HELSINKI, FINLAND

Central Wastewater Treatment

in Helsinki
Going Underground
The Viikinmaki central wastewater
treatment plant in Helsinki, Finland,
commissioned in the early 1990s,
was the largest underground facility
of its kind. It was also very success-
ful. So much so, that it is currently
being extended with the addition of
some 200,000 cu m of space to
accommodate denitrification filters
and extra treatment lines.
The extension has to be squeezed
into an area with low rock cover that
is close to surface development.
Hence, particular care has to be taken
with drilling and blasting, and with
rock reinforcement.
For the extreme drilling accuracy
required, contractor YIT used a new
Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer XL3 C
with COP 1838HF rock drills. The
faster drilling rate of the high fre-
quency machines combined with the
computer control of the drillrig
resulted in very efficient excavation.
Additionally, some 60,000 m of rock-
Wastewater was pumped from the old Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer XL3 C
bolts were installed using an Atlas
Copco Boltec 435 SH. treatment plants to the new central treat- drilling at Viikinmaki.
ment plant, and nearly 20 km of new sewer
tunnels was built. The treated water is led
Centralization of Treatment out to sea through an outfall tunnel, built in
the mid-1980s, and discharged into the sea
Helsinki’s first wastewater treatment plants through a rock shaft, opening in the sea
were built in the 1910s. New plants were bottom near the island of Katajaluoto,
progressively added to the system as the 8 km from the southern tip of Helsinki.
population grew, until there were eleven
plants in operation by the beginning of the Rock Engineering
1970s. This figure had dropped to eight by
the mid-1980s, however, as the first steps Several factors favoured Viikinmäki as the
towards centralization were taken. ideal location for the new plant. It was
This development coincided with the centrally situated with respect to the older
completion of a feasibility study, which treatment plants. The area was undevel-
examined the possibility of replacing all oped, and it was high enough to allow a
the existing plants with one central treat- single pumping stage from treatment to
ment plant built underground in rock. The outfall, even though it was underground.
goal was to construct a single technically All the wastewater and sludge treatment
and economically efficient plant capable of units are located underground in rock. The
raising treatment efficiency, while also plant’s efficient layout and the excellent
meeting tough environmental restrictions. construction properties of the hard granite
The city council gave the go-ahead for and mica gneiss bedrock also helped to
the project in 1986, and construction of ensure a cost-effective solution. Further-
the Viikinmaki plant started early the more, the rock cover also provides a stable
following year. ambient temperature for the treatment

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 HELSINKI, FINLAND
Location of Viikinmaki wastewater
treatment plant and outfall.
54
plant all year round, despite the adverse
surface conditions during winter.
The rock engineering aspects of the
central treatment plant were unusually
challenging due to the plant’s exception-
ally large size and the widely varying
bedrock conditions. The total tunnel
volume excavated was 1,000,000 cu m.
Rock cover over the plant is zoned for new
housing estates and is at minimum 10 m.
In dipping areas housing is not allowed.
There the halls are very near the rock sur-
face, with a minimum rock cover of only
4 m. These areas are also characterized by
weakness zones which vertically traverse
the rock caverns. The span of the process
halls, 17-19 m, is also exceptionally large
with respect to the various thicknesses of
the rock cover. The halls are separated by
10-12 m-thick pillars.
Rock mechanical dimensioning calcula-
tions were used to ensure the stability of
the caverns. The large scope of the project
also placed a high priority on optimizing
worksite arrangements and logistics, the
distribution of contracts and the disposal of
the excavated rock.
Support and Stability
The excavated caverns were reinforced
with grouted rebar bolts and steel fibre
reinforced shotcrete. About 55,000 bolts of
25 mm diameter were installed to a
typical depth of 4 m, and a total area of
199,000 sq m was shotcreted.
A network of drains was installed under
the shotcrete to channel dripwater to the
treatment process. Similarly, drainage mats
were placed between the rock and the con-
crete walls of the basins, with a layer of
macadam. Water leakage from the entire
treatment plant has been extremely low,
only about 200 lit/min.
Extensive rock mechanical calculations
were performed at the planning stage to
estimate the amount of rock movement, if
any, that excavation would produce. Every
effort was made to ensure the stability of
the rock, and to predict any changes likely
to be caused by excavation.
Several extensometers were used to
measure movements at critical points in
the roof and pillars during excavation and
construction. The loads placed on the
reinforcement structures, and changes to
the stress state of the rock, were also moni-
tored. Precision levelling was also used to
monitor movements in the rock surface
above ground. The calculated and mea-
sured results corresponded closely with
each other. Rock movements continue to
be monitored regularly.
Design of Extension
For nearly half a decade, the treatment
plant served mainly to reduce BOD and
phosphorus from waste water. In 1997,
extra equipment was installed to facilitate
50% nitrogen removal.
Initially, the total population to be
served was 750,000 inhabitants. Since
original commissioning in 1993, the popu-
lation in the area has increased by some
10,000, while the treatment requirements
have become stricter.
Helsinki Water is undertaking an ongo-
ing project to extend the treatment process
to meet the stricter requirements, especial-
ly regarding nitrogen, which has to be
reduced by 70%. The required 200,000 cu m
extension to the Viikinmaki plant will
house de-nitrification filters and additional
treatment lines.
The treatment process used is a typical
activated sludge process. Wastewater
organics are degraded by digesting sludge
first in four digesters, and then combusting
the digester gas to generate heat and elec-
tricity. The energy thus recovered adds up
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 HELSINKI, FINLAND

to roughly 50% of the total electricity con-

sumption and 100% of the heat require-
ment of the entire plant.
The main designer and process designer
was Plancenter Ltd.
Lack of available space necessitated the
filling of old access tunnels with concrete,
and using rock masses as close as possible
to the margins of the hill. The existing
plant employs gravity discharge, and so the
new facilities had to take account of its
elevation. Helsinki City Geotechnical
Division was the tunnelling designer, with
engineering firm Rockplan Ltd as subcon-
sultant.
The two new treatment lines are parallel
with the old existing ones. The filter
cavern and related facility cavern are
transversely positioned, at the ends of the
sewage treatment lines.

Excavation
Rock Mechanics Technology Ltd was
selected to measure and calculate the rock
stress using an overcoring technique. Rock
sample drilling, measure-while-drilling
(MWD), TV imaging, seismic sounding,
and radar were also employed. Propagation
of blasting vibration was studied using test
blasts. The two principal stresses were
found to be horizontal, with magnitudes of
8 MPa and 3 MPa. The third principal stress
is vertical, and its magnitude is 1 MPa. All
principal stresses are compressive.
Systematic monitoring of the movements
of the rock mass, and the rock quality, are
being carried out by Suomen Malmi Excavation to house one of the Viiki
(SMOY) and Geotek Oy, while ground- denitrification chambers.
water level monitoring is the responsibility
of Helsinki City Geotechnical Division.
Residential houses, a school and streets
are being built simultaneously with the
construction of the sewage plant, imposing
limitations on underground blasting and
support work. Building is only allowed
where the rock cover exceeds 10 m.
The excavation contractor for the
200,000 cu m extension was YIT
Construction Ltd. Their contract com-
menced in May, 2000 and was completed
in January, 2002, and was valued at Section of the Viikinmaki plant.

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 HELSINKI, FINLAND
Isometric plan of the Viikinmaki
wastewater treatment plant.
56
€5.6 million. Because of proximity to the
operating sewage plant, flexible airtight
blasting barriers of wooden beams secured
by steel cables were installed. Initially,
these were found to be too flexible, and
had to be braced with profile steel.
Computer Based Drilling
YIT employed an Atlas Copco Rocket
Boomer XL3 C with ABC Total to drill
some 250,000 m of blastholes. This is a
fully-computerized hydraulic tunnelling rig
with high reaching Eagle console for huge
cross sections up to 179 sq m, and ideally
suited to conditions at Viikinmaki. It is
fitted with Atlas Copco’s innovative Rig
Control System (RCS) with interactive
operator control panel with full-colour dis-
play of the computer-based drilling
system, which includes auto-collaring and
anti-jamming protection.
A major feature of this drillrig was that it
was one of the first to be equipped with the
HF version of Atlas Copco’s successful
COP 1838 rock drill. The COP 1838HF has
a higher impact rate than the popular ME
version, delivering more frequent blows at
almost the same impact energy. The result is
up to 20% faster drilling in the 43-51 mm
hole range.
The long, slender piston of the COP
1838 series permits high impact energy to
be utilized, while considerably increasing
the service life of the drill steel. A
hydraulic double-dampening system absorbs
and dissipates the shockwaves from the
rock, while establishing the best possible
contact for the drillbit. The reversible
rotation motor gives high torque, and rota-
tion speed is easily adjustable to match
changing rock conditions. The low profile
of the rock drill permits close drilling to
the sidewall, with only 2 degrees of look-
out angle. Nitrogen charged accumulators
reduce vibrations and wear on hydraulic
components.
Between July and September, 2001, the
Rocket Boomer XL3 C drilled 42,500 m in
203 percussion hours, an average penetra-
tion rate of 140 m/percussion hour.
Rock Reinforcement
An Atlas Copco Boltec 435 SH was used for
drilling and installation of some 60,000 m of
grouted steel rockbolts. YIT also placed
some 6,500 cu m of shotcrete and conducted
cement grouting where necessary. Some
disused sewage tunnels and access adits
were filled with 4,200 cu m of concrete to
rehabilitate the rock area for reuse.
All excavated rock has been crushed
and used in earth construction, where it
replaces natural gravel. Initially, the crush-
ing was carried out on the surface, but as
soon as there was space enough under-
ground, the crushing operations were
moved into a tunnel. Some 500,000 t of
rock was crushed underground using a
mobile crusher. The crusher capacity of
2,000 t/day over two shifts limited the rate
of rock excavation, despite optimum work-
site arrangements.
The bedrock is mostly hard and crys-
talline, but the extension site is crossed by
a fractured zone, affecting three of the tun-
nels, which have a span of 17 m and a roof
thickness of only 2-3 m. Here, rockbolting
of roofs and walls was carried out in fans
from two directions, while the excavation
advanced in small increments.
The excavation was completed in early
2002. The filter cavern will be commis-
sioned in late 2003, and the additional
treatment line in late 2004. ■
Acknowledgements
The editor is grateful to Janne Lehto and
Veikko Koponen of YIT Construction Ltd
for their inputs and assistance with revision
of this article.
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