Arctic collaboration to improve the management of polluted meltwater

The cross-border Interreg Aurora project, Arctic Melt Solutions, aims to strengthen municipalities’ management of polluted meltwater.

When snow collected from urban areas melts, metals, PFAS, nutrients and other pollutants can be transported into lakes, rivers and other receiving waters. This challenge is intensified by increasingly variable winter weather, which affects snowmelt processes across northern Scandinavia.

Sampling, analyses and pilot studies will be coordinated in collaboration with project partners in Finland and Norway. The Urban Water Engineering research group at Luleå University of Technology will contribute by mapping snow quality at approximately 30 snow disposal sites in northern Sweden, Norway and Finland, with a particular focus on contaminants of emerging concern. The project also plans to evaluate two nature-based treatment facilities in Umeå.

The results will be translated into practical guidance to help municipalities and contractors develop safer and more sustainable approaches to managing snow and meltwater.

The project is funded by Interreg Aurora, with co-funding from Region Norrbotten.