Copenhagen: From sewer to harbour bath
    




    







    
    
    
    














  
  
  
        
    
Published on Sustainable Cities (http://sustainablecities.dk)

    

    

    

    
    

    
19-08-2008

    			

								
Copenhagen: From sewer to harbour bath

				
In Copenhagen, Denmark, many years of investments in the sewage system has revitalised the harbour. The revitalisation is mainly due to a remarkable reduction in the discharge of wastewater during rainfall. This case focuses on how municipal strategies and investments towards cleaning up the harbour have resulted in a water quality so high that people can now swim in the harbour. In 2002, a public harbour bath opened in the area of Islands Brygge. Today, the harbour bath is a striking urban oasis that marks Copenhagen´s position as a clean and liveable city.

				

			


    
For many years, the discharge of wastewater from sewers and industrial companies had a major impact on the water quality in Copenhagen harbour. The water was heavily polluted with sewage, algae, industrial waste and oil spills from commercial harbour transport.


In 1995, 93 overflow channels fed wastewater into Copenhagen harbour and the adjacent coastlines. Since then, the municipality has built rainwater reservoirs and reservoir conduits, which can store wastewater until there is space again in the sewage system. This has resulted in the closing of 55 overflow channels. Today, wastewater is only discharged to the harbour during very heavy rainfall.


Municipal investments in a modernisation of the sewage system and an expansion of the city´s wastewater treatment plants, which are to remove nutrient salts and minimise discharge of heavy metals, has revitalised the harbour of Copenhagen. In 2002, the first public harbour bath opened in the area of Islands Brygge, making Copenhageners among the few people in Europe able to bathe in their harbour without jeopardising their health. An established on-line warning system calculates and monitors the water quality in the harbour. If the water quality is poor, the swimming facilities are immediately closed. 


Copenhagen harbour bath at Islands Brygge, by Casper Dalhoff, courtesy of PLOT


Today, Copenhagen harbour is almost as clean as the water in the Sound. The high water quality and the popular recreational bathing facilities along the harbour front are some of the elements in the city’s vision to become the capital city in the world with the best urban environment by 2015.


“It is crucial for people worldwide to understand that water, as well as waste water, is a valuable resource that needs to be handled imaginatively and frugally. ‘Waterproofing’ our cities require the involvement not just of specialists, but of everyone.” Herbert Girardet “CitiesPeoplePlanet” (2008)



    
Key Learning Points
• Investments in the sewage system and wastewater treatment plants can improve a harbour city´s water quality to an extent where it becomes clean enough for swimming
• The harbour bath at Islands Brygge is one of the most popular spots in Copenhagen in the summer – both for residents and tourists 
• Copenhagen’s clean harbour is an important element in branding the city as one of the most sustainable capitals in the world
 
How to
City Facts
Country: Denmark
City: Copenhagen
Area: 88.25 km2 (city)
Population: 530,902 (city, 2010)
Population density: 6,015.9/km2
GDP per capita (country): USD 36,000 (2009 est.)
Source: Wikipedia, CIA World Factbook
Project Facts
In 1976, the City of Copenhagen formulates its first Waste Water Management Plan. 
Copenhagen establishes wastewater treatment plant Lynetten in 1980. In 1997, a modernised version opens with improved facilities to handle wastewater, sludge and incineration.
Over the years, the quality of water in Copenhagen harbour improves significantly. This improvement derives primarily from the considerably reduced amount of wastewater entering the harbour from sewer overflows during heavy rain.
Environment Facts
Sewage system overflows impact negatively on the environment in several ways. Therefore, extremely high priority is given to reducing their occurrence. The key contaminants are:
References
Case: Swimming in Copenhagen harbour
Islands Brygge Harbour Bath
Denmark’s largest wastewater treatment centre, Lynetten (only in Danish)
Eco-metropole: Vision for Copenhagen 2015
Copenhagen elected as the world´s most livable city by Monocle
A history of water quality in Copenhagen harbour
 
Additional Information
“In 2015 Copenhagen will be justifiably famous as the capital city in the world with the best urban environment. It will have become the eco-metropole of the world, thus demonstrating that environmental concern adds an extra dynamic to urban development.” 
For further information, please read more about the Copenhagen vision.   
Partners
 
The City of Copenhagen
Københavns Kommune (in Danish)

    

    

    

    
Source URL: http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/copenhagen-from-sewer-to-harbour-bath

    
Links:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen

[2] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/da.html

[3] http://www.denmark.dk/en/menu/About-Denmark/Environment-Energy-Climate/Fact-Sheets/Is-Clean-Water-AnIssue/Case-Swimming-In-CopenhagenHarbour.htm

[4] http://www3.kk.dk/FaktaOmKommunen/CityOfCopenhagen/ACityInMotion/The Harbour Bath.aspx

[5] http://www.lyn-is.dk/

[6] http://www.kk.dk/~/media/Files/PolitikOgIndflydelse/Byudvikling/Miljoe/kk_brochure_gb_09.ashx

[7] http://www.denmark.dk/en/servicemenu/News/FocusOn/Its-Official-Copenhagen-Is-The-Worlds-Most-Liveable-City.htm

[8] http://www.miljoe.kk.dk/51b3c7ff-3772-4048-ac06-e29e1de932d7.W5Doc

[9] http://www3.kk.dk/PolitikOgIndflydelse/Byudvikling/Miljoe/Miljoemetropolen/Eco-metropole/Ourvision.aspx

[10] http://www.miljoe.kk.dk/?language=en

[11] http://www.miljoe.kk.dk/2E0FA5B1-FE20-4F1F-9F08-242BE7F79E6C.W5Doc