Water treatment plant, Tampereen Vesi

“The inlet pumping station, in addition to clean water, produces heat for its own needs utilizing lake water as a heat source. Cable ladder KS80, exact groundings and ATEX-installations were key in this project.”

From the depths of Näsijärvi to drinking water and cooling buildings

Finland is the home of thousand lakes. The quality of domestic waters is very high, and it is being used for many purposes. Solely in the City of Tampere, there are over 140 lakes. Most of these are smaller lakes, but there are also a few bigger ones. The biggest lakes in the city are Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi.

Processing surface water

The water treatment plant of Kaupinoja located on the shore of Näsijärvi has been producing clean water for citizens of Tampere since 1928. Another raw water supply source was established in 1972 when the need for clean water increased. After the 1980s the water treatment plant of Kaupinoja was left to reserve use only while the new plant was taken for primary use. Both plants are owned by Tampereen Vesi (roughly translates to “Water of Tampere”). In 2011 a renovation project begun to redevelop the older plant as another primary plant alongside the new one. Need for water have been increasing a lot since the city is growing and developing at a fast pace. Luckily, two water treatment plants will secure the city´s water needs for now.

Redevelopment and rebuilding

Income pumping station of Kaupinoja was finished in 2015. The two-line water treatment plant was redeveloped in two stages. Today, in addition to processing clean water, the plant produces heat for its own needs using lake water. After finishing the pumping station and putting it to full use, two local companies (Tampereen Vesi and Tampereen Kaukolämpö) will build a new district cooling plant next to it. Rebuilding of the complex begun in 2016 and it will be finished in the autumn of 2017. The new district cooling plant of Kaupinoja is built similarly old fashioned to the pumping station next to it.

Exact grounding and ATEX installations

All electrical construction of the site is done by Novasähkö Oy. 3D models of the site are detailed and include Meka´s KS80 cable ladders that are supported by TP2 ceiling supports. Supporting is done between three metres everywhere.

”Grounding has been especially important on this site” says Eerik Leinonen, the project manager of Novasähkö. “Everything is detailed, and grounding is exact, the doors of the district cooling plant as an example.” continues Leinonen. At a first sight details can be seen from the entire cable management complex.

Another specialty of the site is ATEX installations. “Preparing for a possible ammonia alarm installations are done two meters from the ceiling as ATEX installations. Everything is thought out.” tells Leinonen.

The district cooling network will cover most of the city centre of Tampere. As a bonus, in addition to the lower level of electricity consumption, spaces reserved for cooling equipment are released for other purposes. This and the easiness of maintenance are very important especially for hospitals.