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A Water‐Resources and Water‐Quality Management Plan for the City of Tallinn, Estonia
Author(s) -
Faulkner B.,
Cleverly G.,
Seemendi S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.2002.tb00396.x
Subject(s) - water quality , water framework directive , environmental science , water resources , water resource management , eutrophication , raw water , resource (disambiguation) , environmental resource management , environmental planning , environmental protection , environmental engineering , computer science , ecology , computer network , nutrient , biology
The increasingly common occurrence of eutrophic conditions in shallow lakes and reservoirs, including the presence of potentially toxic blue‐green algae, has given rise to water‐quality concerns throughout the world. The need to undertake active catchment management to improve raw‐water quality is a key component of the new EC Water Framework Directive. This paper describes the investigations which were undertaken in Tallinn (the capital of Estonia, the northernmost of the Baltic States) to develop an integrated approach to catchment and lake management, in order to improve the quality of the surface‐water resource which provides 90% of the total drinking‐water needs of the city. Several tools, including ‘geographical information systems’and spreadsheet‐based financial and water‐resources models, were developed to investigate the source of the water‐quality problems. Practical solutions comprising an innovative and cost‐effective catchment‐management approach to overcome the seasonal raw‐water quality issues, whilst also reducing treatment plant operating costs, are described. Some of the recommendations have been tested by Tallinn Water following the investigations, and some improvements in raw and treated water quality have been attained.