OREANDA-NEWS. Vodokanal St. Petersburg continued to reduce negative impacts on the city water bodies throughout the Gulf of Finland Year. Dozens of untreated wastewater discharges were closed and wastewater treatment plants were modernized.

That is what the Director General of SUE "Vodokanal of St. Petersburg" Felix V. Karmazinov told at today's press-conference held at the St. Petersburg Regional Information Center "TASS".

He pointed out that the untreated wastewater discharge from Petrovskiy Stadium was eliminated in December 2014 under the Neva Untreated Wastewater Discharge Closure Program (9 direct discharges equivalent to 1000 m3/day were closed). Four sewage pumping stations and over 2km of pipelines of different diameter, including inverted siphons under the rivers Zhdanovka and Malays Neva, had to be built to divert effluents from Petrovskiy Stadium. Moreover, the works for the elimination of direct discharges should not have (and, indeed, have not) handicapped the Russian Football Championship and Champions League games. "Not a single match was derailed through our fault, all discharges were diverted in due time", - stated Felix V. Karmazinov.

Moreover, 19 direct discharges on Petrogradskaya Embankment were diverted in 2014. Seventeen of them (3 combined sewerage discharges, 4,019 m3/day in total; and 14 rainwater discharges, 23 m3/day average) were under the economic jurisdiction of Vodokanal, the remaining 2 were industrial discharges. As a result, the Bolshaya Nevka River became cleaner: before, it received nearly 1.5 Mio. m3/year of wastewater while now all this volume is diverted via collectors to Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant. "By now, Petrogradskaya Storona has been released from almost all polluting effluents discharged untreated into the water", - said Felix V. Karmazinov.

The ongoing construction of the collector on Admiralteyskaya Embankment which began in November this year will be completed in early May 2015. The collector is required to close six direct wastewater discharges in the city centre (near the Bronze Horseman) totaling about 1000 m3/day.

Besides, Vodokanal modernized its wastewater treatment plants in 2014: the works were carried out at the plants in Kronstadt, Kolpino, Pushkin and Pontonniy, as well as at Northern and Central WWTPs.

Felix V. Karmazinov emphasized that the quality of treated effluent at all plants meets the HELCOM recommendations.

Today, 98.4 % of wastewater in Petersburg is discharged treated. Vodokanal intends to increase this figure to 100 % (such target is set out in the Master Plan of Water Supply and Wastewater Disposal in St. Petersburg till 2025 with an Outlook to 2030). To meet this target, all the remaining direct discharges have to be closed. Moreover, Vodokanal is planning to disinfect all treated effluent.

Another big event of the Gulf of Finland Year was the opening of the unique pinnipeds research and preservation centre.

Last year, Vodokanal joined the project aimed to save the Baltic pinnipeds: grey seals and Baltic ringed seals (they are entered into the Red Book). In 2014, the rehabilitation season lasted from 14 March to 16 July. Over this period, 29 animals: 23 Baltic grey seals, 5 Baltic ringed seals and 1 Ladoga ringed seal, have been cured and released into the wild.

After the end of the season, the Centre was reconstructed. Now, it is a unique facility unparalleled in Russia. It can admit up to 40 animals at a time. Moreover, everything necessary is provided for research work there.