Baltic flows

Monitoring and management of flowing rainwater in Baltic Sea catchment areas
2013–2015
European Union FP7
Budget TRC: 312 300 €
Coordinator: TRC
Ongoing

The BalticFlows project concerns rainwater monitoring and management in Baltic Sea catchment areas. Rainwater forms streams and rivers, and in urban environments, heavy rainfall can amount to stormwater and floods. Over the years, much of this rainwater ends up in the sea. In Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea conceals a history of water quality from streams, rivers and urban runoff in catchment areas. Encircled by a mix of Nordic, Central and Eastern European countries, the Baltic Sea is at the mercy of a diversity of national practices and policies.

The BalticFlows project shall lay the foundation for development of new capacities and policies for effectively monitoring and managing the quality and quantities of rainwater moving from one place to the next. BalticFlows focuses on streams, rivers and cities in Baltic Sea catchment areas, not on the sea itself. The strategies, knowledge and expertise created during the project can be exploited elsewhere in the Union and in other global regions. The project will support the development of research-driven clusters in each region; enhanced capacities in diffuse load monitoring and urban stormwater management will lead to new business opportunities in the global market for water monitoring and management know-how and solutions.

Research & industry partners

  • University of Turku, Technology Research Center
  • Turku University of Applied Sciences
  • Turku Science Park Ltd.
  • Regional Council of Southwest Finland
  • Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
  • Cleantech Estonia NPO, Estonia
  • City of Tallinn, Estonia
  • Hamburg University of Applied Science (representing also Hamburg Wasser and City of Hamburg), Germany
  • Institute of Physical Energetics, Latvia
  • Environmental Projects Ltd., Latvia
  • Riga Planning Region, Latvia
  • University of Uppsala, Sweden
  • Upwis AB, Sweden
  • Uppsala County, Sweden
  • Ecotech International Ltd., UK