Aerial photo of Mjölhatteträsk, Gotland. Photo: Gunnar Britse
Artificial wetlands will be built on the Testbed Storsudret
Region Gotland and IVL receive just over 300 000 Euros in support for constructing artificial wetlands on Testbed Storsudret on southern Gotland. The funding will be used in a nature conservation project that, with the help of dam hatches and dams, will strengthen the groundwater in the area and increase biodiversity.
The large peninsula on southern Gotland has had problems with water shortages for several years. In the area, IVL, together with the region, is establishing a test bed for technicians and systems that will increase the amount of ground- and surface water. Among other things, they have looked at how to regulate the ditches, so that the rainwater stays longer on land instead of flushing into the sea through the ditches.
The Region Gotland has now received a grant through the local nature conservation initiative LONA to build two wetlands in the area and actively regulate a lake. It will strengthen groundwater formation and at the same time increase biodiversity and provide water for irrigation or tap-water.
– Through the dams and the active regulation of Mjölhatteträsk, rainwater can be prevented from flowing into the Baltic Sea and instead stored until the summer's dry periods for water supply as tap-water or water for irrigation, says Staffan Filipsson at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
Two sites have been selected as suitable for constructing the wetlands, where agricultural land or other land is not adversely affected. As a third part, the lake will be real-time regulated by an automatic floodgate.
– The plan is to build an automatically adjustable dam hatch at the outlet from Mjölhatteträsk, a dam in Vamlingbo and a dam along the Peteskanalen at Botarve, says Helena Andersson, eco-strategist in the Gotland region.
Test bed Storsudret for sustainable water supply will then measure and evaluate the effects of the wetlands on groundwater formation and the possibility of storing water in lakes through the use of automatic dam hatches.
The construction of the wetlands receives funding through the nature conservation initiative, LONA, which is the largest national initiative to date to achieve increased local initiative in the work with local nature conservation.
In addition to IVL and Region Gotland, SGU, KTH and Uppsala University also participate in the test bed. Via Forum Östersjön, there is a strong connection locally with landowners, local organizations and private individuals who experience problems with water supply today. The commitment from the companies ENWA and Monsson Energy are also important pieces of the puzzle for succeeding with the goals for the test bed for sustainable water supply.
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For questions about Testbed Storsudret, please contact:
Staffan Filipsson, staffan.filipsson@ivl.se, tel. +46 10-788 65 75