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TVE: AS TALLINNA VESI OPERATIONS PERFORMANCE 2010

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Tallinna Vesi                  Company Announcement                   24.01.2011

AS TALLINNA VESI OPERATIONS PERFORMANCE 2010



AS TALLINNA VESI OPERATIONS PERFORMANCE 2010

Water quality in Tallinn was at the all-time highest in 2010, while AS Tallinna
Vesi's overall operating performance during the year was significantly impacted
by the extreme weather conditions throughout the entire year. Overall
performance has improved in all functions, with only a few exceptions in
wastewater treatment, level of leakages and number of sewer blockages. 

Operations Performance                                        2008   2009   2010
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Water                                                                           
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Water compliance at customers premises %                     98,02  99,31  99,59
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Total number of customer interruptions (unplanned)             761    732    355
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Average unplanned interruption time per property hrs          3,88   3,44   4,28
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Number of customer contacts regarding water pressure          1556   1223   1345
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Loss of water in distribution system %                       17,25  16,64  21,39
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Wastewater                                                                      
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Number of sewer blockings                                     1336   1089   1152
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Number of sewer collapses                                      118    117    138
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Share of recycled sludge %                                     100    100    100
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Network Extension Program                                                       
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Network Extension Program completion per annual plan %         100    130    109
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Number of properties given access to public sewerage          1236   1441   1176
network                                                                         
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Water quality at its all time best and will improve even further

99,59 per cent of water samples taken from the taps of the customers of AS
Tallinna Vesi were compliant with the requirements, allowing AS Tallinna Vesi
to reach a near Western European level in water quality. Of the 2913 samples
taken during the year, only 12 water samples failed to meet the requirements
and remedial measures were implemented immediately to resolve the
non-conformities. AS Tallinna Vesi laboratories received altogether 38 000
samples and performed 127 000 analyses during 2010 - additional sampling and
analysis was conducted due to the plane crash in Lake Ülemiste in March. 

To further improve water quality, during 2010, AS Tallinna Vesi conducted a
successful pilot plant study of an ion exchange process. This process will
reduce the organic content of treated water should it be required in the
future. 

Volume of leakages and blockages on the rise due to weather conditions

The unusual weather conditions during the year had a substantial impact on
network performance, as water losses and pipe blockages increased due to the
pipes freezing and bursting in the winter time and pipe blockages in the
summertime due to dry weather. However the Company introduced an action plan in
the second quarter of the year to improve network performance, thus exceeding
the quality regulation requirement of less than 26% of water losses in the
network and keeping leakages at 21,39% and reducing the number of sewer
blockages from the allowed 1955 to 1152. 

There was one water service interruption, where the affected properties were
without water services for longer than 12 hours. Overall the number of
unplanned interruptions was reduced significantly when AS Tallinna Vesi started
to inform its customers about emergency works by calling customers a day before
the water interruption. 

Nitrogen removal at the wastewater treatment plant a challenge

The wastewater treatment plant performance has been good with the exception of
nitrogen concentration discharged into the sea. 

The melting of snow in the springtime and the occasional torrential rainfall
during the summertime saw the flows into the wastewater treatment plant
increase to nearly half a billion litres per day, however the generally dry
summer months resulted in the total nitrogen concentration in the wastewater
entering the treatment plant being high. Even though the treatment plant was
able to outperform regarding the percentage removal of nitrogen, the final
effluent discharged into the sea exceeded 10mg/l. All other parameters complied
with standards demonstrating our commitment to a greener environment. 

To mitigate the increasing nitrogen loads into the wastewater treatment plant,
AS Tallinna Vesi launched the construction of an additional treatment stage at
Paljassaare - the biofilter. The construction is expected to be completed
during 2011 and will be a part of a 12,8 million Euro investment program to
upgrade the wastewater treatment plant. 

The network extension program is complete

Although the late spring and early winter caused some minor delays in the
construction of new pipes in Tallinn during 2010, the Company and its
subcontractors were able to finish all pipe works within the network extension
program in time. Altogether 61,9 kilometres of new pipe were laid in 2010, of
which 40,7 kilometres was sewerage pipes; 6,6 kilometres new water pipes and
14,6 kilometres new stormwater pipes. Over 1 100 properties were given the
opportunity to join the public water and wastewater network, increasing the
overall number of properties given access to the system during 2001-2010 to 6
828 properties. Altogether 326 kilometres of new pipes have been built in
Tallinn as part of the network extension program during 2001-2010. 

Capital investment program saw more investments made than in 2009

AS Tallinna Vesi completed the 2010 capital expenditure program with 16,2
million euros invested into operations during the year. Two major projects
being the biofilter treatment stage in Paljassaare and the network extension
program in Tallinn. 

Structural changes contributed to improved customer service

AS Tallinna Vesi has improved customer service during 2010 by being more
proactive and informing customers of planned activities. As a result, the
Company managed to respond to 82% of written customer contacts within 2 working
days and  reduced the number of complaints. 

Awareness campaigns and events have also contributed to improved customer
communication. AS Tallinna Vesi hosted over 500 people at the open door days in
Ülemiste water treatment plant and Paljasssaare wastewater treatment plant and
also organized several customer information days in network extension program
areas. The environmental aspects of wastewater collection and treatment were
highlighted in the “Ära tee troppi” media campaign and the Tallinn mini-regatta
in Tallinn, which lead to the Company being awarded the title of “Environmental
Player of the Year” in the environmental management category by the Ministry of
Environment. 


         Priit Koff
         Head of Public Relations
         AS Tallinna Vesi
         +372 62 62 209
         [email protected]