Dynamics of water pollution control : A regional evaluation

Abstract: The 1970's saw a strong governmental backing of measures taken to improve surface water quality by reducing point-source emissions in Sweden. The aim of this thesis primarily was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of governmental strategies implemented to improve surface water quality and to study the relationship between policies adopted and current knowledge about different sources of pollution.The cost effectiveness of investment spent to reduce point source emissions was assessed for the period 1970-1980 within parts of the Motala River Basin. Goal achievement and resource allocation were analysed by comparing official planning documents to the outcomes of the abatement program. For the changes of pollution perspectives overtime governmental reports were the main object of study.It was found that the aim of connecting wastewater from the urban population to tertiary treatment plants during the first half of the 1970's was reached with only minor exceptions and delays. Large scale treatment systems were created, supported by a governmental subsidization program. In an extended time- and space perspective the policy of piping household wastewater from small urban areas was questioned from an economic point of view, considering their small contributions to the eutrophication of surface waters and the existence of cheaper on-site methods. In conclusion the treatment policy implemented neither promoted recipient-oriented emission control, nor did it stimulate innovative technology development. As an entity, the resulting infrastructure developed for wastewater treatment is not easily adaptable to new emerging problems.It was further argued that the influence of previous conceptualizations of pollution problems was reflected by the actual resource allocation, resulting from the investment program of the 1970's. The time lag found between new societal foci, conceptualizations and solutions implemented was partly due to the inheritance of a physical infrastructure, partly there were mental barriers to be overcome. According to the cumulative nature of environmental policies, preventive measures will be added to existingpoint-source abatement strategies in the 1990's. But in contrast to the conceptualizations of water pollution as a point-source problem, for the recognitions of diffuse loads, made in the 1970's, there is no simple technical fix.