Towards a Baltic Sea Region Strategy in Critical ... - Helsinki.fi

CHAPTER VI: WATER
Increases of temperature may activate geochemical processes and increase
the rate of the weathering. This would change water quality both in the chemical
properties of groundwater, such as higher concentrations of dissolved iron,
manganese, metals or trace elements in groundwater, and in its physical properties,
such as temperature, colour and solid concentration. In addition, an increase in
temperatures could accelerate biological or microbiological processes and increase
the potential of contamination of groundwater sources.
In all situations when the groundwater properties or groundwater
circumstances will be changed the economic consequences will be high, for
instance for building new or deeper wells or water treatment. The widespread use
of purification chemicals in water treatment is not good or recommended.
6.5 RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE HANKO AREA
Groundwater protection and management
Legislation concerning the protection of groundwater, the water supply and
drinking water quality, is extensive in Finland. Also the legislation, concerning the
controlling of these acts is good, but the results in municipal administration are
unfortunately limited at present in many municipalities.
The legislation concerning groundwater is mainly arranged by the
Environment Protection Act (4.2.2000/86). This relatively new act aggregates all
the older acts concerning groundwater and the environmental permit system. The
most remarkable content in environment protection act is the Water Act
(19.5.1961/264) and there the Land Extraction Act, Land Use and Building Act,
Public Health Preservation Act, Waste Act, as well as the Legislation on
Prevention of Chemical and Oil Damages. The most important parts in the Water
Act are the Groundwater pollution prohibition and Groundwater modification
prohibition. These prohibitions are categorical and guide activities in areas that are
important concerning groundwater.
In Finland, the health authorities control the quality of groundwater used as
household water. Water quality requirements for water works are stated in the Act
461/2000 and for small-scale households in the Act 401/2001 of the Finnish
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö 2001). Both
are based on the EU-directive, which again is based on the WHO’s
recommendations (European Parliament and Council Directive 1998). The water
supply in general is handled by the Water Supply Act (119/2001).
The controlling authority concerning groundwater protection in Hanko is the
environment protecting authorities of Hanko Town and the Uusimaa Regional
Environment Centre. The controlling authority concerning drinking water is the
health officer of Hanko. The protection of groundwater is also, promoted by
information on the state of the groundwater for Hanko inhabitants by the
authorities of Hanko.
The groundwater areas are classified in Finland in three different categories:
areas important for water supply (class I), areas suitable for such use (class II), and
other groundwater areas (class III) (Britschgi and Gustafsson 1996). The mapping
NORDREGIO REPORT 2007:5 209