This article is written by Casper, Kristine, Tonje, Emma and Sofia GH.
We are going to tell you a bit about how our council mangage our water waste, drains and sewage on Nesodden. How is it handled, and are there any problems and challenges connected with it.
What is wastewater and sewage?
Wastewater is sewage, rainwater and more that is coming from households, and gets transported underground in pipes. Wastewater is water that is degraded in quality (contaminated) due to the influence of man-made processes.
Sewage and drains on Nesodden
On Nesodden, there are three different sewage treatment plants, but one of them doesn´t meet the requirements. About 2000 properties aren´t connected to public water and drains, but some people have private sewer systems. Many of them are old, and may pollute the groundwater, private drinking water wells and streams and lakes.
Almost all drains on Nesodden are getting transported in pipes underground. Some houses aren´t connected to the sewage system because houses are scattered. And it is too expensive to connect to the system. Therefore, not all sewage is transported to the sewage treatment plants.
Have sewage and drains created problems on Nesodden?
Sewage and drains do not cause problems by themselves. What causes problems is that people throw products in the toilet that do not belong in the drain. For example, they throw wet wipes, cotton buds, food waste, grease and much more. Wet wipes do not dissolve, they stick to the pumps, so they clog and are blocked. Cotton buds do not dissolve and block pipes and pumps. Food waste becomes food for rats living in the sewage pipes. Many rats lead to blocked drainage pipes. Grease is thin liquid in warm water, but it solidifies when it meets cold water. People throw a lot of weird stuff in the toilet, there are problems with pumps and drains almost every day. This is expensive for Nesodden.
Maintenance and progress work of drain pipes
The existing drain system has stayed unchanged for many years. However, new changes and materials have made it better now. A while ago we had wooden pipes. They made some problems because they rotted. Now we have plastic pipes which are stronger.
In the future, all wastewater on Nesodden will be pumped over to VEAS (a sewage treatment plant in across the fjord in Asker, se map). Now, people are laying pipes across the water from the west side of our peninsula, Alværn to Asker.
Summary
The sewage at Nesodden being transported through plastic pipes to the sewage treatment plants across the fjord from where we live. At Nesodden we have three, but many houses aren’t connected to them. The problems with sewage and drains are when people throw garbage in the toilet instead of the trash can.
Our sources:
https://www.nesodden.kommune.no/vei-vann/vann-og-avlop/kommunale-avlopstjenester/ (23.3.2020)
https://www.nesodden.kommune.no/vei-vann/vann-og-avlop/ (23.3.2020)
https://www.nesodden.kommune.no/vei-vann/vann-og-avlop/tilkobling-offentlig-vann-og-avlopsnett/ (23.3.2020)
Jon Petter Johnsen (Project Manager at Nesodden)
