Sweden

Västervik Municipality is located in southern Sweden, in the north of Kalmar County with the Tjust archipelago and the Baltic Sea in the east. Västervik covers one of the largest municipality areas in southern Sweden. The land area covers 1 875 km² and there is almost as much water area as land area.

Agriculture and forestry are important sectors in Västervik. The tourism industry is also important for Västervik, as the municipality receives about 1.5 million visitors annually.

Västervik Municipality has a long coast and an extensive archipelago. It provides many opportunities for development, but also includes responsibility for the Baltic environment. Västervik archipelago, covered by about 5000 islands, offers a variety of outdoor activities and a rich fish selection. Most of the bays are deep with a shallow mouth. The exchange of water between the inner deeper part and the open sea is low. This makes benthic ecosystems particularly vulnerable. The poor water circulation leads to nutrient-rich water and bad oxygen conditions at the bottom. As Västervik is characterized by its proximity to the Baltic Sea, the eutrophication problem is palpable. Coastal Water sensitivity to eutrophication is higher in the inner archipelago. The symptoms of eutrophication have been obvious; including increased distribution of algae’s, decreased water transparency and reduced opportunities for recreation.

Västervik has been working for many years in a holistic way to reduce the nutrient load. Sustainable work (year after year) with advising, local projects and high requirements in wastewater treatment and agriculture has been the method. Always in collaboration with stakeholders, farmers and owners of property/houses. Västervik has invested in improved sewage treatment plants. Recently the renovation of the Gamleby municipal wastewater treatment plant was completed. The plant has a modern technology with remote monitored processes and high nitrogen reduction. Västervik has set high requirements for small private wastewater treatment systems. An adviser has during several years been working with areas with summerhouses. Information and discussions about problems and solutions for sustainable wastewater has been in focus.

Since the anthropogenic nutrient load to the coastal waters is dominated by agriculture the municipality is focusing on reducing emissions from agriculture. Many different measures have been successfully developed and implemented by local farmers. Some examples are; construction of wetlands, liming to improve soil structure, and two-stage ditches, mussel farming, etc. A prerequisite for success is that measures can be done with economically sustainable methods.

Theme Water is an intersectoral body for water issues in Västervik that ties together various municipal “roles” of authority, development, wastewater treatment, etc. TW was formed in 2011 and includes the politicians in the presidiums of the Municipal Government, the Department of Environment and Planning and Västervik Energy & Environment AB together with the department managers and project leaders for municipal water projects.

Conclusions and findings

The catchment officer in Västervik takes part in the national project LEVA (Local engagement for water). In the project, local catchments officers are financed in 20 pilot areas in Sweden to support local actions and measurements against eutrophication. Catchment officers is a way to improve and speed up the implementation and amount of voluntary measures being made in the agricultural landscape.

The project is led by the Swedish Authority for Water and Marine Management together with the Swedish Board of Agriculture, The County administrative boards, the Water district authorities, and the Federation of Swedish farmers as active partners. The method and work with advising services in Västervik are a model for the pilots. Success factors “the Västervik method”:

• Act locally to create commitments between stakeholders in the area
• Increased knowledge provides greater understanding of the measures
• Make SWOT analysis on field/watercourses level with landowners
• Develop a Local Action Plan for the watercourse in dialogue with stakeholders
• Simplify as much as possible with clear objectives
• Set common objectives that generate “win-win” concept both reduced eutrophication and increased harvest
• Holistic work close to farmers/landowners and stakeholders

The result of this strategy from 2018-2024 is implementation and investment in a lot of different environmental measures to prevent

• Implementation & investment plans
• Lofta river basin – measures to reduce nutrient leakage in Vastervik Municipality 
• Midterm report Västervik – 29.05.20
• Midterm case area Sweden Västervik
• Västervik case policy recommendations 
• Investment plans and results in Municipality of Västervik
• Conclusion Västervik