Ari Meriläinen, Process Technician, monitoring a sand filter.
We Are Proud of Our Long and Successful Collaboration with Tampere Water
Tampere Water in Finland is responsible for the supply, treatment and distribution of clean water with more than 250,000 people living within their operating area. Their annual production of tap water, is nearly 20 million cubic metres via several water treatment plants. Today Tampere uses Jacobi activated carbon for water treatment via our partners for Finland, Polynova.
IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE pleasure to highlight our customers and hear more about their day-to-day work and challenges. We met with Sini Vuorinen, a Production Engineer at Tampere Water, to get her views on this partnership.
Hi Sini, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Let’s start by telling us what you do and how this collaboration started.
I've been at Tampere Water since 2010, today as a Production Engineer. I know that we have been using Jacobi products since before my working history. I dug through my archives and found the first order I placed myself in 2011 for new activated carbon for groundwater plants.
You are managing two waterworks; when were they built, and how was the water treated before activated carbon was installed?
Yes, we have two waterworks, Rusko and Kaupinoja. Rusko was built in 1972, and the Kaupinoja renovation was completed in 2021 (it was originally built in 1928). Today, the water at both plants is treated by precipitating organic matter with iron sulphate. PH control is done with slaked lime and oxidation with chlorine dioxide. This is followed by a two stage filtration including activated carbon. Finally, pH is adjusted and the water is disinfected.
Sini Vuorinen, Production Engineer at Tampere Water.
Could you describe your activated carbon needs when they started?
At that time, Tampere Water had one large and two small surface water plants and two groundwater wells with activated carbon filtration processes. From time to time, either the activated carbon in these plants needed to be replaced or reactivated. Initially, we ordered new activated carbon from Jacobi for the smaller plants and later expanded to reactivation by Jacobi.
Around 2012, we moved to a full service for the reactivation of activated carbon, i.e., the transfer of carbon from filter to bulk truck and from bulk truck to filter. This allowed us to tender for the complete supply and bring competition and more suppliers into the procurement.
In the early years, we also conducted pilot trials, including with biological carbon, however, that didn't benefit us much.
What does your need look like now?
Today, we have two large surface water plants. The production at these plants is around 50,000 m3/d and the total amount of activated carbon is 840 m3, of which we reactivate about 75 per cent every year. In addition, new activated carbon is needed for surface and groundwater plants every 3–5 years, which is about 100 m3.
How is the cooperation organised?
Our contact for Jacobi is Marco Lemström at Polynova. Actually, all communication goes through him. Marco has really taken care of everything, so it's been very easy and hassle-free for us to work together. Marco has a Finnish transport company as a partner, and we always meet with them before the campaign starts. We have had the same transport company for years, Powder Trans, so it's easy to work with them, too. We know each other's processes and ways of working.
What would you say is essential in this working relationship?
We value reliable, competent, and high-quality operations, and as a drinking water utility, we have to ensure these things. Working with Jacobi and Marco, it has been great to see that our wishes and comments are listened to and that we are also constantly improving.
Do you have contact with other water works in Finland? Do you, for example, discuss treatment processes and/or exchange information on water treatment?
In Finland, there is a lot of collaboration between different institutions, and we meet colleagues from large surface water institutions several times a year. Working together is easy because we have nothing to hide from each other; we can share good experiences and learn from each other all the time. In addition, a similar collaboration with Nordic surface water bodies is being launched this year, and it would be great if Tampere could join in.
Are there any current ideas around PFAS?
PFAS has been a very topical issue in recent years. Fortunately, we have a good situation, and no significant amounts of PFAS compounds have been found in our raw water but we have to be vigilant and continue to investigate them.
Marco Lemström, CEO at Polynova.
Marco, you are our contact with Tampere Water and manage the relationship for us; how do you see the collaboration?
We really value this collaboration. It is an important business for us at Polynova. But the most important aspect is the good relationship we have with Sini and the team at Tampere Water. I meet them often and always look forward to spring when we start planning to reactivate and replace the filters with new activated carbon.
These waterworks provide clean water to around 250,000 people, and with many industries in the area, it feels like an important job.
What's happening at Tampere Water at the moment?
This year, 16 filters will be reactivated. It requires good teamwork between our service staff, our transport company, Powder Trans, and Tampere Water, and that works well.
Do you have a final message to the team at Tampere Waterworks?
It will be great to meet you again soon and continue our work. Of course, I also want to thank you for all these years of collaboration; it has been a pleasure.
Let's look a few years ahead; what does the future look like for this partnership?
I think that it looks promising. We are just starting the spring reactivations, and the transport company is experimenting with new technologies for carbon transport. In Finland, public procurement has to be put out to tender at regular intervals, so we also have to put our reactivation service out to tender every four years or so. We hope that we will be able to continue our collaboration for many years to come.
Finally, do you have a message you want to give the Polynova and Jacobi Group team?
The main message I would like to give is one of thanks, thanks to Polynova and Jacobi for our collaboration and I look forward to working together in the future and finding new ways to improve our processes further.
Thank you, Sini, for your time. We know that the 2025 process of reactivating and replacing the activated carbon has started, and we wish you the best of luck with the planning and your work ahead.