2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

ESTONIA PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Estonia
Economics (2003)
GDP per capita US$5,380
GDP per capita (PPP) US$12,680
GDP in Agriculture 4%
GDP in Industry 28%
GDP in Services 67%
Drinking water
Distribution losses are mainly in the region of 30-35%, rising to up to 60% in Northeast Estonia.
There are 23 water treatment plants in Estonia, most of which are regarded as outdated and are
being upgraded. The Tallinn and Kuressaare water treatment works have been reconstructed since
1991 and are regarded as performing satisfactorily. 20.2% of drinking water samples failed on
chemical criteria and 7.4% on bacterial levels in 2000.
Population
2003 (million) 1.4
2015 (million) 1.3
Urbanisation (2003) 70%
Urbanisation (2015) 71%
In urban agglomerations, 2015 0%
Urban Data
Served by piped water 95%
Access to sewerage 93%
With sewage treatment c75%
Sewerage services
There are some 620 secondary treatment plants, 240 of them requiring extensive overhaul. In
addition, there are 10 tertiary sewage treatment works. In the late 1980s, there were 1,080 treatment
plants, but many fell into disuse with the break up of communal farming and a population shift towards
urban areas. There are 130 direct outlets of wastewater into the sea, 30 into lakes, 1013 into rivers,
and seven into groundwater. In 1996, 1% (1.6 million m 3 per annum) of primary treated wastewater
(total 138 million m³ per annum) was poorly treated. This is mainly drainage water from the mining
industry. 4% (3.4 million m 3 per annum) of water subject to secondary treatment (8 5million m³ per
annum in total) was just treated by settlement in sewage lagoons, while 27% was regarded as being
poorly treated.
Freshwater
Annual availability (2000) 12.7km 3
Per capita 9,105m 3
Annual withdrawal (1985) 0.2km 3
Domestic (1987) 56%
Industrial (1987) 39%
Agriculture (1987) 5%
Investments
Between 1990 and 1995, investment was concentrated on wastewater treatment plants situated close
to the coast of the Baltic Sea. In the investment programmes for 1996, the emphasis was moved to
saving the use of water through efficiency gains and leakage reduction, while concentrating on inland
sewage treatment plants. KR235 million was invested in water protection in 1996 from the Estonian
Environmental Fund and other sources, which covered more than 50 projects. The government is
using water pricing as a policy to encourage efficient use by domestic and industrial users. This work
was supported with a €10 million loan from the EBRD.
The Ministry of the Environment believes that compliance with the EU’s urban wastewater treatment
directive will cost €350 million by 2008, involving 90 individual projects for towns with a PE in excess
of 10,000.
86 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006