AS Tallinna Vesi’s operational performance during 2019

Tallinna Vesi has demonstrated excellent operational performance throughout 2019. The company maintained consistent and high-quality drinking water, together with effective wastewater disposal.

Continuous supply of high-quality drinking water

The quality of drinking water in Tallinn remains high, and water samples taken from customers’ taps in 2019 were 99% compliant, with all requirements. Even though compliance remains very high, the result was somewhat lower in comparison with the result of 2018, as a result of a new analytical method, with higher sensitivity. As a consequence of these tests, Tallinna Vesi has made further developments in the water network, and further enhanced the effectiveness of ongoing maintenance regimes, to ensure a consistent supply of high-quality drinking water.

Residual chlorine, added to the water after the very last stage in treatment, is the only way to maintain the quality of drinking water in the network. According to the renewed drinking water regulation, the concentration of residual chlorine in the drinking water leaving the treatment plant can be up to 1 mg/l, which is dispersed throughout the water network. Use of chlorine in drinking water networks is common practice throughout the world, and helps to ensure the continued quality of drinking water throughout the year. Tallinna Vesi has measured levels of residual chlorine throughout the network, and slightly increased the dosage at the main treatment plant, to ensure effective chlorination throughout the 1,000km of water network. This slight increase in chlorine levels has generated some localised concerns, but chlorine levels remain very low, and tap water is perfectly safe to drink. Despite the concerns mentioned above, our customer survey results reveal that the number of people drinking tap water, also shows a growing trend in comparison with previous years, and tap water provides an environmentally friendly and much cheaper alternative to bottled water.

Reliable service

Low water losses and reduced time of average interruptions to water supply, are a testament to a stable and continuous service provided to our customers. In 2019, the average water disruption time per property was only 2 hours and 59 minutes. Incurring interruptions, often caused by 3rd parties, within our extensive water network are inevitable, we are committed to do our utmost for customers, and minimise the inconvenience caused by the repair works. We value water as one of the most important natural resources, which must not be wasted. The level of leakages in our water network was at a record low level in 2019 - 12.97% (2018 – 13.7%).

Last year Tallinna Vesi had a few instances where the company was unable to restore the water supply after repairs by the exact time promised to customers. Unfortunately, some of those interruptions affected quite a large number of customers, causing the number of failed promises to be higher than in 2018. Such instances have not become more frequent, nevertheless we are committed to analyse those and recognise the consequent effect on our customers. Having failed a promise, we always pay the relevant compensation to the affected customers, on our own initiative.

We continue to make targeted capital investments, renovating or replacing assets on the basis of previous condition surveys and performance data, to ensure the continued reliability of the network.

We care for the environment

The issues with the sewerage network have also reduced. In comparison with 2018, the number of sewer blockages dropped from 603 to 532. At the same time, the number of sewer collapses increased slightly in comparison with the last two years. Some of those collapses, may have been caused by domestic waste that has been thrown to the wastewater network. As waste in sewers can cause serious and unpleasant consequences, Tallinna Vesi continues to make continuous efforts to raise public awareness about wastewater, by organising open days at the wastewater treatment plant and raising the topic constantly in the media.

In 2019, the final treated effluent at Paljassaare Wastewater Treatment Plant was compliant with all quality requirements. With the purpose of assessing the treatment efficiency and the quality of wastewater, we continuously monitor for pollutants, in both the incoming wastewater and final treated effluent. Wastewater laboratory analyses the samples taken from different stages of the wastewater treatment process, and the information received thereby allows us to further improve the treatment efficiency, and ensure continued final effluent quality.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Tallinna Vesi signed a very important contract for the partial reconstruction of the mechanical treatment equipment at Paljassaare Wastewater Treatment Plant. This is the largest investment of the past decade for the company, with the total cost of €7.6 million. The objective of the investment is to replace aged assets, and further ensure the continued effectiveness of the treatment process.

Eliis Randver

Head of Customer Relations and Communication

Tallinna Vesi

(+372) 626 2275