Experience of SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg» in eliminating HELCOM hot spots in the light of the development of the Russian environmental legislation

Summary

The activities implemented by SUE «Vodokanal of St. Petersburg» to fulfill the recommendations of the Helsinki Convention on the protection of the Baltic Sea against pollution are outlined. The work completion stages on eliminating the discharge of raw wastewater into the Gulf of Finland, upgrading and reconstructing the treatment facilities, and improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment are described. The measures taken provided for almost eliminating all the hot spots identified by the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) for St. Petersburg. A comparison of the HELCOM strategy and the progress in developing the Russian environmental legislation is given. The experience of the enterprise in wastewater sludge handling in the light of the implementation of the HELCOM recommendations and Russian legislation is presented. Information is provided on the development of the European legislation in relation to the utilization of useful properties of municipal wastewater sludge. Development patterns are proposed to improve the Russian legislation regarding municipal wastewater sludge handling in order to avoid the emergence of new hot spots.

Key words

HELCOM recommendations , biogenic elements , chemical precipitation of phosphorus , sludge incineration plant , best available techniques (BAT) , technologically regulated substances , hot spots (subspots) , eutrophication , Helsinki Convention , Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) , wastewater sludge handling , nutrients recycling , utilization of the useful sludge properties , recoverable resources , sideline products , circular economy