Introduction: Many cities in Sweden have many low points in their terrain and areaffected by heavy rain. Urban sprawl often exacerbates the problem by increasing theamount of paved surfaces while reducing available land for stormwater treatment. Thismeans that stormwater flows that need to be managed can be very heavy and drainquickly. It is therefore important that cities achieve long-term sustainable stormwatermanagement that can cope with current and future climate change. This report willexamine how Karlstad and Växjö municipalities are working and planning for theincreased risk of stormwater and study the different solutions currently in use.

Method: This report began with a literature study to deepen knowledge and get a goodbase. In order to answer the research questions, two case studies and three interviewswere conducted with respondents from the Water and Wastewater Departments ofVäxjö and Karlstad Municipality. One expert was also interview. Document analysiswas then carried out based on the plan description, sustainability index and thestormwater study in order to obtain as comprehensive material as possible.

Results: The planning and work started with the preparation of a flood mapping and afirst impact assessment. No full action plan has been prepared by the consultedmunicipalities. In order to start the work, Karlstad will employ a rainfall coordinator.Most common solutions used in municipalities are treatment ponds, levellingreservoirs, street management and renewal of the sewerage and stormwater system. Aspecial solution in Växjö is the reduction of stormwater tax. Location, knowledge, laws,time and the cooperation of the water department with property owners and otherdepartments in the municipality are important elements that influence theimplementation of different solutions.

Analysis: From the results it can be concluded that the municipalities are working andplanning well with the increased risk of rainfall in low-lying areas. However, morework can be done by producing an action plan adapted to these areas. The solutionapplied depends on a number of factors. These factors are adding safety factors tostormwater facilities and increasing the capacity of the pipeline system. The work iscontinued through good cooperation the different technical facilities in themunicipalities but also property owners as it often leads to a good and carefullyprepared solution. The municipalities explain that using cost-effective solutions isimportant because the funding comes from the water and wastewater departments tax.It is speculated that a change in the law allowing the water and wastewater departmentto receive funding for stormwater measures would have minimized flood risks.

Discussion: The results are considered useful because the municipalities can learn fromeach other's planning and work as well as help each other in developing sustainablestormwater solutions. The result promotes a better understanding of the factorsunderlying the chosen solutions. The generalization of the results can be questioned asit is site-specific. However, it can be applied because it increases understanding of howto address a similar problem in another location or municipality. 

The water supply in Växjö municipality has since 1887 been based on surface water from Lake Helgasjön. A water treatment plant was built in 1957 and was extensively reconstructed in 1969 but there are still problems to accomplish with drinking water quality, mainly related to temperature, smell and taste, manganese and aluminium rest. The present water consumption has periodically approached the water treatment plant maximum capacity. A performed risk analysis showed that catastrophic consequences for the water supply could occur due to an accident in a nearby traffic route or discharges from an industrial area. In 1997 Växjö municipality decided to perform a comprehensive investigation of different alternatives for future water supply. Seven alternatives were evaluated including remedial measures at the present water treatment plant. The chosen alternative was based on supply and conveying ground water from the Berga Esker in Ljungby municipality. Re-infiltration of ground water will be used to guarantee the required water quality and quantity and will be implemented in autumn 2008 with a planned supply of 200 l per second delivered to about 70,000 persons in the municipalities of Växjö and Alvesta. The article describes the different alternatives, motives for the chosen alternative and the evaluation procedure.

A summary is given of the water and wastewater situation in Iraq before the Gulf War 1991, the situation after the Gulf War and the recent effects of the conflict in 2003. The access of safe water was halved in certain governorates after March 2003 and half of the sewage works were out of function with a discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers and channels. The supply of electricity was less than 4 hours per day in January 2004 and caused discharges of untreated sewage on streets etc. The leakage from the water net was estimated at 60%. The wastewater system in 3 out of 5 schools was estimated to be out of function and epidemics have especially affected children and caused increased mortality. Special issues like the illegal openings of water pipes and security have worsened the situation. The Swedish knowledge of water and wastewater handling may have an important role in rebuilding water and wastewater handling in Iraq and different possibilities are exemplified.

Purpose: The problem with hard surfaces, as for example asphalt and roofing, is that they do not absorb enough rainwater. Furthermore, this leads to that grass surfaces and other absorbent surfaces around having to take care of all stormwater that the hardened surfaces cannot infiltrate. Flooding in urban environments has become increasingly common due to heavy rain and a high proportion of hard surfaces. This leads to an overload of the pipe line for rainwater. Therefore well-functioning balancing trays close to source needed to mimic natural drainage of nature. The goal was to investigate witch countervailing magazine mainly should be applied in heavily paved small terraced plots, where the soil has limited infiltration properties, in terms of efficiency, cost and maintenance.

Method: The methods used to meet the objective is analysis of documents, qualitative interviews and a case study. The document analysis serves as a basis for the case study and interviews serve as empirical input for the case study.

Findings: The countervailing magazine that is preferred is the pipe magazine when the plant surface is limited and the soil has limited infiltration properties.

Implications: The problem statement treats the issue with an increasing number of floodings in urban environments due to the paved surfaces and the heavy rains. Furthermore, it is disclosed that the management system therefore risks becoming overloaded. This problem was also confirmed in the interviews. The work did not identify which countervailing magazine that is preferred for all kinds of cases, but only in the cases where land space is limited and where the soil has limited infiltration properties. The solution is therefore that pipe magazine is the magazine preferred for local disposal of stormwater in those circumstances. It is recommended when applying this result real life, to use the cost per meter and countervailing volume per meter available in efforts to work out how long stretch pipe magazine needs to be built on to achieve the desired equalization volume. Rating systems made for maintenance can however be used for other cases.

Limitations: The result is applicable in similar scenarios as for the case study, which is at a row house site where the surface for the magazine is limited and where the soil has limited infiltration properties. A graph has been developed for the work where the construction cost per meter is described for each countervailing magazine and also has a graph with stormwater volume per meter been developed. These diagrams can therefore be applied to other cases with small areas but with other measures of the plot. Therefore the result also is applicable to other cases.

In the city of Jönköping problems with the irregular flow, erosions and transport of sediment materials are recurring in the brook Strömsbergsbäcken. The problems is somewhat caused by an increased flow of storm water in the brook, which leads to high flow peaks in some parts of the brook since the original furrow is not dimensioned for the increased amount of water. The purpose of this project work is to make ecological drainage management in urban environments with a high amount of storm water discharge more efficient. The objective with the report is to create valuable material of how to accomplish ecological drainage management in urban areas and that the report will be useful for future similar connections. To fulfill the objective, the following three questions have been designed as a significant part of the final project report:

• How can the load on the general drainage system be reduced?

• How can the pollution effects of storm water runoff in urban areas be reduced?

• Which treatments are appropriate to enhance the ecological storm water management in Strömsbergsbäcken ?

The methods that have been used to solve these questions are document- and literature studies, and also a case study.The thesis results shows that the storm water flows from four of the nine areas that has its outlets in Strömsbergsbäcken, need to be treated through some kind of a solution or method that delays the water flow. The treatment could be performed in the area, before the storm water reaches the storm water network, which leads to Strömsbergsbäcken. The storm water flows can also be reduced by treatments adjacent to the outlets in the brook, where the largest flow peaks occurs. For example an essential solution to decrease the flows in Strömsbergsbäcken is to reconstruct the old dam located near one of the outlets into a basin, which will delay the stormwater flows.

Purpose: At present are new stormwater ponds constructed to store stormwater which overloads stormwater pipe systems while existing stormwater ponds remains without overhaul. Since climate changes contributes to five-year rain in a higher frequency, which increases the flow of stormwater and causing more stormwater ponds to be undersized. In order to preserve social functions, are a general work process investigated of how municipalities can investigate and preserve their existing stormwater ponds. Method: The methods that are used are interviews, case study and literature study. The interviews contribute to solutions and proposals of investigation methods and proposals for action. The case study were performed in three stormwater ponds and examines the investigation methods that can be used. Collecting empirical data in a practical case, should increase the investigation’s credibility. The methods used in the case study are calculations, sediment sampling and document analysis of the basis of existing stormwater. Using literature study are the empirical data of the investigation analyzed with other sources to check the reliability of the empirical data. Findings: Several methods of investigations and action proposals were analyzed. Three investigation methods which fit a general work process were: flow proportional sampling, sediment sampling and stormwater calculations through the stormwater model Stormtac. The proposals for action which suited a general work process were: construction of a trench around the pond to expand the storage area, planting plants that take up nutrients and heavy metals tied up in stormwater, exploit the stormwater ponds shape where the hydraulic efficiency are exploited flat out by placing the inlet and outlet on opposite ends, and building trenches with a gravel embankment with aquatic plants. Implications: Flow proportional sampling were a reliable investigation method according to interview and literature study. Sediment sampling of sediment in bottom of in- and outlet can be used in a general work process, but certain contamination levels can be misleading depending on how detailed sediment samplings are done. Stormwater model Stormtac and its calculations can be used in a general workprocess because publication Svenskt Vatten P110 (2016) are confirming the models calculations. The proposals for action were not tested in real cases, but the effect was confirmed in the interview and literature study. Limitations: The case study was limited by investigating two methods, one of which is stormwater model Stormtac and sediment sampling. Selected contaminants such as heavy metals, oil, nitrogen and phosphorus are analysed. The study is delimitated by analyzing how recipients are affected by the studied existing stormwater ponds.

Purpose: The continuous densification of urban environments with an increased amount of hard surfaces as a result, along with future climate change, involves a number of challenges that must be taken into account when applying a sustainable stormwater management. In addition to this, there are several other challenges that needs to be considered when planning for a sustainable stormwater management in residential areas located in steep terrain where an increased water volume and water velocity increases the risk of floods and contributes to an increased level of contamination in the runoff.

This study aims at identifying suitable stormwater solutions for residential areas located in steep terrain.

Method: The methods used to achieve the objective of the thesis have been literature review, document analysis, qualitative interviews and calculations. A case study of a planned residential area in Gränna, Jönköpings municipality, has been conducted and resulted in the gathering of empirical data.

Findings: Geophysical, social, economic and legal factors must be taken into account when implementing sustainable stormwater management and in order to best prevent damage caused by floods of buildings and facilities.

The application of sustainable stormwater solutions to delay and purify water is important where steep terrain leads to large stormwater flows, in order to reduce the risk of floods and the pollution levels in recipients caused by erosion. No single measure is sufficient to fully address the present risks, but by using a combination of open stormwater facilities and infiltration technologies, pollution levels in the drainage and flooding problems can be drastically reduced.

Implications: The knowledge, and in some extent the will, among Swedish municipalities to implement sustainable stormwater management needs to be strengthened. In the case of construction of new residential areas in steep terrain, enclosed areas should not be exploited but instead be used as a designated area for excess of stormwater. Infiltration methods should be used in combination with open stormwater facilities to better handle the rain with varying recurrence and to reduce erosion damage.

Limitations: The case study has served as a practical example and the calculations are not generally valid, although with some adjustments they can be applied in similar areas. The results of the literature review and interviews can be applied to residential areas in other Swedish municipalities where the terrains results in an increased water velocity.

Keywords: Best management practice, erosion, infiltration, low impact development, steep terrain, stormwater pond, stormwater swale, sustainable stormwater management.

Purpose: Sustainability Index (SI) is a tool that has been created by Swedish Waterwith the aim of helping water and sewerage organizations to analyze, develop andimprove operations. The first SI survey with 97 participating municipalities wasconducted in 2014. In 2019, 171 municipalities participated. The study that forms thebasis of this report examined how municipalities' VA organizations use SI in practiceand what these organizations think about SI.

Method: A web survey was sent to all VA organizations in Sweden's municipalities.The response time was between 31 March and 9 April 2020. A total of 45 questionnaireresponses were received. A subsequent email to 14 of the respondents generated 7 indepthanswers to the study's questions. A literature study of current research in the areaand a document analysis of SI's results report 2019 were also used as methods.

Findings: 80% of the survey respondents believe that SI identifies important issues forthe business and also provides an overview of the VA operations' status. Only 24%believe that SI has helped them produce documents such as VA plans. The surveyresults show that 80% think that SI enables comparisons with other municipalities' SIresults, but only 27% believe that SI has actually helped them identify areas wherecollaboration with other municipalities can take place. The results of this study showlarge variations between different municipalities' use of SI. About a third of therespondents - people in the business who are expected to have the best insight into SI -do not know whether SI has been used to help develop long-term plans or to facilitatecommunication with politicians.

Implications: Conclusions drawn from this study are that the country's VAorganizations view SI positively and that there is a need for the tool. However, the useof SI varies greatly between different municipalities. In order to be able to apply SI andsteer the business towards sustainable development, resources and the right skills arerequired. Recommendations based on the results of the study are to introduce guidingguides about SI in the Swedish Water's statistics database VASS and to developguidelines and practical tips for how SI can be implemented in the VA operations.

Limitations: It is not possible to draw conclusions from the results of this study inrelation to the municipalities' different conditions regarding resources, organizationalform, size, etcetera. The survey did not refer to SI at the parameter level or did documentanalysis of respondents' SI results. Despite the limitations and limited possibilities forgeneralization, the results are still considered useful and provide an insight into how SIhas been received and used by the VA organizations.

Introduction: This thesis focuses on evaluating the sustainability of water and sewerage renewal in Jönköping Municipality through document studies and simulations. The aim is to identify vulnerabilities within the stormwater system and present sustainable solutions to reduce the risk of flooding and backflow. By combining different investigation methods, the work aims to contribute with insights and solutions for long-term sustainable stormwater management. 

Method: The study uses a case study approach in the form of a document study to review relevant documents and laws governing stormwater management. This quantitative method is complemented by a further case study based on a simulation to gain a deeper understanding of stormwater management in the municipality of Jönköping and how different changes affect the system. 

Results: The chapter presents the data collection from the document study and the simulation, giving an overview of the stormwater management in the municipality and its effectiveness with respect to the identified vulnerabilities. The results of the study shows that an increasing trend of annual rainfall requires improved climate adaptation measures, and current infrastructures need to be optimized to cope with future conditions. 

Analysis: Here, the results of the document study and simulation are linked to the theoretical framework to analyse the effectiveness of stormwater management and its ability to meet the challenges of rising precipitation levels and urbanisation.  

Discussion: The discussion focuses on identifying and addressing vulnerabilities within the stormwater system and presenting sustainable solutions to address future challenges. By integrating knowledge from different sources and following guidelines from both national and local authorities, the municipality can create effective strategies for water supply renewal and stormwater management. A reflection on the methods used and their contribution to fulfil the research objectives concludes the chapter. 

Purpose: The climate changes contribute to Sweden’s future change in rain pattern. This leads to a higher demand on the stormwater management and its function. When green areas are built upon the risk for flooding increase when heavy rains occur. It is therefore important to adapt the cities according to future heavy rains and the stormwater management should not be downgraded. The goal of this study is to answer what solutions are used the most and are successful in the municipalities, what factors that affect the municipalities choice of stormwater solution and how the municipalities account for climate changes when choosing stormwater solutions.

Method: The literature review has given the report the research front within the subject and a good scientific base to be based upon. Six different interviews have been held with respondents from the water and plant-department and the community building department withing three municipalities in Skaraborg. The participating municipalities are Lidköpings municipality, Skövdes municipality and Falköpings municipality. The interviews are split into different main categories to answer the questions at issue. A document analysis has been done based upon blueprints and document of newly exploited residential areas from the municipalities’ websites.

Findings: The stormwater management solution that is used the most in the municipalities are open stormwater solutions, such as trenches, delay surfaces and ponds. This makes these solutions the most successful. Through open stormwater solutions the society is secured from flooding since the solution can regulate the water. Factors that affect the municipalities choice of solution are knowledge of stormwater, the cooperation between departments, technical function, time, money, laws, and recommendations. The design of roads, waterways, and elevation in newly exploited residential areas are important factors that the municipalities consider, in order to manage the ongoing climate changes.

Implications: Conclusions that can be drawn from the study is that open stormwater solutions are what the municipalities strive towards using. In addition, the solution is best suited to manage the climate changes. Through using open stormwater solutions, a need to waiver on function is not needed to use the cheapest solution. The residentials areas are designed with waterways, strategic outlets and along the climate factor. To achieve good stormwater management the level of knowledge within the staff and the cooperation between departments are important. Recommendations that the municipalities could continue to work with to get a more sustainable stormwater management is to expand the knowledge between the staff, improve the cooperation, review the consultants work, increase supervision and to follow up in production.

Limitations: The study has been delimited to three municipalities with the same geographic location in Sweden. It is possible to generalize the study since there are cities in Sweden with similar a amount of residents.

Introduction (and aim) – In today's society, the climate is an important issue and the building and construction sector accounts for large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. This research aims to study how the climate footprint from water and sewer contracts can be reduced. Method – To accomplish the study, a water and sewer contract carried out by Skanska has been studied through a case study. In the study data has been collected through internal documents and interviews. Results – The documents show that “local mass handling” and the use of HVO as fuel instead of diesel, generates reduced carbon dioxide emissions in the project and the interviews confirm the information. Also mentioned in the interviews is that green asphalt is used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Possibilities for reducing the climate footprint in the future that are brought up include electric-powered excavators and transport as well as bio-binders in the asphalt. The obstacles that are mentioned in the interviews to reduce the climate footprint are, among other things, lack of environmentally friendly plastic materials for water and sewer enterprisers, charging of electric machines and the extra cost of working in an environmentally friendly way. Analysis – The climate adaptations that are used today is seen as relatively simple technologies, while the possibilities for reducing emissions in the future are currently stopped by the increased cost and that certain technologies are not developed sufficiently. Discussion – The study shows that the use of HVO and green asphalt are ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and that these are supported by previous research. Local mass handling is also a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions but has been difficult to confirm by previous studies. The possibilities of reducing emissions through electric excavators and transports are confirmed by previous research, and the use of bio-binders instead of bitumen in the asphalt is also confirmed. The lack of environmentally friendly plastic material for water and sewer enterprisers is confirmed in previous studies, also the additional cost of HVO compared to diesel is confirmed.

Purpose: Burnt alum shale is mining waste derived from combustion of the same rock. It exists in several places in Västra Götaland. Alum shale was previously used as filling but nowadays the use is limited thus the material is leaching heavy metals. The amount of waste normally put in landfills shall now be diminishing. Therefore the possibility to landfilling alum shale is limited. The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of how alum shale can be dealt with in an environmentally safe and economically beneficial way. The goal is to bring out suggestions for applications of use and ways of handling the excavations to contribute to a better environment and to achieve better financial conditions. By investigate what claims need to be achieved for the possibility of using Alum shale, useful areas of use and suitable management where brought forward. This study has been composed as a mean to get a bachelor degree in engineering, with the benefitial partner Skövde kommun.

Method: Literature study, document analysis and interviews where used as research methods. Research on waste, alum shale and remediation techniques where studied in the literature study. In the document analysis, environmental study were analysed to retain knowledge of leachate. The interviews presented information of the authorities work with alum shale and experts’ suggestions of how alum shale can be used and handled.

Findings: This study showed that there is other applications than landfills, and that there is methods to limit the leachate. If to be used, knowledge of the alum shale’s propensity of spreading due to stirring and relocation must be known. To inhibit leachate van be achieved by encapsulate the alum shale by waterproofing. This means that the alum shale can be used as a resource. Areas will be available for exploitation, it will not affect people in the surroundings, and the leachate to the groundwater will diminish.

Implications: At minor sensitive land use, alum shale can be used as filling material, such as industrial areas and roads. This implicates waterproofing of the material. Asphalted surface, in combination of waterproofing the top surface and the vertical sides limits the leachate of metals considerably. The haul is often ruling the possibility to relocate the shale. If the alum shale, at disposal, could be used for filling purposes, the cost of purchasing new material, and outlet of new raw material does not need to burden the environment.

Limitations: The alum shale studied is the one of Skövde County. The study should though be applicable to the whole of Västra Götaland. Not having the time to expand the interviews and include more people with research experience and expertise, is one of the limitations of this study. Also, carry out leachate tests could have contributed with more knowledge.

Receiving waters downstream should not be affected by storm water from storageand transport industry, therefore it requires treatment of pollution. The objectiveof this study has been to show how a storm water pond should be designed toachieve a good treatment. The methods used are a literature review, and a casestudy. The case study has been performed for a planned industrial area. Thequestions which needed to be answered are the type of pollutants that might occurand how they are treated. Furthermore, it has been studied which properties affectthe purification in a storm water pond.The results of the study showed that the most pollutants were heavy metals, toxicorganic matter and nutrients. It has also become apparent that these pollutants, ismainly treated by sedimentation and absorption by plants. Furthermore, it hasemerged that there is no standard for how a storm water pond should bedesigned, with regards to the treatment. This is because all ponds have differentexternal conditions that control the design, which depends on the area where thepond is located. However, it has been shown that there are a number ofparameters that should be taken into account, in order to get a high treatmenteffect in the pond. The most important of these is the hydraulic and hydrologicalefficiency of the pond.

Introduction (and purpose) – Sweden today faces a major societal challenge to maintain a good economic stance, by building sustainable water supply and sewerage management systems. The expansion of water and sewerage pipes is of great importance for society's functioning infrastructure. Underdimensioned and worn pipes as a result of climate change can lead to floods or the spread of pollutants. Every year, pipes are renewed and built in the country, but today municipal water and sewerage organizations face a challenge to address the need for renewal planning. This work has examined the organization VA-syd and Solna, Lerum and Habo municipality's renewal needs and how the municipal VA-organizations plan the need.

Method – The main research strategy that has been used in this study is a qualitative method. With the help of a literature study, a thorough scientific understanding of the subject has been obtained. Four different semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from four different VA organizations. A document analysis of each municipality's sustainability index has been carried out.

Results – The interviews conducted in this study show that participating municipalities use most of the map database GIS for registration and documentation of operational disruptions. The GIS tool requires resources that smaller municipalities may lack. Based on VA-syd's international collaboration with a French company, VA-syd began using a model prévoir. In short, this model means that a complete risk assessment of current lines is performed. Respondents to the case study explain the importance of area renewal as a method, which means focusing on one area at a time. The results of the study show that there is a shortage of trained staff, as well as knowledge of the VA facility's status and renewal planning.

Analysis – The municipal water and sewerage organizations strive to create sustainability in both the long and short term. According to the interviews, the map database is used by municipalities and water and sewerage organizations when planning water and sewerage pipes. The municipalities have admitted difficulties in finding qualified labor. The fact that only a few people are skilled in the water and sewage industry and that localities must compete for salaries with consultants and contractors is seen as a challenging situation for the municipalities.

Discussion – All municipalities have said that they have not drawn up a renewal plan in terms of strategies for planning their needs for renewal. Regular maintenance is required to maintain wiring in good condition. However, the municipalities admit that measures by water supply and sewerage lines only take place in an emergency. There is not enough evidence to suggest that decision-makers should prioritize maintenance of pipelines, but new projects come first.

The problem to secure safe water supply, good sanitation and a good watercourse and marine environment status has become increasingly complex and at the same time more and more important to meet. It has been recognized, that an integrated approach must be used to meet not only technical and scientific aspects, but the role should also be included of factors such as economics, acceptability, capacity building, and efficient management in the overall view. Integrated approach efforts need to be introduced at different levels, i.e. among the population as well as at municipal, regional (county administrative board, county council, water authority) national and international (EU, global) levels. An important goal is that various activities should follow similar objectives.

One important factor in this respect is the Brundtland report in which the concept of sustainability was highlighted and universally accepted, even though similar ideas had been put forward earlier. Based on the concept of sustainability a common policy has been developed from Agenda 21 at the local level to globally formulated Millennium targets. Independently of the country, general consensus seems to exist on overall goals for water and sanitation. However, there is a big difference in the way the goals have been implemented in different countries depending on priorities to other areas of concern as political systems, economic conditions, and the degree of capacity building. The experience developed in Sweden and in large parts of the Western world has been judged to be of great value to be transferred to other countries with a lower development or lower standards of water and sewerage systems. For this reason, several global and regional agreements are presented, and two regions (the Baltic Sea and the MENA regions) were chosen to assess similarities and differences between them. Obvious differences are the relatively abundant supply of water in the Baltic region, while the MENA region is one of the world's poorest regions with regard to water availability. Major differences also exist between countries within each region. Among the similarities is the need to achieve similar demands on the quality of discharged wastewater in the long run. The Baltic Sea Action Plan controls the stringent requirements of wastewater quality in the Baltic region, and in the MENA region the growing interest in wastewater reuse for irrigation, industrial use and also for reuse as clean water is the guiding factor.

On the national level Sweden and Iraq have been selected for description and discussion and at local level Växjö in Sweden and the cities of Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, respectively. While Växjö municipality has been able to follow a path in line with achieving sustainability the situation of cities in Iraq and Kurdistan are entirely different due to failed investments and maintenance of infrastructure for a long time as well as the effects of war. This is discussed in detail and the actions needed to restore and improve the infrastructure are described.

Water supply and sanitation have about the same goals all over the world. The needs for safe water supply and sanitation are obvious although not generally implemented. This depends often on the economical situation and bad management. Additional factors are effects of war actions and natural disasters as flooding of rivers and tsunamis. The strategies are, however, similar independent of the actual conditions. In this paper the strategies as developed in Sweden are described related to practical implementation of technology and management strategies. The experiences have shown on both mistakes and successful handling. Today, Sweden is involved in both adjusting policies according to European Union rules (as EU Water Framework Directive) and also in sharing experiences to facilitate international implementation of cost-effective methods.

The water and wastewater infrastructure began to be developed in Sweden more than one hundred years ago. Much attention was given, in the beginning, to fire prevention and hygienic problems with water borne diseases. Somewhat later storm sewers (combined system) were constructed to remove storm water and wastewater and then successively more efficient wastewater treatment plants were developed. Today water and wastewater handling is seen as a multidisciplinary subject where also attention is given to possible effects of climate changes and possibilities for resources recovery.

Implementation of advanced water and wastewater systems involves not only different technologies but also effective administration and legislation. The implementation may be on national (also involving EU directives), regional and local scale. As a case study, the local implementation will be illustrated for the municipality Växjö in South Sweden with about 80,000 inhabitants.

A sustainability index (SI) is a benchmark for guiding the activities of municipal water and wastewater (W and WS) utilities toward sustainability. The SI has been used in Sweden since 2014 as an internal benchmark management tool facilitating the strategic work of organizations. This study assesses how the SI was applied in practice by eight utilities (Orgs 1–8) from 2015 to 2019. The study was performed using in-depth semi-structured interviews with managers of the utilities and analyzing 32 SI reports and other documents. The utilities generally perform better in all parameters compared with the national average. Three utilities had improved results during the study period, while the other five had unchanged development. Five utilities use the SI index to improve their performance, and three use the SI results to grade the organization. All utilities are concerned with sustainability and wish to improve their performance. The study found that the parameter “Status of W and WS fixed facilities” was the furthest from sustainability. The study also clarifies that the technical committee has the primary responsibility to ensure that the technical office meets the sustainability objectives.

Reinvestment in water and wastewater (WW) facilities is a challenge for Swedish water utilities. Nationwide, 4% of 184 organizations meet the requirements for a sustainable WW facility status according to the sustainability index (SI), the Swedish benchmark system. Eleven Swedish municipal WW organizations that had improved the status of their facilities were examined and are presented as good learning examples. Managers/strategists of nine of the organizations were interviewed in depth. Our aims were to concretize the used strategies and to clarify success factors and challenges, as well as to support WW organizations that want to improve their results. The nine surveyed organizations showed a clear desire to move toward sustainability. For example, setting aside 1% of the whole replacement value per year for reinvestment (which is embedded in the policy-makers' business plan) and the use of its own staff for construction work significantly aided the Arvika company's goals. All organizations were found to have a 10-year plan for renewal at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Five organizations that had made more significant progress also had more specific 3-year plans and were linked to robust economies. New investments came at the expense of reinvestments because all municipalities are expanding.

The 2020 Sustainability Index (SI), a benchmark system, shows that 2% of the 184 municipal water and wastewater utilities (WWS) in Sweden have a good performance level (green), i.e., they meet all benchmark requirements for the "climate adaptation and flood safety" ("CA and FS"). In this study, ten Swedish WWS organizations were selected and studied in depth. The goal was to present them as good learning examples to inspire other utilities seeking to improve their results and to clarify and concretize the driving factors, strategies, and important explanations for their success, and the challenges they face. A total of 52 SI annual documents from ten utilities were analyzed. Six of their managers were interviewed in depth. One of the ten utilities studied was green on the parameter "CA and FS". Flooding events in two utilities drove climate adaptation. The formation of an interdisciplinary group in two organizations had a major impact on their success. Two utilities focused on low-lying sites and enclosed spaces. Three believed capacity building increased their chances of success. The biggest challenge was sharing responsibility. That only 2% of municipal water and wastewater utilities are green is not the whole truth. Therefore, there should be other factors in SI that measure performance in "CA and FS". To improve the results, new laws are needed to solve the problem of shared responsibility.

In 2009, the Bergaåsen Water Supply Scheme was put into operation to ensure the future drinking water supply of two municipalities in southern Sweden. Bergaåsen replaced two vulnerable water treatment plants. It was implemented in an environment that was characterized by sensitive recipients and limited access to water. This article aims to analyze how strategies were developed to meet sustainability requirements, if this solution has ensured good quantity and high quality after ten years of operation, and the extent of the project's economic impact on consumers. The project was analyzed as an evidence-based case study using semi-structured interviews, surveys, and document analyses. The study found that the chosen options succeeded in guaranteeing outstanding quality and secure delivery. Over 90% of water users were satisfied and had trust in it, and less than 3% were dissatisfied. The design time for withdrawal capacity has been extended from 30 to 50 years through planned measures. The study clarifies also that, due to some externalities, there has been virtually no economic impact on users. Bergaåsen is a clear case for the value of developing long-term strategies and implementing them in real life.

Purpose: In many cities there are areas that are lower than the surrounding terrain (low-lying areas). In these low-lying areas, there is a great risk that stormwater will accumu-late in the event of heavy rainfall and cause floods and damage to buildings and facili-ties. In this study, a review has been carried out of various theories, methods and appli-cations that can form the basis for a technical solution to solve the problem of flood risk in an urban environment with low-lying areas.

Method: First, a literature study was conducted to, among other things, deepen the knowledge of the subject. Subsequently, four interviews were conducted where the goal was to utilize the knowledge that experts have about which technical solutions are suit-able in an urban environment and what costs different stormwater facilities have. The last step was to carry out a case study where a selected solution was studied with the aim of investigating the suitability of constructing that solution.

Findings: The interviews showed that there are many parameters to take into account when designing and building stormwater facilities that are effective in the event of a downpour. Open solutions such as flood surfaces and ditches / canals were preferred as they were partly more efficient and partly because they were often cheaper to construct. The literature study also gave similar results, but there was greater variation in which solutions were suitable. The case study showed that the proposed solution could swal-low up to 60% of the precipitation in a 30-year rain but in the worst case only 16% of a 100-year rain.

Implications: Judging by the results, the proposed solution was not sufficient to solve the flood problem in the event of a 100-year rain, which was the return time that Växjö municipality has the biggest problem with. To handle the large amount of precipitation, very large magazine volumes or many small solutions are needed in order for an ac-cepted level to be achieved, which the solution that was tested could not achieve. In the interviews, it also emerged that this was often the problem, which is basically due to too little available space and too much hardened surface. The recommendation will be to supplement with several other solutions or to install so-called cassettes under the street to increase storage capacity.

Limitations: The result is limited by the fact that it is site-specific and thus more diffi-cult to apply in other locations. Since interviews have been conducted in several differ-ent municipalities, however, this aspect has diminished somewhat as many different opinions have been noted and presented. The calculations performed were not through a data modelling, which could possibly affect the reliability somewhat, even though according to the literature it was considered to maintain a sufficient level to be able to be used on smaller areas.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose with this thesis is to identify the problems that these two municipalities, Jönköping and Borås, are facing in regard to sustainable development in the water infrastructure area and highlight the different strategies that the municipalities has developed to find solutions to these problems. Two municipalities have been chosen for this analyse, the municipalities of Borås and Jönköping, for the reason that they both have similar population but two different solutions in how the municipality water management is run. The questions that the thesis are built on is:

1)    How do these two municipality work towards a sustainable development in water management?

2)    What are these strategies based on?

3)    How does the checklist for sustainable development been developed and how does it differ between the two municipalities?

Method: The method of finding the answers to these questions is six qualitative interviews with people from both organizations with knowledge of the subject. Literature studies of the theories behind sustainable development in water infrastructure and analysing documents provided by the municipalities in order to scientifically back up the findings from the interviews.

Findings: After analysing the collected data one can see that sustainability is already a part of water management in general but there is some focus areas that the organizations are working on with different tools which is presented in a checklist.

Implications: There are three conclusions that could be made from this thesis, they are about legal requirements, technical development and sustainability index.   

Limitations: This thesis is of limited size and is therefore an overview of these organizations work towards sustainable development. The thesis does not bring up the political aspect and does not do a deeper analysis of the different aspects of water management. 

Keywords: sustainable development, sustainable water management, water management

The construction industry is in great need of digitalization in order toenhance efficiency and conserve resources. To address this need, a system that caneffectively manage information across all stakeholders is necessary. BuildingInformation Modelling (BIM) emerges as a highly promising tool within the industry.However, there are both driving forces and obstacles influencing the adoption of BIMin technical management. This study aims to investigate the utilization of BIM intechnical administration, as well as the obstacles and driving forces impacting itsimplementation. Additionally, the study seeks to identify challenges that can beresolved through the application of BIM.

Idag finns det cirka 750 000 fastigheter i Sverige som har ett enskilt avlopp. 40 % av dessa uppfyller inte miljöbalkens ställda krav och anses därför som bristfälliga. I åtgärdsarbetet krävs därför att de bristfälliga enskilda avloppen ses över och undersöks grundligt för att finna återkommande brister. När bristerna var dokumenterade gavs förslag till förbättring. Syftet med denna rapport var att kartlägga de bristfälliga enskilda avloppen i Jönköping och Gnosjö kommun och att ta fram förslag till förbättringar. Även att kartlägga de lösningar som finns tillgängliga nationellt och internationellt.

Purpose: The purpose of the report is to examine how the municipality's VA- organizationtakesintoaccountandusesthecatchmentarea'sperspectiveatstormwater planning, and to investigate the extent to which the VA-organization has the tools needed to solve the task. The goal is to highlight the challenges that the municipality's VA-organization is experiencing with implementing a watershed-perspective in order to achieve sustainable stormwatermanagement.

Method: The study is conducted as a qualitative case study with abductive approach where the authors move between theory and empiricism. Semistructured qualitative interviewshavebeenconductedwithliteraltranscription,whichtogetherwithliterature studies created coherence and achieve thegoal.

Findings:Theresultsuggeststhatlargermunicipalitiesstudywatershedandimplement stormwater measures in line with the watershed-perspective. Basis such as deluge- mapping or structural-plans are used to locate suitable locations to implement sustainable stormwater measures with maximum benefit for the entire watershed area. Modeling tools facilitate work with sustainable stormwater measures for all municipalities. Sustainable stormwater measures in urban areas is difficult to implement due to lack of space. A challenge that needs to be resolved is the question ofresponsibility,bothintermsofadministrativecooperationinthefieldofstormwater issues, but also cooperation concerning the watershed betweenmunicipalities.

Implications: The results indicate that smaller urban areas are not taken into account inthewholewatershedarea.Thiscanhaveconsequencesdownstreaminthewatershed area. By locating suitable sites and plan for how to implement a stormwater measure, the entire watershed area is favored instead of individual development plan. Issues regarding responsibilities in the watershed area is seen as severe, and there is potential for development in this area. The respondents argue that there is a need for clearer consequencesfornon-compliancewithenvironmentalqualitystandardsforstormwater process.

Limitations:Thestudyislimitedtothreemunicipalities'VA-organizationsinsouthern Sweden.Thisdidnotgivethestudyacomprehensivepictureofthemunicipality'swork withthewatershed-perspective,onlytheVA-organization.Asonlythreemunicipalities were studied, the result cannot be considered generally or valid in other municipalities ' VA-organization. The result did not have any generalconclusions.

Keywords: Stormwater management, sustainable stormwater management, watershed.