Changes to „Osnum“

No doubt many residents of Hafnarfjörður will have noticed that since June, the emergency outfalls of Hafnarfjörður Sewerage at Vesturgata and Óseyrarbraut have been open. This means that untreated sewage has been flowing into the sea at two locations, a short distance from the shore, amidst the local birdlife. 

For the past six years, all sewage from Hafnarfjörður has been pumped to the treatment and outfall pumping station in Hraunavík, so the past few weeks have been a regression to a past that, in this context, would be best forgotten.

It proved necessary to modify the distribution structure known as the Inlet, so that the sewage overfall there would be eliminated once and for all. A control valve at the bottom of the tank was inoperative, and there was a more or less constant flow over the overflow into the sea.

The entire project has proven to be very demanding and the cleaning of the tank took considerably longer than planned. Furthermore, the recycling of pipes and fittings from the structure has been more complex and difficult than anticipated, as it proved necessary to remove all iron components from the tank's infrastructure.

Within two weeks, it is expected that sewage can be routed south to Hraunavík again, at which point the emergency bypasses can be closed once more. Sewage is an unavoidable part of community life, but once these works are complete, all of the town's sewage will go the right way, south to Hraunavík and through the intended treatment process.