Water services and sewerage

96 per cent or about 116 500 inhabitants of the entire city are covered by centralised water services and distribution in Kuopio. Approximately 8 per cent of this population lives in sparsely populated areas. The centralised sewer network, on the other hand, covers for approximately 86 per cent of all residents of the city. The rest of the properties located in the city area are covered on their own well or lake water, and wastewater treatment is handled on a property-by-property basis.  

The water supply and distribution is the responsibility of Kuopion Vesi Oy and 46 water companies, water cooperatives, or groups of which 41 have an operating area in accordance with the Water Services Act. Domestic water is supplied to the central city area of Kuopio from Kuopion Vesi Oy’s water treatment plant in Itkonniemi, where water is procured from the Jänneniemi and Hietasalo water intakes. Kuopion Vesi Oy also maintains groundwater abstraction plants in Melalahti, Vehmersalmi, Karttula, Nilsiä, Maaninka and Juankoski as well as in Siilinjärvi. Kuopion Vesi Oy sells domestic water to some water cooperatives. Some cooperatives buy domestic water from elsewhere, and 12 cooperatives have their own groundwater intake plants to maintain.  

Provisions on the monitoring of household water are contained in Ministry of Social Affairs and Health decrees (1352/2015) or (401/2001). The decree to be applied depends on the size of the water utility. Water used by a food sector company or distributed as part of public or commercial activities is also within the scope of these decrees. Utilities that supply at minimum 10 m3 of water, or for the needs of at minimum 50 persons, must prepare a plant-specific testing programme for regular control. 

Regular supervision of utilities that supply household water takes place following the Environmental Health Services’ supervision plan. On inspections of utilities, attention is focused on the control programme and its implementation, assessment of water sample test results, the personnel’s hygiene competence related to household water, status of pumping stations and their surroundings, preparedness for special situations, monitoring of use at the utility, cleanliness and condition of utilities, and the use and storage of chemicals. 

In cases where household water becomes contaminated, the Environmental Health Services take command of the situation and issue instructions and orders for preventing or avoiding health harms. 

In ordinary questions related to the quality of tap water – colour, smell, taste and similar – consumers should primarily contact the utility supplying the water. The utility also takes command of the situation involving a disruption in water treatment or distribution. 

As a rule, the quality of domestic water in the Kuopio region meets the quality requirements and recommendations laid down in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Decrees (1352/2015) and (401/2001). For more detailed information on water quality in the network, contact your local water utility.  

Wastewater from the central urban area is purified at the Kuopion Vesi Oy’s wastewater treatment plant in Lehtoniemi. Kuopion Vesi Oy also has local wastewater treatment plants in Melalahti, Kurkimäki, Vehmersalmi, Karttula and Nilsiä. Wastewater from the Maaninka and Pajulahti areas is treated at the Siilinjärvi treatment plant, and wastewater from the Juankoski area is treated at the Koillis-Savon ympäristöhuolto Oy’s joint wastewater treatment plant. In Kuopio, 16 water cooperatives are also responsible for directing wastewater to treatment plants in their areas of operation.  

For more information on matters related to the connection of water services, other matters related to daily water services and, for example, disruptions in water services, visit the website of https://www.kuopionvesi.fi/Kuopion Vesi Oy, the website of each water cooperative or reach out to their contact person in sparsely populated areas (pdf, in Finnish). 

The majority of properties located in Kuopio are located in the operating area of the water services or sewer network of Kuopion Vesi Oy or some other water utility. As a rule, properties located in the operating areas of water utilities, must be connected to the water service network (section 10 of the Water Services Act). The operating areas in Kuopio are approved by the City Board. The map service can be used to check whether the property is located in the operating area of a water service. In order to connect to services, the property owner must contact the water utility in their area.   

Each water utility has its own connection fees and rates. Due to the differences in the rate structure, the fees of water utilities are not directly comparable.  

An exemption from the obligation to connect may be granted if the criteria laid down in section 11 of the Water Services Act are met. The exemption is applied for in writing from the environmental protection authority of the City of Kuopio. The application can be submitted in free form or using a form prepared by environmental protection services.  

Outside the operating area, the property owner or holder is responsible for the water services of their property (section 6 of the Water Services Act).  

Learn more  

• Preparation of application decisions Niklas Holopainen, Environmental Auditor, tel. +358 44 718 2182 
• Environmental Health Inspector Jyrki Hänninen, +358 44 718 2284 (domestic water only) 

Links 

• Kuopion Vesi Oy 

• Act amending the Water Services Act (681/2014) 
• Water Services Act (119/2001) (in Finnish)  
• Water Services Act Guide (pdf, in Finnish) 
• Contact details of water services (pdf, in Finnish) 

• Survey on the need for water and sewage drainage 
• Exemption from the obligation to join the water main and sewer 
• Instructions on the applicant’s obligation to join 

• Alaranta-Ala-Siikajärvi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 

• Elinkeinoyhtymä Vanuvuori water services (Kuopio) 
• Etelä-Kuopion vesiosuuskunta (Kuopio) 
• Haminalahti Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 
• Haminamäki Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 
• Hiidenniemi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 

• Hirvilahti-Lamperila-Niemisjärvi Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 
• Hirvisaari Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Hämälänsaari Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Irvi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Jokilahti Water Cooperative (Maaninka) 

• Jännevirta Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 
• Kangaslahti Water Cooperative (Nilsiä) 
• Karttula Water Cooperative (Karttula, Vehmersalmi, Jännevirta) 
• Kotakylä Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Kotasalmi Water Cooperative (Riistavesi) 

• Kuopion Pellesmäen Vesihuolto Oy (Kuopio) 
• Kuopion Vesi Oy (rural communities of Kuopio, Juankoski, Karttula, Nilsiä, Vehmersalmi and Maaninka) 
• Käärmelahti Water Cooperative Vesikko (Maaninka) 
• Leppäranta Water Cooperative (Riistavesi) 
• Leväniemi Water Cooperative (Nilsiä) 

• Lievontie Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 
• Losomäki-Mäntyjärvi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Lukkarila area Water Cooperative (Nilsiä) 
• Leppälahti Water Cooperative in Maaninka (Maaninka) 
• Melaniemi Water Cooperative (Riistavesi) 

• Nousionmäki-Pelonniemi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Pajujärvi Water Cooperative (Maaninka) 
• Pieksänkoski Water Cooperative (Nilsiä) 
• Pohjois-Hamula Water Cooperative (Maaninka) 
• Pohjois-Soisalo Water Cooperative (Vehmersalmi) 

• Northern Tuusniemi Water Cooperative (Juankoski, Vehmersalmi) 
• Puutossalmi Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 
• Pöljä Water Cooperative  (Nilsiä) 
• Pölönmäki Water Cooperative (Maaninka) 
• Ranta-Toivala – Uuhimäki Water Cooperative (Kuopio) 

• Riistavesi Village Water Cooperative (Riistavesi) 
• Ryönä Water Cooperative (Riistavesi) 
• Selkälänniemen Vesihuoltoyhtymä (Juankoski) 
• Sorvalampi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Tiirinniemen Vesihuolto Oy (Nilsiä) 

• Valkeiskylä Water Cooperative (Nilsiä) 
• Vesiosuuskunta Vellikangas (Juankoski, Nilsiä) 
• Viitaniemi Water Cooperative (Juankoski) 
• Vuotjärvi Water Cooperative (Juankoski, Nilsiä) 

There are still areas between the operating areas of water utilities where the water supply network has not been built. In these areas, the water supply of properties depends on their own wells. If the property owners of the area are interested in joining the water supply network, they must contact municipal engineering planning to determine whether it is possible to expand the network. 

• Survey form (pdf, in Finnish) 

Under the Water Services Act, the municipality is responsible for the general development of water services in its area. Development refers to monitoring the need for and availability of water services, setting targets for improving services, and general planning of the necessary measures in the entire municipality.  

The City of Kuopio prepares and keeps up-to-date the water services development plan for its area in cooperation with the water utilities in its area. The objective of the water service development plan is to secure good water services for the municipalities, services that have been produced in an environmentally sustainable way and at reasonable costs. From the point of view of the residents, the water service development plan provides guidance on whether there is an opportunity to join the water service network in the future and on what schedule possibly.   

The latest water service development plan for the City of Kuopio until 2020 was approved by the City Council in 2013. The development of the water services in the municipal merger areas (Nilsiä, Maaninka and Juankoski) is in accordance with the principles adopted by the City of Kuopio in 2013. The City of Kuopio’s water service development plan is being updated in cooperation with the municipality of Siilinjärvi.  

• Water service development plan for the City of Kuopio until 2020 (pdf, in Finnish) 
• Summary of the water service development plan until 2020 (pdf, in Finnish) 
• Appendix 1.Map of the current situation (pdf) 
• Appendix 2.Development site map (pdf) 
• Appendix 3.Table of development measures for water services in Kuopio for 2012–2020 (pdf, in Finnish) 

• Appendix 4.Urgency of sewerage (pdf, in Finnish)