The new sewage treatment plant in St. Petersburg was opened on October, 1, 2007. The central waste water treatment plant in St. Petersburg uses a chemical phosphorous removal system which is expected to reduce phosphorous emissions into the Gulf of Finland. President Tarja Halonen took part in the official opening of the new sewage treatment plant.
As a result of the chemical phosphorous removal system the phosphorous load to the Gulf of Finland will be reduced with 300–500 tons annually, which amount corresponds 5-8% of the total phosphorous load to the Gulf of Finland. Finnish Ministry of the Environment, the John Nurminen Foundation, Kemira and the St. Petersburg's waste water treatment among others have participated in the project.
St. Petersburg water treatment plant and Kemira have an agreement until the year 2015. The objective is to develop and produce new chemicals in St. Petersburg to be used in producing drinking water and cleaning waste water. Kemira has a production plant ZAO Kemira Eko in St. Petersburg, which produces 80,000 tones of liquid aluminum sulphate per year. ZAO Kemira Eko is also delivering the iron based chemicals used for cleaning wastewater.
"In favorable weather conditions the high phosphorous content will effect directly to the intensity of the cyanobacterial blooms in the Gulf of Finland. The John Nurminen Foundation and the cyanobacterial blooms have raised the awareness how the phosphorous load impacts the Gulf of Finland. Kemira Water has local knowledge of the chemical phosphorous removal systems and also coagulant production in all the surrounding states of the Gulf of Finland. Kemira Water is an important actor in the reduction of the phosphorous load", says Aija Jantunen who is the manager of Kemira Water, Finland.