1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Helsinki / Helsingfors
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Maunulanpuiston biosuodatusalue
Short description of the intervention
As part of the EU Life+ CITYWATER project (of 3 cities), a sustainable stormwater management solution based on biofiltration was implemented in Maunulanpuisto Park in Helsinki, in order to purify rainwater and meltwater and improve water quality in the Haaganpuro Brook.
As the drainage area is heavily trafficked and paved with asphalt, high solid, nutrient and oil levels have occasionally been measured in the rainwater and meltwater entering the Haaganpuro brook. Such contamination is harmful to the fish stocks (e.g. trout) and other organisms in the brook. The biofiltration solution was the first of its kind in Helsinki. The solution also supported the City of Helsinki stormwater strategy, which aims at changing management towards sustainable solutions and states that stormwater should in first hand be infiltrated on spot, where it is created (ref. 1).
Address

Metsäpurontie 14,Helsinki
00630 Helsinki
Finland

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
700.00m²
NBS area
700.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Public Greenspace Area
Website of the intervention
http://www.itamerihaaste.net/en/frontpage_(vanha)/bank_of_actions/sustainable_s…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2011
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2012
End date of the intervention
2015
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. CITYWATER aimed at improving the quality of local water that streams into the Haaganpuro Brook
2. The project also aimed at raising awareness about the problems of the Baltic Sea on a local level (Ref 1, 2, 3).
Quantitative targets
1. Creating a 700 m2 biofiltration basin (Ref 2), 2. For CITYWATER as a whole: to reach 30 new actors to accept the Baltic Sea Challenge (Ref 3).
Monitoring indicators defined
- concentration of mineral oils, heavy metals, nutrients (especially nitrogen) and high levels of suspended solids (Ref. 3)

Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Improvements to water quality
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
Implementation activities
- Create a biofiltration area where the water is pooled and vegetation given the time to bind nutrients and heavy metals. From here the water slowly permeates the filtrating sandy layers under the vegetation where harmful substances are absorbed, after which the purified water is fed into the Haaganpuro Brook (Ref 2).
- Water quality improvement through sedimentation of suspended particles and microbiological activity and quantity control through retention (Ref. 3)
Type of NBS project
Maintenance and management of urban nature
Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas
Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Blue infrastructure
Lakes/ponds
Green areas for water management
Sustainable urban drainage systems
Please specify "other green areas for water management"
Biofiltration (Ref 1)
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Medium / High: sustainable urban drainage systems which include water storage and diverts water flooding
Vegetation Type
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Flood regulation
Water purification / filtration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Please specify other local relevant strategy
water regulation, specifically storm water regulation: The City of Helsinki strategy on storm water runoff 2008 -2017 (ref 11)
environmental plan, specifically climate change plan: Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (Ref 10)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Government-led
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
CITYWATER was a project of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, but executed in close collaboration with the Baltic Sea Challenge network that extends beyond the Finnish border. The project was co-funded via the EU LIFE+ programme (ref 9).
Funding provided by the LIFE+ Programme and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. This solution was implemented in the framework of “CITYWATER- Benchmarking water protection in cities” project. The contract considering planning of the biofiltration technique was signed by the city of Helsinki with the Finnish Consulting Group (ref. 12)
Key actors - initiating organization
National government
Multilateral organisation
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
National government
Local government/municipality
EU body
Multilateral organisation
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Yes
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
The CITYWATER project particularly considers 1. the Water Framework Directive, 2. the Marine Strategy Directive, 3. the EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy, and 4. the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (Ref 3). It is not specified which specific directive/strategy influenced which specific project.
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
EU Life+ that also funded the CITYWATER project also funded the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy that was published in 2012 (the same year as this intervention started) and emphasizes the importance of water management, especially in the face of intensified rainfall (Ref 10).
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Mandatory (based on policy)
Intervention is mandatory
Spatial planning guidance
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The City of Helsinki strategy on storm water runoff 2008 -2017 (ref 11)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
The City of Helsinki strategy on storm water runoff 2008 -2017 (ref 11)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Water regulation strategy
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
Please specify other vegetation type
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
"The Baltic Sea Challenge" network (Ref 2)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The CITYWATER project was funded by the European Commission Life+ programme (Ref 2).
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
The exact costs for the intervention in Helsinki are not specified, but the total budget for the CITYWATER project across all 3 cities is 1.158.515 Euros (Ref 3).
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
The CITYWATER project was funded by the European Commission Life+ programme (Ref 2), and also by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and by the City of Helsinki (among others).
Construction cost 220 000€ in case of Helsinki (ref. 12)
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Public national budget
EU funds
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Risk reduction model
Urban offsetting model (biodiversity or water)
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Type of innovation
Technological
Process innovation
Infrastructural innovation
Please specify technological innovation
Use of green infrastructure to improve water quality (Ref 2, 3, 4) Create a biofiltration area where the water is pooled and vegetation given the time to bind nutrients and heavy metals. From here the water slowly permeates the filtating sandy layers under the vegetation where harmful substances are absorbed, after which the purified water is fed into the Haaganpuro Brook (Ref 2).
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The intervention is referred to as "the first of its kind in Helsinki" (Ref 1, 3)
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
"When involving actors in different Baltic Sea countries, it has been noticed that templates for actions are not directly transferable among countries, due to differences in e.g. public attitudes, use of the sea and administrative culture. It can be adjusted to the national/local contexts. The storm water solutions are as such directly best practice lessons to be copied and developed in new projects, which also is done for the moment." (Ref 3, p. 56)
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Improved stormwater management
Description of environmental benefits
Water quality has been improved through sedimentation of suspended particles and microbiological activity and quantity control through retention. Quantity control through retention, consumes less area than a wetland (ref. 5) It has been proved that the biofiltration area of 700 m2 filters out heavy metals (Ref 1).
Biofiltration area was created in Maunulanpuisto Park in Helsinki, in order to purify rainwater and meltwater and improve water quality in the Haaganpuro brook, where salmon is breeding (ref. 12)
Economic impacts
Attraction of business and investment
Description of economic benefits
Maunulanpuisto Park (as well as nearby areas) was expected to bring added value due to the opportunities of marketing the importance of stormwater management and financing potential by the EU LIFE+ programme to people crossing the site (ref. 3).
Social and cultural impacts
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Concentrations of mineral oils, heavy metals, nutrients (especially nitrogen) and high levels of suspended solids (ref. 3)
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Water management (SDG 6)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of July 2020
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Conduct a baseline survey before and after NBS implementation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
GIS data analysis
Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=hom…
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=home…
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Cost-benefit analysis was used to get more stakeholders on board before the project implementation itself (Ref 3, 8). It is stated that "the impact of the storm water solutions and technics used will be monitored by partner organizations after the project has ended" (Ref 3, p. 54)
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
Yes
Link to GIS monitoring data
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=hom…
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref 1: The Baltic Sea Challenge. (n.d.). Sustainable storm water management thr…
Ref 2: European Commission. (n.d.). Citywater: Benchmarking waters protenction …
Ref 3:European Commission. (2016). LIFE 11 ENV/FI/000909 FINAL Report Covering …
Ref 4: Citywater. (n.d.). Storm water handling.
Ref 5: City of Helsinki Environment Centre. (2015). Citywater - biofiltration i…
Ref 6: The Baltic Sea Challenge. (n.d.). Implementing sustainable storm water s…
Ref 7: Citywater. (n.d.). Disseminating results.
Ref 8: Citywater. (n.d). Cost-benefit analysis.
Ref 9: Citywater. (n.d.). Citywater.
Ref 10: HSA. (2012). Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strat…
Ref 11: City of Helsinki. (2014). Storm water strategy City of Helsinki.
List of references
1: The Baltic Sea Challenge. n.d. Sustainable storm water management through biofiltration. Available at: http://www.itamerihaaste.net/en/frontpage_(vanha)/bank_of_actions/sustainable_storm_water_management_through_biofiltration.581.xhtml (Accessed 22 July 2020)
2: European Commission. 2016. Citywater: Benchmarking waters protection in cities 2012-2015. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showFile&rep=file&fil=LIFE11_ENV_FI_000909_LAYMAN.pdf (Accessed 22 July 2020)
3: European Commission. 2016. LIFE 11 ENV/FI/000909 FINAL Report Covering the project activities from 01/10/2012 to 31/12/2015. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showFile&rep=file&fil=LIFE11_ENV_FI_000909_FTR.pdf (Accessed 22 July 2020)
4: Citywater. n.d. Storm water handling. Available at: http://www.citywater.fi/actions/implementation/ (Accessed 22 July 2020)
5: City of Helsinki Environment Centre. 2015. Citywater - biofiltration in the central park in Helsinki. Available at: http://www.citywater.fi/files/2015/05/3-Kajsa-Rosqvist.pdf (Accessed 22 July 2020)
6: The Baltic Sea Challenge. n.d. Implementing sustainable storm water solutions. Available at: http://www.waterprotectiontools.net/index.php/en/decision-making-implementation/storm-water-solutions/?view_action=44#view_action (Accessed 22 July 2020)
7: Citywater. n.d. Disseminating results. Available at: http://www.citywater.fi/actions/disseminating-results/ (Accessed 22 July 2020)
8: Citywater. n.d. Cost-benefit analysis. Available at: http://www.citywater.fi/actions/cost-benefit-analysis/ (Accessed 22 July 2020)
9: Citywater. n.d. Citywater. Available at: http://www.citywater.fi/about/citywater/ (Accessed 22 July 2020)
10: HSA. 2012. Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. Available at: http://ilmastotyokalut.fi/files/2014/10/11_2012_Helsinki_Metropolitan_Area_Climate_Change_Adaptation_Strategy.pdf (Accessed 22 July 2020)
11: City of Helsinki. 2014. Storm water strategy City of Helsinki. Available at: http://www.citywater.fi/files/2014/12/StormWaterStrategy_Helsinki_11122014_kuisma.pdf (Accessed 22 July 2020)
12. Baltic Smart Water. (2017). Biofiltration in Maunulanpuisto Park in Helsinki, Finland. Available at: https://www.balticwaterhub.net/solutions/biofiltration-helsinki (Accessed 22 July 2020)
Comments and notes
Additional insights
2017 comments:
4/costs: The exact costs for the intervention in Helsinki are not specified, but the total budget for the CITYWATER project across all 3 cities is 1.158.515 Euros (Ref 3).
6/Indicators and specification of impacts: The impacts described are for the CITYWATER project as a whole rather than the specific case of Helsinki. The impacts described is the number new actors accespting the Baltic Sea Challenge (30) (Ref 3).
6/It is stated that "the impact of the storm water solutions and technics used will be monitored by partner organizations after the project has ended" (Ref 3, p. 54), however I cannot find these monitoring reports. Hence, I have indicated that there is a fomal monitoring system in place, but that I do not know what indicators they use specifically.
6/Impact assessment: The documentation indicates that cost-benefit analyses have been conducted for the solutions in collaboration with various stakeholders (Ref 3). However, I cannot find more specific information on this.

2020 comments:
LIFE+ CITYWATERCITYWATER –Benchmarking water protection in cities which this project was part of has raised much awareness on the impacts on the Baltic Sea and has reached out to hundreds of people (Ref. 3). However, no social or economic benefits were reported for this exact project in particular other than those reported in section 6.

- Firstly, the stormwater collected from this area were known to be contaminated by mineral oils, heavy metals, nutrients (especially nitrogen) and high levels of suspended solids, thus the need for purification was obvious. Secondly, the transportation centre area was to be changed into a residential and office building area, thus causing even more heavily impacted storm waters during the constructing phase. Thirdly, a purification and retaining storm water solution had not earlier been built in the immediate centre of the city where, ironically though, the need and challenges for innovative storm water management were the highest thus enabling the development of pilot solutions. Fourthly, the location of the solution in the recreationally highly appreciated Maunulanpuisto Park (as well as close to the future residential area), would bring added value due to the opportunities of marketing the importance of storm water management and financing potential by the EU LIFE+ programme to people crossing the site (ref. 3).
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/Biofiltration%20at%20Maunulanpuisto%20Park.jpg
Public Images
Biofiltration at Maunulanpuisto Park
Biofiltration at Maunulanpuisto Park
Biofiltration at Maunulanpuisto Park
Sedimentation and Biofiltration Area (2016)
Sedimentation and Biofiltration Area (2016)
Photographer: Kajsa Rosqvist (City of Helsinki/CITYWATER project), retrieved 08/15/2018