe entire area would, however, be too expensive at today’spopulation density. A study on consumer-managed watercooperatives in Finland (Katko, 1992) clearly showed thatsmall scale has several advantages particularly in rural areas


Table 3. Key organisational changes related to Porvoo water and sewage works, 1912–2003

1912–1913 Construction committee or water pipe committee— water distribution started in February 1913

1914 Executive committee of technical works— electric works— water works

1965 Municipal water and sewerage works started operating in Porvoo rural district— until 1975 water was purchased from the City of Porvoo. Throughout that period the business was transacted under a technical

committee and the technical department. A technical committee was established in the early 1960s

1966 Technical committee— electric works— water works— construction bureau which became a technical office with its sub-divisions

1975 From water works to water and sewerage works— sewerage was earlier under the construction bureau

1985 Town planning and real estate committee establishedTechnical committee supervised:— energy utility— water and sewerage works— planning, construction, forest and parks divisions of technical office

1991 Technical committee supervised:— energy utility— water and sewerage works— technical service and construction division of technical office

1993 The technical and fire committee supervised:— fire department— water and sewerage works— technical service and construction division of technical office

1994 Board of Water Works (rules and regulations on 1.11.1994)— technical committee acts as the board of water works— water and sewage works to waterworks (name changes)

1997 Merger of municipalities— waterworks and its Board (rules and regulations on 27.1.1997)— technical committee acts as the Board of Water Works

2001 Board of Public Utilities (separate body with five members)— waterworks, and waste management works (regional waste management company starting on 1.1.2002)

2003 Board of Waterworks — Porvoon vesi — Porvoo Water

with low population density or in small villages. Thus,economies-of-scale do not apply automatically everywhereas conditions are not equal in urban and rural areas.

The third principle of integration of water supply andsewerage services is evident in our case. Pollution controlbegan in its earliest form in Finnish cities with the enact-ment of the 1879 Public Health Decree. Yet, it took a con-siderably long time before modern wastewater treatmentwas introduced in the 1970s, and further improved later.

Water charging, according to Okun’s fourth principle,was based on metered consumption from the very begin-ning. This allowed rational development of the works which,in the light of examples, would likely have failed withdifferent charging principles. An exception was publicstandposts, which had been in use for decades, and gavewater against payment of a fixed water fee. The worksoperated this service at a loss, but it introduced equalityinto the distribution of water for citizens before the piped

network reached the working class neighbourhoods. Thus,water was considered both an economic and a public good.

The fifth principle, utilisation of pure water, in this casegroundwater, was the right solution in light of what wasknown then. The later problems with iron and salt showedthat solutions that appear indisputable are not necessarilysustainable over the long term, but one must be preparedfor surprises. The Linnanmäki Waterworks built in 1924eliminated the old water shortage problem, but quality prob-lems remained a nuisance for decades. Perpetual qualityproblems were solved only by the completion of theSannainen artificial recharge plant in 1982 which did awaywith the “beer-coloured” water.

Prior to the establishment of the Waterworks, the stateof the environment in Porvoo had deteriorated quickly en-dangering the health of the population. The Waterworks andthe sewerage system improved the condition of the builtenvironment. Because a wastewater treatment plant was not


constructed initially, domestic wastewaters were dischargedinto the environment. Since the city started treating waste-waters in 1973, and the new Hermanninsaari wastewatertreatment plant was completed in 2001, the pollution loadon water bodies from domestic wastewater has decreaseddramatically. Increased population and a higher living stand-ard were a danger to the environment and people’s healthalso in the rural district: e.g., in 1968 only half of the wellscontained water of good quality and the swimming waterswere polluted. The situation in the rural district started toimprove slowly after the first Hermanninsaari wastewatertreatment plant started operating in 1974.

The majority of the people were no longer faced with awater shortage after the completion of the first waterworks in1914, but the needs of the growing population and increasingdemand could not be satisfied until 1924. Water quality pro-blems came to a head in the 1960s and ’70s as the networkreached the age when rehabilitation became necessary.

The city and the rural district have cooperated in watersupply and sewerage for half a century. Initially, the ruraldistrict purchased water from the city for its growingpopulation centres at an increasing rate, but in 1975 thesituation was reversed on the completion of the Saksanniemigroundwater intake plant. Water issues as such played aquite significant role in the municipal merger — a federa-tion of municipalities for water services was plannedbefore the merger.

After the merger of the municipalities in 1996, thefollowing factors have received emphasis in the operationof the Waterworks: (i) its role as a public corporation;(ii) own, separate board and new premises; (iii) strong focuson rural water supply; (iv) cooperation with the UusimaaRegional Environment Centre; (v) the favorable publicityreceived by the Hermanninsaari project; (vi) the stable fin-ances achieved, for instance, by improving tariff structures;(vii) development of land use and quality of the environ-ment; (viii) assistance to the founding of water coopera-tives in sparsely populated areas; and (ix) strong growth ofnetwork and levelling off of water consumption growth.

6.1. Challenges

In the new millennium we must still keep in mind thethreats to groundwater. In the new Porvoo, investmentsin water supply and sewerage as well as the environmentare at a record high. The total costs of the Hermanninsaariwastewater treatment plant were about 17 million EUR.That is the largest investment ever made by the Water-works, and the City of Porvoo. After the new plant cameon-line, the loadings to the Gulf of Finland were remark-ably decreased.

Prior to the inauguration of the new Hermanninsaariwastewater treatment plant, the City of Porvoo accountedfor the following shares of the controlled total loadingof the sea area off Porvoo: 6.9% of the nitrogen, 2.1%of the phosphorus and 7.0% of the BOD7. Thanks to theeffective operation of the new treatment plant, it is hoped

that the above figures will be reduced to under 3% fornitrogen, under 2% for phosphorus and less than 1% forBOD7. Active water pollution control measures have andwill be carried out to improve the state of Porvoo Riverand to reduce its loading of the sea area, and the impactof these measures on the sea area off Porvoo is expectedto be strengthened by the increasingly effective treatmentof the wastewaters of the City of Porvoo and the new dis-charge arrangement. From the point of view of the Gulfof Finland, the macro-scale challenges now come fromthe increasing transport of oil from Russia through theGulf and other point and non-point loadings to the BalticSea.

There is also a new situation with regard to water con-sumption. Throughout the early history of the Waterworks,up to 1975, water sales increased. Thus, the Waterworksdid well financially, even though the city had a quite limitedsupply network. Water consumption levelled off as a resultof the energy crisis and the wastewater charge introducedin 1974. Then, per capita living space began to increasein the city while family size gradually contracted. Thismeant that water sales no longer grew even as new build-ings were erected. The revenue of the Waterworks did notincrease, but it had to invest, for instance, in new networks.In the last six years about 1,000 new properties havebeen connected to the network, but investment has beenlimited to about 6.7 million EUR. The absolutely largestshare of the Waterworks’ net worth is tied up in watersupply and sewerage networks. They are part of the “invis-ible” city which is why their true significance may oftenbe forgotten.

During the autumn season of 2002, the Porvoo region aswell as most of the country experienced an exceptionallack of autumn rains resulting in lowered groundwater levelsand lack of water in rural areas. This also affected the pro-duction of artificial groundwater.

In January 2003, almost exactly 90 years since the firstWaterworks commenced operation, the importance of theunderground network was dramatically proven. Two ex-ceptionally large pipe bursts occurred in the main watersupply network resulting in problems with iron andmanganese levels in the city. Something like this shouldnot happen in a network only 20 years old, but frost iscapable of causing unforeseen damage to technical systemsin cold climates.

After the pipes burst, an auxiliary water intake plant,for instance, had to be taken into use, which the worksluckily was prepared for. Combined with the changes inflow directions this resulted in bad tasting and discolouredwater. Deposits accumulating in networks form plugs whichin situations like this work loose, but may yet be quite local.In any case, this serves to remind how vulnerable systemslike this can be. This stresses the need for anticipatingpossible risks, preparing for them, and preventing them ifpossible.

While finalising the original study the utility ran a visionand strategy process and identified four key foreseeable


strategic issues that have to be addressed. First, organisa-tional development: the present organisation formed throughthe merger of the two municipalities needs to be reassessed.Second, the management of the network is a challengein terms of breakdowns and water quality. Third, the ruralareas will present a challenge to organised sewerage ser-vices. Fourth, the economy and tariff structures need to beevaluated for current and future needs.

Finally, the study together with other utility histories(e.g., Kaivo-oja et al., 2004) shows the diversity of and needfor specific local, subsidiarity-based solutions for water andsanitation services, although more general principles canalso be identified. There are also many aspects that tend totie the pasts, presents and futures implying further research— not valuable history research alone as such, but ratheranalysis of the lessons learnt and their implications for pos-sible, plausible and preferable future development paths.

7. Key lessons learnt

The case study and the paper imply some key lessons learntthat probably also have wider implications for policies, prin-ciples and practices as follows:

• Water supply and sewerage, including later proper waterpollution control, have evolved gradually based largelyon demand;

• Gradual integration of water and sewerage services cer-tainly has its merits and is probably the first practicalstep towards integrated water resources management;

• When problems occur the public have to have the meansto react, either through direct participation or throughtheir local government representatives. As the operationalenvironment and conditions change due to droughts andexcess rains, rehabilitation, etc., the service providers mustbe continuously alert and react when the need arises; and

• Private sector involvement can be optimised and competi-tion even maximised when utilities buy services, equipmentand goods from the private sector based on competitioninstead of making longer-term operational contracts.

Finally, it is pointed out that overall capacity-building bythe utility and the sector, even in favourable conditions, takestime. When planning future policies and principles we shouldbe patient enough to analyse long-term development andits lessons.

Acknowledgements

The financial support from Porvoo Water for the originalstudy and additional support from the Academy of Finland(no. 210816) are gratefully acknowledged. The authors wishto thank particularly Karl-Gustav Björkell and KaarinaPekkala in Porvoo. The views of the three peer reviewers,editor and CADWES colleagues are also appreciated.

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