Thematic group leader Elīna Konstantinova, Association Baltic Coasts

Within the project, the attention of the point source pollution thematic working group is focused on issues related to point source pollution of the surface water – its sources and impacts on surface waters in Latvia. Domestic and industrial wastewater is one of the most important causes of point-source pollution, and its collection and treatment has a huge impact on the environment, human health and the economy.

Reducing the environmental impact and load of wastewater collection and treatment systems is one of the key objectives of the LIFE GoodWater IP project. The focus of several project activities is aimed directly at reducing the wastewater load from small wastewater treatment plants (WTPs), decentralised sewerage systems, as well as production waters of aquaculture enterprises, and sustainable management of sewage sludge.

In the first phase of the project from 2019 until 2021, the evaluation of the operation of small WWTPs and the assessment of the infrastructure and wastewater management of the sewage management facilities has been carried out in the selected good practice demonstration objects in the villages of Engure and Nākotne. The impacts of wastewater management have been identified in Nākotne village on the waterbody at risk L117SP (river Auce in the section from Rīgava till its entry into river Svēte), while in Engure – on the coastal waterbody at risk CDE (west coast of the Gulf of Riga). Within the framework of the project, reports on the impacts of centralised and decentralised wastewater systems in Nākotne village have been developed, as well as practical recommendations and proposals to reduce the risks from these impacts of centralised and decentralised sewage systems. Detail designs have been developed for the improvement of small wastewater treatment facilities in Engure, as well as for the construction of new WWTP in Nākotne.

In the village of Engure, within the second phase of the project (2022-2023), improvements have already been implemented, a new wastewater reception block has been built, which consists of a mechanical pre-treatment complex, and the installation of a diesel generator is currently underway. Construction of a new, modern WWTP plant with a green infrastructure solution – an artificial wetland for post-treatment of biological wastewater – is planned in the village of Nākotne. A Green Classroom is also planned, which would include a prototype wastewater treatment plant for educational and public outreach purposes. The planned works are expected to be completed in 2025.

In 2023 and 2024, special attention is paid to reducing the impact of decentralised sewerage systems (DSS), a public awareness campaign was held, as well as work with municipalities was carried out. Until 2025, it is planned to develop proposals for legislative changes and practical solutions for mitigating the impact. Within the project, a logical risk modeling tool has been developed for identifying and characterising the potential impact of decentralised sewerage systems in populated areas with a DSS facilities above 50 percent. The tool is based on geographic information systems and serves as a support solution for municipalities in the registration and management process of DSS systems. The tool also offers recommendations for practical actions to prevent and reduce the impact caused by DSS.

In the first and second phases of the project, a Wastewater Sludge Management Strategy was developed, which is a national-level strategic planning document that describes and analyses the situation in the domestic sewage sludge management sector, as well as identifies appropriate and possible solutions and their costs, determines actions to be taken in order to achieve a unified future development in the sector. In the future, the project will follow and support the practical implementation of the strategy in Latvia.

As part of the activity to reduce the load caused by aquaculture, an assessment report was developed for the impact of aquaculture on the quality of surface water bodies and fish resources, as well as proposals for reducing the negative impact. In the future phases of the project, we will continue our work on the integration of proposals into legislation and River Basin Management Plans.

In the LIFE GoodWater IP project, we will continue to address the issues related to wastewater issues within the C block activities, as well as strive to create cooperation with residents and representatives of interested third parties within the activities C14 and block E – for instance, developing topics for the wastewater management training program, as well as organising seminars and events dedicated to this the topic.