Today at 14.00 in a small town Kambja in Tartumaa Minister of Environment Villu Reiljan opens a new experimental water treatment plant, which consists of bioponds and willow plantation that works as a green filtration system during summer. The treatment plant is capable of cleaning the sullage of Kambja’s 860 inhabitants. In comparison with usual treatment plants it is cheaper to clean water using the green filtration system, while timber produced by the willow plantation can be used to heat Kambja’s boiler plant. Deputy Secretary General on Environmental Management of the Ministry of the Environment Harry Liiv admits, that number of ecological water treatment plants in Estonia is still small because it is doubted whether such system is capable of normally functioning during winter. “In principle, however, Ministry of the Environment supports that technology. Estonia has hundreds of small water treatment plants and they all shouldn’t be similar to each other, “ said Liiv. Construction works of the experimental treatment plant had a total cost of 2.6 million kroons. It was built using financial help of European Commission, EAS Institute of Technology and Center of Environmental Investments. Kambja small town is one of three Estonian settlements which will receive an environmental water treatment plant by help of EU program Life-Environment this year. For additional information please contact: Mr. Harry Liiv |
