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Urban floods are identified as one of Helsinki’s most important climate hazards. Coupled with population growth and densifying urban structure, flood risk is likely to increase significantly. Apart from problems arising from the water being in the wrong place at the wrong moment, the poor quality of stormwater is a serious issue for the receiving water bodies. In the downtown Helsinki, the stormwater is discharged to the Gulf of Finland which is already suffering from excess nutrient load and other pollutants causing many harmful impacts in the ecosystem and reducing the recreational value. However, stormwater management requires space, which is very limited in the city. To meet this challenge, the City of Helsinki is testing a new nature-based solution in Taivallahti area, close to the city centre. The stormwater will be lead through a stormwater filtration unit to be purified before being discharged to the Gulf of Finland. The filtration unit will reduce the concentrations of solid substances, litter and different harmful substances such as microplastics. The pilot has been developed by by Olli Hakala from WSP Finland and Aalto University and it will be implemented in the Smart & Clean Stormwater project. The project has received funding from the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council.
Developed by City of Helsinki & WSP Finland Ltd
The filtration unit will be built in autumn 2018 and its schedule follows the construction of the separate sewage piping in Mechelininkatu and Eteläinen Hesperiankatu. The filtration unit will be located at an outfall of a stormwater pipe that gathers stormwater from heavily trafficked roads. Depending on the rain event, the filtration unit will capture part of the stormwater which would otherwise be discharged to the sea without a treatment.
See more information about this level and the TRL and SRL levels.
Objective of Helsinki’s stormwater filtration unit is to clean stormwater mechanically without input of external energy. The purification process is based on sedimentation (detention basin) and filtration.
Limitations/conditions under which this innovation does not work or is less effective
The stormwater filtration unit requires a certain flow of stormwater. In case the unit receives too much water for a long period, the filtration efficiency can be compromised. In the future use cases, this can be avoided by storage and retention systems to allow only a certain amount of water enter the filtration unit at a time. In the current pilot, a limited maximum amount of stormwater enters the pilot and the overflowing for a too long time will not happen. An important part of the monitoring is to find out how often the pilot needs maintenance and how often the filter material needs to be changed due to clogging.
Added value
Products for stormwater retention and storage already exist on market, but more productized solutions for cleaning stormwater are needed especially for colder climates. The stormwater filtration unit is scalable and can be modified to fit many different conditions. It functions without external power supply and unlike many other solutions for stormwater treatment, it doesn’t need plants to purify the water. The filtration unit has many possible uses in the city area thanks to its compact size, integrativeness and modularity. By adjusting inlet and outlet elevations, storage and filter volumes and shapes, the hydraulics of the stormwater filtration unit can be modified. All dimensions and elevations are sitespecific and based on stormwater flow rates. In the on-going Smart & Clean Stormwater project, the unit will be mounted in the ground and the water will be discharged to the sea after the treatment. However, it would be possible to use the filtration units on very different sites in the city as a part of the urban environment and re-use the purified water as an recreational element. stormwater is usually seen as a nuisance rather than a resource in city planning. While the city structure becomes more densely built, blue-green spaces become more and more important improving health and well-being of the citizens as well as providing habitats for species. Future use cases would ideally include using the filter unit as a landscape element.
Urban floods are identified as one of Helsinki’s most important climate hazards. Coupled with population growth and densifying urban structure, flood risk is likely to increase significantly. Apart from problems arising from the water being in the wrong place at the wrong moment, the poor quality of stormwater is a serious issue for the receiving water bodies. In the downtown Helsinki, the stormwater is discharged to the Gulf of Finland which is already suffering from excess nutrient load and other pollutants causing many harmful impacts in the ecosystem and reducing the recreational value. However, stormwater management requires space, which is very limited in the city. To meet this challenge, the City of Helsinki is testing a new nature-based solution in Taivallahti area, close to the city centre. The stormwater will be lead through a stormwater filtration unit to be purified before being discharged to the Gulf of Finland. The filtration unit will reduce the concentrations of solid substances, litter and different harmful substances such as microplastics. The pilot has been developed by by Olli Hakala from WSP Finland and Aalto University and it will be implemented in the Smart & Clean Stormwater project. The project has received funding from the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council.
Developed by City of Helsinki & WSP Finland Ltd
The filtration unit will be built in autumn 2018 and its schedule follows the construction of the separate sewage piping in Mechelininkatu and Eteläinen Hesperiankatu. The filtration unit will be located at an outfall of a stormwater pipe that gathers stormwater from heavily trafficked roads. Depending on the rain event, the filtration unit will capture part of the stormwater which would otherwise be discharged to the sea without a treatment.
The main components of the system have been tested separately, and an initial integration exercise has been conducted.
Objective of Helsinki’s stormwater filtration unit is to clean stormwater mechanically without input of external energy. The purification process is based on sedimentation (detention basin) and filtration.
Limitations/conditions under which this innovation does not work or is less effective
The stormwater filtration unit requires a certain flow of stormwater. In case the unit receives too much water for a long period, the filtration efficiency can be compromised. In the future use cases, this can be avoided by storage and retention systems to allow only a certain amount of water enter the filtration unit at a time. In the current pilot, a limited maximum amount of stormwater enters the pilot and the overflowing for a too long time will not happen. An important part of the monitoring is to find out how often the pilot needs maintenance and how often the filter material needs to be changed due to clogging.
Added value
Products for stormwater retention and storage already exist on market, but more productized solutions for cleaning stormwater are needed especially for colder climates. The stormwater filtration unit is scalable and can be modified to fit many different conditions. It functions without external power supply and unlike many other solutions for stormwater treatment, it doesn’t need plants to purify the water. The filtration unit has many possible uses in the city area thanks to its compact size, integrativeness and modularity. By adjusting inlet and outlet elevations, storage and filter volumes and shapes, the hydraulics of the stormwater filtration unit can be modified. All dimensions and elevations are sitespecific and based on stormwater flow rates. In the on-going Smart & Clean Stormwater project, the unit will be mounted in the ground and the water will be discharged to the sea after the treatment. However, it would be possible to use the filtration units on very different sites in the city as a part of the urban environment and re-use the purified water as an recreational element. stormwater is usually seen as a nuisance rather than a resource in city planning. While the city structure becomes more densely built, blue-green spaces become more and more important improving health and well-being of the citizens as well as providing habitats for species. Future use cases would ideally include using the filter unit as a landscape element.
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