Achieving healthier water quality in urban small rivers of the Baltic Sea catchment by restoration of water bodies and preventing of nutrients and hazardous substances inflow from watersheds.

Local authorities located on the BS coastal areas face same challenges regarding small urban water bodies and their watersheds. These watersheds are the source of nutrients, hazardous substances, toxins and micro-litter. All municipalities in the project need to reduce loading in small urban water bodies to minimize negative impacts on the BS and urban ecosystems. Yet, they do not have the resources to identify and test the most effective solutions for all environmental problems. The objective of HEAWATER is to verify and implement the most effective technological solutions that help to reduce pollution loads from/to small urban rivers in Tallinn (EE), Turku (FI) and Söderhamn (SE). The project will identify the best solutions for different problems, and through cross-border cooperation, enable decision-makers to foster the implementation of effective solutions. Implemented solutions will also help to raise awareness of the local population about the impact of human activities. The joint review and implementation of solutions by different countries with varying public awareness of urban environmental problems, ability and willingness of citizens to pay for urban ecosystem services, and different environmental problems, ensures that the set of pilot investments represents a range of solutions that are applicable in the entire BSR. Implemented methods will help to restore water quality (WQ) and biota of the rivers, reduce pollution from at least 1-2 sources per partner municipality by ca. 10%. The benefits of restoration will be underlined by costs-benefit analyses. The result is the improved ecology and WQ in urban streams. Project results will be combined in a decision support tool (DST) to support decision making of coastal BSR municipalities. New watersheds-based solutions implemented in HEAWATER can be applicable in other regions of the BS and will be utilized through different networks and other projects. HEAWATER will support achieving goals set by HELCOM BSAP.R2.4. The amounts of nutrients, hazardous substances and toxins inflows into the Baltic SeaThe main results of the HEAWATER project are:
1. New technical and technological solutions, specially designed for small rivers, will be developed and implemented through pilot investments, which will reduce the pollution leakage into the sea. Expected result of implementation of all pilot investments is decreasing the level of pollution approximately 10%. Implementation will target at least 2-3 pollution sources in each pilot investment (totally at least 7 sources). Monitoring of nutrients, hazardous substances, toxins and litter will give indication about pollutants and their sources at the beginning and at the end of the project.
2. Stakeholder awareness survey will be carried out to assess the awareness level related to WQ issues and their willingness to pay for better WQ. The results of the survey will be used for the light social CBA which will show the monetary value (willingness to pay) of increased WQ.
3. Project results will be combined in the DST to support decision making of coastal BSR municipalities regarding future restoration of urban water bodies.