Around the country, municipalities are grappling with how to deal with a changing climate.
Climate change is almost synonymous with water change. There is too much water and too little, in the wrong place at the wrong time, summarizes Pär Dalhielm, CEO of Svenskt Vatten.
In recent years, desalination plants have emerged as an alternative – where drinking water is taken from the sea. Four plants currently exist on Öland and Gotland. A pilot plant is being built in Östhammar, while Lysekil has just completed its pilot project.
“The sea is an inexhaustible source of water. That is the big advantage. The disadvantage is that it is more expensive to convert it into drinking water,” says business area manager Thomas Wikström at Leva in Lysekil, which is responsible for water and sanitation in the municipality.
If the plans go ahead, 10,000 cubic meters of seawater per day will be made drinkable from 2032 – enough for the entire municipality.
Another alternative is to purify wastewater. Kalmar Vatten is building a recycling plant, where the purified water will be used for irrigation and industry.
A giant project
A third alternative is to divert water. A 36-kilometer-long rock tunnel is planned from Sweden’s second largest lake, which will secure access to Örebro, Lekeberg, Kumla and Hallsberg.
It’s a huge project, says Mårten Frumerie, CEO of Vätternvatten.
In 2035, the tunnel, four by six meters, will be filled with cold deep water that flows to a new treatment plant in Hallsberg.
When we are finished, we will have future-proofed ourselves so that a warmer climate will not affect us in the same way.
Water harvesting is also expected to become more important. For large users such as agriculture and industry, this may involve their own dams.
People usually talk about harvesting water, reusing shower water in heating systems or using roof-collected water for toilets, says Pär Dalhielm.
Becomes more expensive
One problem is that the pipes and works are old. Last year, 17 percent of drinking water was lost to leaks, according to Svenskt Vatten.
The old infrastructure has simply reached its technical lifespan. Much of it was built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and we simply need to reinvest, says Dalhielm.
The cost is estimated at SEK 560 billion by 2040. This will lead to significant price increases, which in itself could reduce consumption.
We can probably expect a quadrupling or tripling of the price in the next 15 years, he says.
Groundwater levels are well below normal in large parts of southern Sweden, especially in Skåne, Blekinge and Gotland. There is a risk of water shortages.
Climate change, which is mainly due to human-caused combustion of fossil fuels, has already changed Sweden’s water balance.
Climate forecasts point to more torrential rains and heat waves in Sweden in the future, which will affect the drinking-water supply.
Warmer water increases the risk of bacterial and algal blooms and is more difficult to treat.
