The second phase of remediation works in the Karosta Canal is being implemented with the support of the Norwegian financial instrument. The project involves the remediation of polluted sediments.
The Karosta (War Port) Canal in the port of Liepaja is an artificial waterway constructed at the beginning of the 20th century. For more than a century the cannel served for military purposes.
More information about the history of the Karosta Canal you will find here.
The troops of the Soviet Army left the territory of Karosta only in 1994 and extensive environmental pollution was found. The Karosta Canal was recognised as one of the most polluted sites in Latvia. Based on the analysis of historical pollution, it was concluded that the pollution in the Karosta Canal was caused by the activities of the Soviet Army. As a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the demobilization of the Soviet military forces in 1994, it is not feasible to apply the “Polluter pays” principle according to the Law “On Pollution” of the Republic of Latvia.
After the Second World War for 50 years, an area of the Karosta Canal was a closed military zone for the military naval forces of the former Soviet Union. All this time, the Karosta Canal was used improperly and without considering any negative impact on the environment.
For example, the refuelling of ships occurred inappropriately, and the wastewater was discharged into the Canal. As a result, the pollution was significantly exceeding any permissible norms with heavy metals and oil products. Furthermore, toxic pollution (oil products and heavy metals) got into the environment by improper service management of the Canal. The pollution has accumulated in the sediments of the Canal bed, causing a serious impact on the environment, and creating an ecological threat to the marine environment of the Baltic Sea.
Although 30 years have passed, during which several remediation measures have been carried out, the environmental pollution has not disappeared, and the negative environmental impact remains in the Karosta Canal.
The pollution consists of oil products (incl. benzene, xylene, hydrocarbons) and heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, zinc, copper, selenium, cadmium), which are concentrated in silts and sludges of the canal. There was also untreated municipality wastewater discharged before the wastewater treatment plant was built. Before the implementation of the remediation project, the pollution level exceeded several set indicators. As a result, the ecosystem of the Karosta Canal has been degraded, and the flora and fauna of the canal have seriously suffered.
The Karosta Canal is in the possession of the Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority (LSEZA) which is authorized by the state to manage the activities of the port in the Canal. Since the second half of the nineties of the last century, LSEZA has conducted several research projects and together with the partners developed a concept and a plan for the remediation works of the polluted site.
The second phase of remediation works in the Karosta Canal is being implemented with the support of the Norwegian financial instrument. The project involves the remediation of polluted sediments, which are excavated and placed in a special disposal site of an area of 164,403 m3. The specially constructed disposal place was built in 2001. It is in an environmentally safe place for storage of all polluted sediments of the Karosta Canal.
Remediation works in this project are led by K. Kaupužs, SIA “EKO OSTA”. He describes the methods of work. The contaminated sediments are being excavated using an excavator on a pontoon, shovelling the sediments into a barge. The process involves moving the barge to the groove wall and then transhipping the sediments using coastal excavators. The second method is the suction of contaminated sediments using a specialized suction dredger and then the polluted sediments are pumped out to the disposal site.
The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (hereinafter – NIVA) is a significant partner in the remediation works of the project. NIVA is the leading Norwegian research institute in the fields of water and the environment. NIVA, as a partner of the project, shares valuable knowledge with the Latvian partners and best practices of similar projects in Norway. NIVA also provides expertise to the Latvian partners on how the Karosta Canal could be maintained in the future.
As a result of the implementation of the project in the Karosta Canal, the polluted sediments (soil) will be significantly reduced, which could potentially spread to the marine environment not only in the territory of the Liepaja port but also in the Baltic Sea. The inhabitants of Liepaja could be less exposed to this pollution.
Nevertheless, the remediation works of the project will be completed soon, the Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority shall manage further monitoring of the sediments in the Karosta Canal and provide the sustainability of the achieved results. Including how the Karosta Canal could be removed from the HELCOM “hot spots” list and the appropriate solutions that could lead to the final closure of the disposal site by 2035.
The project “Remediation of the historically polluted site at the Liepaja Port Karosta Canal” aims to reduce the negative impact of historically polluted sediments of the Karosta Canal on the environment, and human health, and simultaneously reduce the negative impact on the ecological status of the Baltic Sea.
The project implementation period is from August 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023.
The total budget of the project: 5 117 647,05 EUR of which contribution from the Norway Grants programme: 4 350 000 EUR.
The webpage of the project here
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