Stage I

          

Goals

A detailed analysis of the future development of water engineering was performed during the preparation of the technical and economic substantiation in year 2000. The overall goal was supply of high quality water to the consumers as well as collection and treatment of wastewater without polluting surface and underground water and in compliance with the requirements established in the national and EU regulatory documents. These policy targets have not changed and are still valid.

The following project targets have been set:

       Assurance of a higher level, accessibility and reliability of water engineering services through renovation of the existing pipelines and construction of new ones.

       Improvement of the quality of drinking water.

       Reduction of the environmental impacts of the pollution caused by wastewater through improvement of the quality of wastewater treatment plants and connection of new subscribers to the centralised wastewater drainage network.

       Increase of the efficiency of the operation of the water supply and wastewater sewage network through reduction of drinking water leakages in the pipeline system, preclusion of infiltration of groundwater in the wastewater collection network, increase of the power-efficiency of the production systems, and automation of the production processes;

Project Stages

Feasibility Study for years 1999 – 2000

Work completed during Stage I of the Project

The most essential improvement to the wastewater system is the closure of Ķemeri wastewater treatment plant and channelling of its wastewater to the newly constructed Sloka wastewater treatment plant. Additional connections to the sewerage system have been provided to the population of Sloka area. The strategically most significant pump stations which transfer most of the wastewater to Sloka wastewater treatment plant have also been reconstructed to increase their power efficiency. The reconstruction of the weakest points in the sewerage network eliminated potential damage to the municipal road infrastructure, reduced infiltration, and thereby also the volumes of wastewater to be treated and the costs of treatment. The TV–inspection of gravity sewerage pipelines improved their throughput.

Fulfilment of the physical indicators

The fulfilment of the physical indicators included in the Project is included in the following table:

The work completed within the first stage of the project have resulted in an improved quality of drinking water, higher levels of reliability of the supply of drinking water, and sustainably stable water supply to the largest parts of the municipal water supply system. Kauguri and Sloka water supply systems were merged during the project. The pipeline system was reconstructed, including improvement of the quality of drinking water at the consumer’s, reduction of water losses in the system, and increase of the reliability of the system.

Funding 

Compliance with the European Union directives

The current water engineering system of Jūrmala City still does not meet all the requirements established in the EU directives, national regulatory acts and standards because:

2.     Only 74% of the population can use the centralised wastewater collection and treatment services. The part of the population who do not use the centralised system dispose of their wastewater in pits which can be emptied. The quality of such pits is not always appropriate, and, for this reason, there are risks of underground water pollution. The pipeline system needs to be widened to assure that the non-connected areas of the city can use the services;

3.     Due to hydrogen sulphide corrosion and inappropriately selected pipeline materials, the condition of the existing sewerage pipeline system creates increased operating expenses and causes unnecessary power consumption during transfer and treatment of infiltration water as well as consumption of other resources. Rehabilitation of the sewerage pipeline system is required;

4.     The structural elements of several sewerage pump stations are in a poor condition, and this reduces the reliability of the pump station and increases power consumption and consumption of other resources. Rehabilitation of such structural elements of the pump station is required;

5.     After the implementation of the first stage of the project, the quality of drinking water meets the requirements only partly because of the increased content of sulphates. Further improvement of the process of preparation of water is required;

6.     Although water is treated at the iron removal plants in accordance with the requirements, it does not always meet the established requirements at the consumer’s. Deterioration of water in the pipeline system is caused by corrosion of the older parts of the system. Reconstruction of some parts of the water supply system is required;

7.     The unused artesian wells are not plugged, and, therefore, there is a risk of wastewater pollution.

Feasibility study 2007 – 2008

Since the second stage of the project included in the technical and economic substantiation prepared in year 2000 is still topical and corresponds to the current situation as well as the future development needs, this feasibility study did not include development and comparison of new development alternatives. Basically, the second stage of the project was updated and the properties of the project components were re-calculated in line with the current levels of consumption and their updated estimates. The technical and economic substantiation has been supplemented with such new components as a second parallel sewerage pressure line from Lielupe to Riga, which will increase the reliability of wastewater transfer, plugging of unused boreholes, and procurement of system operation technology.