Excersise 1:

Group A: Albert, Malin, Helena, Oscar

Urban Water system in

Västra Hamnen, Malmö
Drinking water

The households in Västra Hamnen, as in all of Malmö, get the drinking water from three
reservoirs, the lakes Vomb and Bolmen and the groundwaterstream Alnarpsströmmen. The
main part (80%) comes from the lake Vomb, 15-20% from the groundwater aquifer in Grevie
and 0-5% from the lake Bolmen in Småland (1).

The lake Vomb is situated 40 km northeast of Malmö. The water is pumped from the lake into
infiltration dams. After three months when the water has passed through a 20-25 m thick layer
of natural sands the water is pumped from wells to the Vomb water treatment plant where it is
aerated to separate the iron and manganese from the water. After this step a process to reduce
the level of CaCO3 takes place. This process gives the water a value of 6˚dH (avhärdning).
Then the suspended solids in the water are reduced with FeCl. Before the water is lead to the
Malmö distribution net it is disinfected with chloride (2). The treated water from the lake is
then transported to the water control station Bulltofta.

Bulltofta also serves as a water treatment plant, treating water from a groundwater reservoir in
Grevie east of Malmö. The treatment of this water includes aeration, reduction of CaCO3 and
disinfection with chloride (3). The groundwater reservoir in Grevie is continuously refilled
from the groundwater stream Alnarpsströmmen that runs from Abbekås in southeast to
Barsebäck in northwest (4). When the Grevie water reservoir was detected in 1899, the
water was highly artesian and the wells turned into 10-15 m high fountains. As the outtake
increased in the following years the artesian power decreased and since 1914 pumps are
needed to carry the water in the 9 km long pipes to Bulltofta (5).

Malmö also receives water from the lake Bolmen in Småland. This water is transported in a
80 km long tunnel to Perstorp, and then lead through 25 km long pipes to the treatment plant
Ringsjöverket where it is treated and distributed to a big part of western Skåne (6). In Malmö
about 5% of the drinking water comes from Bolmen, but during dry periods in the summer a
important water source (3).

All drinking water in Malmö passes through the Bulltofta control station, from where it is
pumped to the distribution net. The drinking water quality is tested 250 times per year at
Bulltofta and 550 times outside of the treatment plant, to ensure a good quality. The water
quality in Malmö is indeed very good, and won in 2005 a price for best drinking water in
Skåne. The motivation from the jury was “A clean water with delightful balance between
chalk, iron, softness and roughness. Neutral in a nice Skåne-style” (7). The average citizen in
Malmö uses 200 litres in a day, to a cost of 0.40 SEK (8).

After passing the Bulltofta control center the drinking water is pressurized by four water
towers in Hyllie, Oxie, Botildenborg and Södervärn. The water in the towers has a
temperature of 8˚C to keep it fresh (9). The Södervärn water tower is the oldest of the towers
in use, built in 1914 in a jugend style. The reservoir volume of the tower is 2300 m3, the
height of the building is 54 m and the height of the water level is at most 50 m above sea level
Hyllie water tower, built in 1973 has a reservoir volume of 10 200 m3 and the water level
reaches 75 m above sea level. It’s a popular symbol of Malmö (10).

Pic
Pic

The pressure that the towers give to the water is enough to pump the water about 70 meters
above ground level (11). In Västra Hamnen the Turning Torso is 190 meters high, and the
water needs to be pumped at this level in the building.

Traces of the drinking water pipes in Västra Hamnen can be observed as lids on the ground.
pic x

The pipes leading the drinking water transport to a public toilet can be observed in picture x
(jag chansar vilt).
Pic x

And the water eventually reaches the users, see picture x.

Pic x

1.
http://www.malmo.se/servicemeny/forvaltningarbolag/vaverket/vattenochavlopp.4.33aee30d1
03b8f15916800018356.html

2. http://www.sydvatten.se/page.php?sid=22

3. http://sydsvenskan.se/malmo/article253706.ece

4. http://www.alnarpsstrommen.nu/

5. Winnfors Erik, Malmö: den törstande staden, Sverige 2007

6. http://www.sydvatten.se/page.php?sid=10

7.
http://www.malmo.se/miljohalsa/avfallvattenavlopp/vattenochavlopp/vartdricksvatten.4.33aee
30d103b8f15916800091163.html

8.
http://www.malmo.se/download/18.15092c0105b77714298000111/dricksvattenversion2.pdf
9.
http://www.malmo.se/miljohalsa/avfallvattenavlopp/vattenochavlopp/vartdricksvatten/varavat
tentorn.4.33aee30d103b8f15916800091320.html

10. http://www.eber.se/torn/skaneland/malmo.htm

11. Viveka Lidström