A large number of birds have gathered a few meters from shore at the Åse treatment plant. They have gotten the hang of sewage from around 20,000 people flowing uncleaned into the fjord. Since the weekend, the purification plant has been out of operation. The alarm went off from the neighboring business on Saturday evening, when the substance polystyrene was released into the sewer network. The chemical has stuck like chewing gum to the filters in the treatment plant. – The most serious consequence is the release of contaminated waste water, says Arve Olav Bang, who is the manager of water and waste water in Ålesund municipality. They are now working hard to flush and clean the pipe network and the treatment plant. It was Sunnmørsposten that wrote about the matter first. A diving company is getting ready to inspect the sewage treatment plant. Photo: Malin Kjellstadli Korsnes / news Going through the routines Bedrifta Sunde produces polystyrene, which is used in, among other things, insulation and packaging. – It is, of course, unfortunate that the treatment plant is out of operation and sewage goes untreated into the sea. We are going through our routines and equipment to ensure that this will not happen again, says director Rolf Fagervoll. It is uncertain how much polystyrene mass has entered the treatment plant, but it could be around 25 kilos. The company Sunde discovered late on Saturday evening that expandable polystyrene got into the drainage system. Photo: Malin Kjellstadli Korsnes / news Very unusual The Norwegian Environment Agency is taking the case seriously and is demanding an answer as to how this could happen. – This is an exceptional case. In all my years, I have not heard that a company has managed to put a municipal wastewater treatment plant completely out of operation, says Harald Sørby. He is a section leader in the Norwegian Environment Agency. They are now trying to find the cause of what happened, and whether it was an accident or whether it is a system error. Harald Sørby in the Norwegian Environment Agency says that they will now find out why it happened. Photo: Dag Aasdalen / news – That a company sends emissions into a municipal treatment plant is an agreement between the municipality and the individual company. Then they have to find out if it is appropriate and justifiable, says Sørby. The State Administrator in Møre and Romsdal is also taking the matter seriously. Linda Aaram in the environmental protection department says that the time it happened is unfortunate, because there is fishing in the Borgundfjorden. – The important thing now is that the municipality gets the damage repaired as soon as possible. Afterwards, one must investigate what consequences this has had for the environment, says Aaram. The Directorate of Fisheries has also been notified. They say that Borgundfjord fishing does not really start until March. Spring fishing and swimming Ålesund municipality says that they are in ongoing dialogue with the municipal doctor and that they will take regular water samples to monitor the pollution. – We warn against swimming and fishing or catching fish and shellfish in the zone around the Åse sewage treatment plant until the tests show good results, says Arve Olav Bang. The Norwegian Coastal Administration has been notified of the incident. Bang hopes that the plant will be up and running again next week. Ålesund municipality hopes that the sewage treatment plant will be in operation again next week. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news
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