Saldus – Stormwater recycling for fountain operation and greenery irrigation

A feasibility study conducted in Saldus, Latvia, aims to collect surface runoff and treat it to make it usable for various municipal purposes – including watering municipal greenery and operating a public fountain currently under construction that may also be used by children as a play area. Before being collected in an underground storage tank, the stormwater is treated in multiple stages in order to purify it for these purposes: after flowing through an oil and sand separator, it is disinfected using UV light and conducted through a water treatment system (chlorination).

Moreover, educational elements will be furnished at the public fountain on Kalpak Square, which is to be supplied with this water. These are intended to inform people about the consequences of climate change and the need for new water management.

• Location: Saldus (Latvia)
• Water source: Underground storage of stormwater
• Type of treatment: Oil and sand separator, disinfection by treatment with UV light, chlorination
• Target water quality: Water class A/B (EU Regulation 2020/741)
• Utilisation: Public fountain, watering municipal greenery
• Return to natural cycle: Discharge into the sewage system
• Responsible: Saldus Municipality
• Available: Summer 2025

Further information on the pilot measure

Technical-organisational concept (current status)
(pdf, 2,7MB)
These slides provide a more detailed overview on the pilot measure.

The evolution of the concept (until today)
(pdf, 4,1MB)
These slides give an account of the work process behind the chosen technical-organisational concept, incl. considerations, recommendations and decisions taken at different stages. Scroll through the slides to chronologically follow the iterative “development journey” of the pilot measure step-by-step, from the initial idea to its present status!