VillageWaters – Water emissions and their reduction in village communities
The VillageWaters project was launched to identify and propose the most effective wastewater treatment solutions for sparsely populated area households using independent water-purification systems.
Sparsely populated areas are the third largest source of diffuse nutrient loads into the Baltic Sea. As EU legislation aims to improve the status of the water bodies in the EU, the main challenge of the project is to find the most cost‐effective and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment solutions for sparsely populated area households unconnected to urban wastewater plants, as such solutions will bring the wastewater emissions into the Baltic Sea into compliance with the levels set forth in upcoming EU water legislation.
Project Objectives
The main objective is to help households avoid unnecessary investments and operating costs when shifting to improved wastewater treatment, and thus to encourage them to implement the new treatment systems. The project will be conducted in pilot villages where optimal technological solutions will be built up for the households. In this project the social, economic and environmental assessments will be conducted before and after the changes are made. The aim is to find out the best technological solutions for decreasing the emissions.
Funding: Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020
Budget: EUR 3 million with ERDF funding: EUR 2.4 million
Duration: March 2016 – February 2019