Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2016 (96. évfolyam)
2016 / 3. szám - HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT - Juhász Endre - Major Veronika: Sanitation in Hungary
Endre Juhász & Veronika Major: Sanitation in Hungary 29 NWA. Soon, booth institutes became internationally renowned as well. In VITUKI Dr. Pál Benedek (outstanding leader of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department), later leader of the Water Quality Protection Institute) created the domestic practice of activated sludge treatment process and laid down the theoretical foundations for water quality control. He was co-founder of the International Association on Water Pollution Research and Control (IAWPRC), the present-day International Water Association (1WA), where he was honorary member until end of his life. His successor in VITUKI - László Somlyódy academician - held the position of Chair in the above mentioned international organisation. International reputation of the Institute was demonstrated by the fact that it was commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to conduct major research tasks, and in addition to that researchers arrived from many countries to prepare their PhD thesis in the Institute. In the beginning of the 1970s, the leader of the Institute managed to secure 40 WHO scholarships for researchers, engineers and manufacturers to study the technological devices and novelties of water supply and sewage in the developed countries. The acquired knowledge and experience significantly speeded up the domestic developments. Countless patents and innovations proved how successful this investment was. The new sewage pumps preventing plugging imported and manufactured in cooperation by the Swedish Flygt company significantly improved the sewage sector. The usage of these pumps enabled the existing gravity sewer mains to connect more distant districts in a city that contributed to the practice that for one city or town, there is a single wastewater treatment plant, with the exception of the capital. The new solutions generated new problems. In the long force mains wastewater putrefied and this way the engineers, scientist and operators started to work on solving problems like smell, corrosion and other effects. Until the mid-1980s development of drinking water supply was the priority, but parallel to that the need for improved wastewater treatment became more and more emphatic. In Budapest (population almost 2 M) the sewerage development programme of the Northern industrial zone and residential areas started in the 1970s. The first development stage of the North-Budapest Wastewater Treatment Plant was constructed (amid arguments and political interference) using Soviet plans and designs. Despite numerous technological and mechanical engineering problems, this was a step forward and served as a basis for both quantitative and qualitative development. After the first development stage (1982) two more stages followed and finally 1.035 M PE (200.000 m3/d) capacity was established, that contained biological treatment, removal of nutrients and mesophilic digestion. It was completely self-sufficient regarding heat and could produce 80% of the electricity necessary for operation per annum, utilising the urban organic waste. In the same time, wastewater treatment plant construction started for 10 bigger cities in the country in connection with the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Waterworks programme. The development concept considered the following aspects: i) locations with higher ratio of wastewater collection had priority, ii) the reservoir of the planned hydropower plant must be prevented from receiving untreated wastewater and lastly, iii) protection of water sources (riverbank filtration) of Budapest must be increased. Out of the designated 10 cities, five were located on the upper reaches of the Danube (Győr, Komárom, Esztergom, Tatabánya, Oroszlány). The other five cities that the Programme considered were Miskolc, Debrecen, Pécs, Szolnok and Szeged. The latter two cities located along the Tisza River could not make the first stage of evaluation due to the lack of financial resources. Until the political changes that started in 1989-1990 construction of treatments plants along the Danube was more or less finished. Water supply and sewerage tariffs were set by the National Tariff Authority. Water tariff, as a type of workers allowance, was a political question, and just as the price of the bread it was not allowed to follow inflation. Biggest losses were made by spa corporations, where the price of each sold ticket must have been supplemented with the same amount from water tariffs. Waterworks had no choice but to start with side-business activities (construction, manufacturing pumps, pipes, etc.) to cover their operational costs. The developments forced by the leaders of the sector were financed using financial resources for maintenance and amortisation and this led to a deterioration of the condition of facilities. Because of water tariffs were artificially kept low, excessive water consumption was widespread in the industrial sector and in households too. This affected the capacity of water works and wastewater treatment plants. Hydraulic overload of wastewater treatment plants often reached 20-40%. Between 1945 and 1990 the ratio of population connected to wastewater collection increased from 18% to-42%. Figure 11. North-Pest Wastewater Treatment Plant, III. development stage (1.035 million PE ,200.000 m3/d) (1982-2010) (Photo: FCSM Archive)
