Demonstrator #1

City of Lappeenranta, Finland

Key Facts

The city of Lappeenranta, in Finland, has a population of 73000, on a total area of 1724 km². The main climate risks and impacts faced are increased rainfall, extreme weather events and flood events. The city has been conducting a rehabilitation program for the neighbouring Lake Saimaa. Lappeenranta is also completing a new stormwater plan and a Climate program for both climate change mitigation.

Actions and expected results

  • Urban planning is threatened by the above-mentioned extreme events, especially water bodies. Flood water and water from melting snow bring contaminants (like microplastics, oils and other chemicals, but also nutrients and solid and organic matters), thus decreasing water quality both in the lake and in the city. In Finland, climate change means that more and more rain is coming during the winter times. The consequences for nature and the lake will be solved by the means of urban planning. Location on the shore of the unique lake region is the reason why the city has been established. It is used for recreation and has vital importance for tourism and industry.
  • Water management is thus central to overcoming these challenges. Nutrient loading is causing eutrophication of the lake and deteriorating its water quality. Lake water is a source of drinking water for the citizens. The City has committed to taking care of the biodiversity. There is a need for structural changes in the stormwater system, rehabilitation of the network and new means of stormwater management and treatment.

The urban runoff system will be improved and monitored with a set of new sensors and coupled monitoring of the contamination, water quality & flow within the drainage system. The monitoring platform will prove monitoring scalability and impact on fellow demonstrators. Choice experiments for the stormwater management system upscaling will also take place. Second, nature-based solutions will complete the runoff system. Third, amateur scientists and citizens, in general, will be engaged through monitoring activities of the previous solutions with a crowdsourcing app and screen.

Partners Involved

LUT University
Lappeenranta

Follower Territory

Gjøvik municipality, Norway

The municipality of Gjøvik is characterized by high-tech industry, a centre of higher education and a regional centre of music and culture. The TransformAr project will target 2 KCS in Gjøvik. These are the same 2 KCS as in Lappeenranta. Gjøvik’s role in the project is as a follower and replicator for Lappeenranta, because of the similarities in climate vulnerability regarding urban planning and water management.

Actions and expected results:

  • The main climate risks and impacts faced by the municipality are increased rainfall, extreme weather events and flood events, both urban flooding and flooding of waterways. Our current Climate Plan has goals for reducing the amounts of stormwater and meltwater in the city sanitation and drain networks.
  • The municipality Plan for Water and Sanitation describes the need to adapt the current networks and facilities to future demands and to increase the city’s ability to filter out unwanted substances from stormwater and meltwater.