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Photo: ERIK MÅRTENSSON / TT
Swedish water pipes are leaking. Stock Photography.
Photo: FREDRIK SANDBERG / TT
Water is vital, but what happens if nothing comes out of the faucet? Stock Photography.
What happens if the water runs or if the drinking water coming out of the faucets becomes fake? In the future, climate change will require major investments in our VA network, which is already bad.
Swedish pipelines are in poor condition and the need for expansion and renovation is dire, said Hampe Moberg, General Manager of Machine Contractors and Coordinator of the VA-Factors Association. He thinks that the state of readiness for disruption in the water supply is not clear.
– It's very vulnerable. The question is when do we start investing?
Large parts of the country are in charge of old networks, and it will be necessary to increase the costs to put them in place, he says.
– The exchange rate is far behind what it should be. This seems to be the case, for example, for potholes on the roads, but for water and sewers, it is hidden and leaks are not visible, he says.
Tasty drinking water
Swedish sons are fleeing – much more than they should, according to him.
– The leak is about 20%. A leak of 7% is acceptable, but not as much. It is purified drinking water that flows out.
In this perspective, calls to save water and take small showers may seem a little cold.
In the long term, we face major problems when the climate changes, "said Pär Aleljung, Head of Emergency Preparedness at the Swedish Food Administration, who looks after the food aspect of water.
Drought and contamination
The drought of this summer and the recent watering of the last years have made the question of the water more relevant. What happens if the water does not come when you open the faucet? Or what happened to Östersund in 2010, when the water was polluted by the cryptosporidium parasite and that a total of 27,000 people became sick again?
"The production of drinking water involves many risks – cross-connections, for example, when infected water can enter the systems," he says.
Climate change
He sees that our water supply is facing major challenges in the future. The system is built for the climate we had when the facilities were built, but not for what could be when the soil was heated.
"In a future climate characterized by extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, we can have problems," said Pär Aleljung.
He also stressed the importance of trying to maintain and rebuild systems over time, so as not to face new and constant disasters. For example, the onset of the disease in Östersund could be avoided if the municipality invested a small amount in better treatment. Now the cost has become huge.
"But we do not know how much climate investment in the VA network can cost," says Pär Aleljung.
Hamp Moberg thinks the big problem with the water problem is that no one takes on the overall responsibility, even though water is the only food we can not handle without a long time. Municipalities exploit their VA works, but the conditions are very different in small inner municipalities compared to metropolitan areas. In addition, responsibility for water lies with several different authorities, such as the Food Administration, the Boverket and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Several authorities
"There are seven or eight different authorities involved, and most of the people are in the 290 municipalities, but no one has the overall responsibility for the VA network to be actually serviced and repaired," he says.
The Swedish Food and Drug Administration receives information about the water supply, but does not have the power over it.
"The Food Safety Authority is striving to make municipalities and county councils aware of the risks of climate change so that municipalities can better manage their affairs," he said. Pär Aleljung.
The Civil Protection and Emergencies Agency, MSB, is responsible for coordinating the preparation for different crises. But the water is not on their table, says Jan-Olof Olsson, who works with the functionality and livelihood of the community at MSB.
– We have not received this task. Municipalities are responsible for the network of VAs and those with their own water are responsible for their own water supply. The Swedish Food Safety Authority has some responsibility, such as the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and others. But that certainly means conflict sometimes, of course, "says Olsson.
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