Page 38 - U4SSC Factsheet Ålesund, Norway, June 2020
P. 38
Water and Sanitation
Category KPI Result Performance to Benchmark SDG
Drinking Water Quality 99.45 %
Water Consumption 560.72 ℓ / day
(per capita)
Freshwater 100.00 %
Consumption
Wastewater Treatment: 62.85 %
Primary
Wastewater Treatment:
Secondary 31.74 %
Wastewater Treatment: 00.00 %
Tertiary
Ålesund’s daily water consumption figure is significantly higher than the 2018 average daily national
level of 182 litres per capita.
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It is recommended that Ålesund analyses this high variance as a priority. As part of this exercise, it is
recommended that the region continues to monitor how much customer water demands (employment
and residential) account for of the region’s total water production volumes.
Optimizing water consumption and sanitation measures: Ålesund should evaluate peak day and time
water consumption trends, in addition to the overall demand and production trends – considering
seasonal temperature and precipitation trends. The region should then set average annual daily water
production projections and targets based on customer demand and non-revenue water. As mentioned
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previously in the Economy dimension, currently 32.21 per cent of all water produced by the region is
non-revenue water.
When it comes to the treatment of wastewater, it has been reported that only about two-thirds of
Ålesund's wastewater receives primary treatment while one-third receives secondary treatment (with
no tertiary treatment reported). This is indicative of a nationwide trend identified in previous research,
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which concluded that a significant percentage of Norway’s population live in areas where ‘connections
to the central sewer network does not offer sustainable solutions’. A significant percentage of these
inhabitants ‘did not have any connection to municipal wastewater treatment plants’, and a smaller
percentage ‘discharged wastewater directly without any method of purification’.
Therefore, especially with its currently ongoing municipal agglomeration, it is recommended that
the Region of Ålesund evaluates its wastewater treatment policies, as well as its measurement and
32 U4SSC Factsheet | Ålesund, Norway | June 2020