Oslo: – – Shower for four minutes should last
For the first time since the drought summer almost four years ago, Oslo Municipality is calling on its 700,000 inhabitants to save water.
The reservoirs and rivers that supply the capital’s drinking water basin Maridalsvannet are down to 70 percent of normal water levels.
After a long and poor autumn and winter, it has not been so “dry” in Oslo’s freshwater springs since the summer of 2018.
– Is there a water crisis and soon the water taps will be dry?
– No, it will not be stopped in the water supply, and there are no areas or districts that are more exposed to others. But now we have received water from Bærum and from Nedre Romerike waterworks for a few weeks without much snow or rain in the catchment area of Maridalsvannet, says Simen Strand Jørgensen, acting communications manager in Oslo municipality’s water and sewerage department to Dagbladet.
Fear crisis – now the rescue is ready
He continues:
– Therefore, it’s time to come up with some serious words well.
The meteorologist on år.nr warns of a dry week with a minimum of rain or snow next week.
And head of department Anna Maria Aursund said the seriousness of «small initiatives in everyday life».
– There is no need to worry that the water is momentarily used up and disappears from the tap. But a small effort now from everyone can have great significance for the water supply in addition to ours, she writes in her appeal to the inhabitants.
Five tips
The Water and Sewerage Authority comes up with five specific tips:
– Take a shorter shower and turn off the water while applying soap or shampoo.
– Do not run the tap while brushing your teeth.
– Use eco-program on the dishwasher.
– Save the laundry until the washing machine is completely full.
Use the «small button» on the toilet when you pull down.
– How long or short is “a shorter” shower?
– We have not set an exact time there. But let me make a suggestion from my own point of view: Three to four minutes should hold. And it has nothing to do with how hot the shower is. It’s a matter of power consumption.
– Do you know anyone who closes the tap in the sink while brushing their teeth?
The head of communications takes a short pause for thought and answers in the latter:
– I have actually made that habit myself, regardless of this invitation. After a wet toothbrush, I close the tap while brushing my teeth.
160 liters a day
Estimates show a water consumption of 160 liters per. days per person in Oslo.
In Drammen and Trondheim, the daily consumption is 140 liters per. person. Here the figures are more precise due to more comprehensive measurement in Oslo.
Copenhagen uses just 107 liters per. person.
– Copenhagen is a much flatter city and not dependent on as high pressure on the water as Oslo. There is much of the explanation for the difference in daily consumption, explains communications manager Simen Strand Jørgensen.
Oslo’s water sources, which are collected in Maridalsvannet, are:
Alnsjøen, Breisjøen, Dausjøen, Gryta, Kringla, Langevann, Lille Gryta, Skjærsjøen and Sætertjern.
According to today’s plan, Oslo’s new reserve water source Holsfjorden in Buskerud will be ready with Oslo water from 2028.
Construction work on new water supply tunnels is well underway in Vefsrud in Lier and at Huseby in Oslo.
17.7 billion
Latest price estimate: NOK 17.7 billion, to be paid via the water tax to Oslo citizens.
– How do populous neighbors like Bærum and Nedre Romerike manage to help Oslo in a rainfall crisis like now?
– The main explanation is that they have more “inexhaustible” water sources such as Holsfjorden and Glomma. But it should not be any different relief measures.