Spare Time Activities – WaterSansFrontiers

Our water on Nesodden

By Selma and Maja

We who live here on Nesodden, love to be active. Some of the activities we love are cross country skiing, slalom, boating, football, swimming or working in our gardens. All these things affect the water here on Nesodden.

You probably wonder how activities such as football and slalom have anything to do with water? Most of the time you play football, you play on artificial grass. In this artificial grass, there are small pieces of rubber which easily get into waters and seas. These rubber pieces are made from rubber, and we all know that rubber isn’t good for the environment. All this usage can lead to a lack of drinking water for the inhabitants!

Then we have the steep hills, they don’t always have real snow, so they make some. There is a pond right next to it, and they take water from that. The same goes for cross-country skiing, there isn’t always enough snow. When skiing, you sometimes use ski lubrication and some ski lubrication contain fluorocarbon glides. That is not good for the environment. Another activity that is bad for the environment is boating, where oil is used as gas. That oil is not good for the water. In addition to that, some idiots also throw garbage from the boat and into the waters and seas. After all, it is not only the activities that are bad, but also the transport to and from them.

It has been very dry weather on Nesodden the last summers. Was it the water ban that stopped the Blekslitjernet from drying out?

– The water ban reduced the water spending. But on very hot summers, we buy our water from other municipalities like Bærum municipal. The water is delivered over the sea from Fornebulandet to somewhere near Tangen brew. Nesodden municipality has also worked on another water source from Asker municipalities. That water is also delivered over the sea from Asker to Fjellstrand pier. Under the dry summer in 2018, it was so dry that private wells went dry. To fix that problem, our municipality found other places where people could get water for their wells.

Is it outdoor activities that damage the Fagerstrand steam?

– Husbandry (mostly horsekeeping) along the steam can cause damage. Often horse manure ends up in the steam – for an example when there is a lot of rain.

How does cottages without proper sewage affect the water?

– Cottages with old/not approved private sewerage gives unwanted emissions to steams and ponds. Faeces from humans and animals contain lots of bacteria (also some who could give you diseases). Our municipality therefor demand upgrading of old and not approved sewerage.

Some people say that waxes with fluorocarbon is bad for the environment, but what are the consequences from use of toxic waxes (how does it affect the environment)?

– The environment is damaged if any trails of the wax is left behind in the nature, are included in the food chain and jump up in different organisms (for an example fishes). Many of these toxic substances can be endocrine disruptors, can lead to cancer or affect the food chains ability to reproduce.

What about producing fake snow and building of ski tracks?

– Production of snow demands a lot of water and energy, which helps to increase greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings of new or improving old ski tracks can in some cases be negative if the nature you build it in has high biological value, for an example an old oak forest.

The ski slopes are right by a pond. Does any of the chemicals or anything else that could pollute the water go into the water?

– If people use products for their skis or snowboards that aren’t environmentally friendly. It could end up in the water.

Places like Skoklefalltjernet is a place where people go on walks every day. Is the pond and the area around it polluted because of that in any way?

– The walking isn’t a problem, but if they throw garbage in the nature or don’t pick up after their dog went to the toilet it could pollute.

Is littering a big problem?

– Littering is generally a big problem in large areas. It is especially a problem if plastic ends up in the sea. A lot of the plastic at the beaches has come from a place far away, but the currents washes it from the sea. The plastic can break into smaller pieces and turn into microplastic. This hurt organisms like fishes and birds. It can also hurt animals by them getting stuck in it, or by it coming into their food so that they become ill or choke

Welcome to Norway!

We live on a peninsula in Norway, called Nesodden. The place is close to our capital Oslo. We want to inform you about how spare time activities affects our water.

Nesodden has a lot of forests and beaches. There are also a lot of cabins on Nesodden.

A few years ago, there was discovered a problem with the football pitches. The rubber granules made to protect players from bad falls, are an environmental problem. After someone had been on the pitch, many of these rubber granules would get stuck to the clothes or shoes. When it starts to rain, the rubber dots will flow with the rain and out in other waters. “-Therefore, the county has decided to look for more environmental-friendly alternatives.”- Wenche Dorum.

We mentioned that there are a lot of cabins here. Many cabins are not connected to the sewage and water systems. They are finding other ways to throw out their dirty water and sewage. That may be the biggest problem for our water. Somewhere there are found salmonella in the drinking water. “Cabins with old/ not approved private sewage systems do sometimes give unwanted sewage to lakes and streams. Sewage from humans and animals have a lot of bacteria in it. Therefore, the county demands upgrading of old/not approved sewage systems or to connect the private sewage to communal ones.”- Wenche Dorum

Skiing is an activity that many Norwegians enjoy during the winter months. In order to make your skis glide well on the snow, you often need a wax made from several chemicals. These chemicals are not only harmful for humans, but also the environment. “Many of these chemicals can change the hormonal balance, be carcinogenic and affect the organism’s reproductive abilities.”- Wenche Dorum.

Our waters are more polluted than what some people think, but organisations, the government and people in general are trying to spread awareness so that one day, our water can be 100% clean.

Sources:

«Velg miljøvennlig I skisporet dropp flourkarbon – gli» written by Martin Ødegaard, published 13.03.2014

https://naturvernforbundet.no/forurensing/miljogifter/velg-miljovennlig-i-skisporet-dropp-fluorkarbon-gli-article30707-156.html

“Kommunal vannforskyning” written by Nesodden kommune, Published 19.07.2016

https://www.nesodden.kommune.no/vei-vann/vann-og-avlop/kommunal-vannforsyning/

“Hovedplan drikkevann og vannmiljø” written by Nesodden kommune, published 2009.

https://www.nesodden.kommune.no/_f/p1/i359a7210-225a-467a-aa46-63ccbb4573f3/hovedplan_va_20091029.pdf

How do synthetic soccer fields affect our environment?

If you have ever played soccer or any other sport on a synthetic soccer field, then you have an idea of how annoying the little, black rubber granules can be. You end up finding them everywhere for weeks on end.

But how do they affect our environment and more specifically, the water? This was the question we asked ourselves, and the question we wanted to find out. But first we wanted to understand why we even polluted our environment with these in the first place.

Here are some of the reasons that we have them:

The synthetic grass can be used more often and always gives the same playing conditions for the athletes
The synthetic grass can withstand all types of weather. It doesn’t get wet and muddy and the grass doesn’t dry out in warm weather.
It’s easy to maintain. Natural grass needs to be watered and needs to get cut every so often as well as the white lines must get painted. So synthetic grass saves money.

That is just some of the reasons for having synthetic soccer fields. But not many of them are good reasons. A least not good enough reasons to keep on destroying our environment further.

How many of these granules disappear into the nature?

In Norway we have about 1500 synthetic soccer fields, and among these around 5% of the rubber granules disappear from these soccer fields every year. While 5% does not sound like a lot, it results in about 3-5 tons of rubber waste per synthetic soccer field each year. And most of this rubber waste disappears into our oceans and drinking water. Where it can end up affecting aquatic life and ecosystems.

This is what rubber granules look like.

How do these rubber granules affect our oceans and freshwater sources?

What exactly happens to the rubber granules that wash into our oceans is still a big mystery. But we know that it cannot possibly be good for the environment.

These rubber granules have been found to contain at least 60 different chemicals.

The rubber granules used in the synthetic soccer fields are made of old car tires and have been found to contain over 60 different harmful chemicals in them. And when these rubber granules enter our water, they tend to release toxic chemicals into the ocean, just like plastic does.

I found that the Norwegian authorities did some research on the case, and they conclude that these 60 different chemicals in the rubber granules are not harmful to the soccer players or the environment. But many others still argue that the chemicals may lead to cancer.

Even if these rubber granules cause cancer or not, they still have 60 different, possibly harmful chemicals that we are releasing into our oceans. Do we really want to risk our oceans and wildlife for a good soccer field?

They can affect our food sources.

The more granules released into the ocean, the more the risk of having fish and other aquatic animals consuming them. They might also make the water toxic due to all the chemicals.

These rubber granules can wash into the ocean through the melting snow.

How can we prevent soccer fields from polluting further?

We have found that some soccer fields decide to exchange their rubber granules with granules made of cork instead. These are a lot more environmentally friendly then the rubber ones. But not many soccer fields have started using them. So, we should further encourage the more environmentally friendly version and try to make a difference for the sake of our environment.

This is what cork granules look like. It is a more environmentally safe option for synthetic soccer fields.

Some countries have already taken this into consideration. More European countries are increasingly tightening the ban on artificial grass. For example, there are several places where rubber granules are not allowed like Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Most people believe that by 2020, synthetic grass will be banned in the EU.

How can our spare time activities contaminate our own drinking water?

By Ludvig Bruusgaard Torsvik and Trygve Lien Kjølseth.

People on Nesodden enjoy outdoor activities and experiencing the beautiful Norwegian nature. How does this affect the water quality and biodiversity of lakes, streams and fjords?

We can start with the different artificial turfs in Nesodden. The soccer fields we make here in Norway is an artificial turf filled with small pieces of rubber. These rubber pieces are put there to give better cushioning but can also hurt the environment and the biodiversity where we live and in our oceans.

In an interview with Ellen Lien who worked with environmental protection here in Nesodden we asked her these questions:

Where does the rubber pieces from the artificial soccer fields end up?

They can end up in the forests close to the soccer fields and can get washed into our oceans by the rains and our rivers. On a more trivial note, they can be quite annoying too, because the get into socks and shoes and get brought home.

How can we try to stop the spreading of the rubber pieces?

One thing you can do to prevent the spreading is making a physical barrier, like a wall or a moat to collect them. Another thing you can do is being more careful when we plough snow away from the field as the snow is often filled with the rubber pieces.

Ellen Lien answered that physical barriers could be set up, a proposal that the Ministry of Climate and Environment also has come with. According to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, barriers could reduce emissions of artificial grass knots by up to 98%.

What can be consequence of the small rubber piece spreading?

Streams and rivers can transport the rubber pieces to lakes and our oceans.
There it will pollute the water and possibly be eaten by birds and fish for which, in the worst case, can be fatal.

In the winter there’s usually is a thick layer of snow in Nesodden. This means there’s also good skiing opportunities.

We asked Ellen a few questions about the fluoride in the ski track which there is plenty of roundabout in Nesodden. Fluoride is a substance which they out in all sorts of products, mainly toothpaste but also in thing like ski waxes. When you are out skiing the wax will eventually fall off bit by bit which leaves trace amounts of fluoride in the ski tracks.

Many companies add fluoride to their ski waxes, does this mean that there is more fluoride in the ground than around ski tracks than other places?

I don’t know, and I don’t think they have measured, but other places measures show that earthworms that live around ski tracks have very high amounts of fluoride.

What can the consequences of too high fluorite value be?

Fluorite is poisonous, it builds up in the food chain and makes animals potentially fatal ill. Fluorite also makes heavy metal build up in the body easier.

The answer was found on Dagbladet, a Norwegian newspaper.

There are many other ways our water can be contaminated. One thing that can

be potentially dangerous is faecal matter in our drinking water. It is very rare that faecally contaminated water gets through unpurified but faecal matter can seep through the water transportation pipes if they get damaged.

Many people walk their dog or ride horses around our nearest lake and water supply, the Blekslitjern. Their animal’s faeces may get into our water, what can the consequences of this be?

Bacteria from the faeces may get into our water and can make us seriously ill.

What can you do to prevent this?

Inform people by setting up signs in the catchment area to Blekslitjern. if they have problems with people taking baths in Blekslitjern, they can do as they did in Maridalsvannet in Oslo and put up fences.

Faecal contamination is not very dangerous unless it’s very severe or it is seeping into waterpipes after the water has been purified. In question 2 Ellen says that in some drinking water lakes, people are taking baths, this is not a problem at Blekslitjern.

https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/tiltak-mot-spredning-av-mikroplast-fra-kunstgressbaner/id2662431/

https://www.dagbladet.no/sport/skremt-av-fluorfunn-i-granasen/71780184

https://www.dagbladet.no/sport/loypene-er-forgiftet/71918053

https://www.fhi.no/nettpub/stoffer-i-drikkevann/om-stoffer-i-drikkevann/om-stoffer-i-drikkevann/

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnesoddenfotball.no%2F2016%2F01%2F26%2Fobs-service-pa-berger-kgb%2F&psig=AOvVaw0b4dEJLJvuRN6SE-cqkGHk&ust=1585639255789000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCKjl2ujUwegCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

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