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It is vital for us

Water

Challenges in Sweden with our water

Clean water is not a matter of course

A major problem in both lakes and seas is eutrophication and algal blooms. This is when extra nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen are added to the water due to human activities, which impairs water quality and in some cases causes oxygen deficiency.

Climate change is expected to lead to more intense precipitation, increased risk of floods and pollution of water sources where we collect our drinking water. In south-eastern Sweden and on Gotland, water shortages are threatening.

 

Groundwater in many places is at risk of being polluted or overexploited.

The difficult-to-degrade and dangerous substances in society negatively affect our environment and our water and place new demands on both you and our water and treatment plants.

 

Facts

Swedish Water

DRINKING WATER – is our most controlled food. We have access to it around the clock directly in the crane. It is good, healthy, locally produced and cheap.

Only a small part of the earth’s water can be used as drinking water. The largest amount of water consists of salt water that we can not drink. Only three percent is freshwater.

Two thirds of the fresh water is surface water found in glaciers, lakes and watercourses and one third is groundwater formed by the water flowing through the soil layers. In Sweden, we use both surface water and groundwater for our drinking water.

 

Water in numbers

  • 4 öre per liter
    (The price also includes protection of water sources, treatment of wastewater and management of stormwater.)
  • 1,400 trillion liters of water on earth
    But only 3 percent is freshwater)
  • The waterworks in Sweden produce 900 billion liters per year. (it is just under 1 percent of the surface and groundwater that is available)
  • 1750 waterworks in Sweden

  • 140 liters per person and day (SWE)

    • 60 liters for personal hygiene
    • 30 liters for toilet flushing
    • 15 liters for dishes
    • 15 liters for washing
    • 10 liters for food and drink
    • 10 liters other

Tap water vs bottled water

Swedes buy 25 liters of water a year in plastic bottles that are available in three variants: natural mineral water, spring water and table water.
These have usually been transported a long way to the store, while the tap water is locally produced.

  • Bottled water is 250 times more expensive than tap water
  • Bottled water produces a thousand times greater carbon dioxide emissions than the same amount of tap water.
  • 1 liter of bottled water consumes 300 times more energy than tapping a liter of water from the tap

Source: https://www.svensktvatten.se/fakta-om-vatten/dricksvattenfakta/