Growing municipality at the forefront
Kungsbacka is a growing municipality with high ambitions in sustainability, not least regarding water infrastructure.
“The environment and sustainability are high on the municipality’s agenda. There is great commitment and knowledge among many people in senior positions. In general, the water and wastewater industry is – or at least has been – quite conservative, but we are keen to find new, better solutions. Our Head of Operations encourages us to test new technologies and explore the possibilities offered by digitisation. This is incredibly positive,” says Joakim Ekberg, Project Manager for water and wastewater in Kungsbacka.
Joint product development
The Uniwater company Norvatek delivers new pumping stations and maintains existing systems, often cooperating with the sister company ASB VA-automation. Elisabet Edlund, Project Manager at Norvatek, emphasises the importance of close dialogue between Norvatek and the municipality, where they jointly further develop and implement solutions to ensure the operational reliability of the pumping stations.
“We appreciate working with a client who wants to move in the same direction as we do towards a more sustainable society. For example, at the municipality’s initiative, we are currently testing a coating that protects the pumping stations against hydrogen sulphide and extends their lifespan,” says Elisabet.
“Historically, both we and other clients have probably turned down innovative, sustainable material choices because they tend to make projects more expensive in the short term. In general, both clients and suppliers need to request and propose more sustainable solutions. In dialogue with Norvatek, there is no doubt when we come up with development ideas and suggestions. On the contrary, they are very accommodating,” says Joakim.
Collaboration lead to new solutions and sustainable development
“We are currently also starting the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in Ölmanäs. It is a collaborative project between the municipality, the Uniwater company Elva and the construction company ByggDialog. Sometimes, it turns out that switching to a more sustainable material or fuel is not very costly. In projects where we work together to find solutions, this is just what we can discover and achieve together,” says Joakim.
Elva is also a partner in expanding the Hammargård wastewater treatment plant, which is Kungsbacka Municipality’s single biggest venture in sustainable development for the future. The project is planned to run for the next 4–5 years.