PURE - Project on Urban Reduction of Eutrophication
PURE is a co-operation project partly funded by the EU Baltic Sea Region Programme. In the scope of the project, one million euros are invested in improved phosphorus removal in Riga and Jurmala in Latvia and in Brest in Belarus. Phosphorus removal will be improved by optimizing the process in Gdansk and Szczecin in Poland and in Kohtla-Järve in Estonia. The aim of the PURE project is to reduce the phosphorus load to the Baltic Sea by 300 - 500 tonnes.
The PURE project is implemented with partial funding from the EU Baltic Sea Region Programme, and its total budget is 3.2 million euros. The John Nurminen Foundation’s project budget is 0.6 million euros. The one million euro investments steered by the Foundation are included in the project budgets of the water utilities. The partners in the project, led by the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), include, in addition to the John Nurminen Foundation, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM), the water utilities of Riga, Jurmala, Brest, Szczecin, Lübeck and Kohtla-Järve and the cities of Gdansk and Mariehamn. In addition to intensification of phosphorous removal, the project aims to promote the dissemination and implementation of information and good practices related to phosphorous removal in cities located in the catchment area of the Baltic Sea. The project is also studying the challenges to wastewater sludge management in wastewater treatment plants and producing knowledge on alternative ways of handling the sludge.
Further information on the PURE project is available on the project website
“When it comes to environment, we Finns together with the neighbouring countries feel and share a special concern and a strong sense of responsibility about the future of the Baltic Sea. For my own part, I will do my very best to progress international co-operation to protect the Baltic Sea.”
