Key water-smart challenges

A growing resident population and economy, increased pollution, and untapped efficiency potential.

Key water-smart opportunities

Relocation of the airport enables new sustainable city development. Implementation of small-scale biogas production, using heat from biogas and seawater for urban surface de-icing, smart system for advanced leakage & infiltration control.

Special Focus

Sustainable Zero-emission urban development. Find a cost-efficient way to realize the energy potential in wastewater. Develop a smart system for detection and leakage control in water supplies by connecting data from sensors and water meters in the water supply-wastewater chain. Make blue-green infrastructure a part of the solution to handling climate change.

Current status and ambition

Bodø is a partner in the center for research-based innovation ZEN (Zero Emission Neighborhoods) and City Loops. Furthermore, Bodø is starting a large re-urbanization process, which involves relocating the airport and building a new city district at the former airport site.

Ambition until the end of the project:
Work on three challenges characteristic of many small to medium-size cities in northern regions:
i) improve resource recovery from wastewater in an efficient way given the small scale, especially concerning biogas production from sludge;
ii) improve the handling of wastewater by improved infiltration detection technologies coupled with leak detection (from drinking water pipes) technologies in an integrated system, to reduce energy consumption and improve the management of the wastewater stream;
iii) reduce the use of de-icing and anti-slip agents in the city center to significantly improve air quality and reduce soil & water pollution. The alternative de-icing will use excess heat from biogas utilization for electricity production in combination with heat from seawater.

Ambition beyond project (upscaling/transferability):
Develop a plan for the new district using blue-green infrastructure with no non-potable use of drinking water, including the first replication of the “water-smart for climate-ready” building certificates developed and applied in Lisbon. Relocation of the airport and redevelopment of the airport area has already secured significant national funding. Redevelopment of the old airport area has high environmental and social ambitions, which are aligned with the ambitions of the B-WaterSmart project.