On Thursday, Oslo municipality will close Sørenga sea bath

OSLO.Sørenga sea swimming pool.Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

On Thursday, Oslo municipality will close Sørenga Seawater Pool due to sewage discharges in connection with the construction of the Follobanen.

 

The closures will take place from Wednesday night if weather conditions allow it and all necessary equipment is in place wrote Aftenposten newspaper. How long it will be closed is uncertain.

“At the very least, it’s a question of Sørenga being closed for a few hours.The water and wastewater plants are quite sure that they will be able to prevent the discharges from entering the river pouring and into the fjord,” said Richard Kongsteien, communications director at the City of Oslo municipality to

Aftenposten. He stated that the commune did not initially think it was necessary to warn against bathing.

“There has been a little back and forth. But he has made a new assessment and found that we should shut the sea bath, said Kongsteien.

As much as 50 litres of sewage per second (approximately 720,000 liters in total) could drain into Alnaelva and further into the fjord due to the leakages. The sewage spill is due to security measures related to the Folloban tunnel under the Kværnertunnel.
The water and drainage plant in Oslo municipality is to put filters in front of the outlet at Alna to collect waste that enters with the wastewater, but can not guarantee that they will be able to collect everything.

Both wind direction and tidal conditions will be important factors for how much pollution is released into the Oslo Fjord because of the leakages, and the municipality wants to be ready in the event of pollution becoming too large.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today