The 1st quarter of 2018 saw improvements in several operational indicators, of AS Tallinna Vesi, compared to previous years. Consistently high standards were achieved regarding the parameters reflecting the quality of both drinking water and treated effluent, as well as customer service.
Reliable water service
The quality of drinking water remained excellent in the 1st quarter of 2018. Water samples taken from customers’ taps were 99.87% compliant with all requirements. The professionalism of specialists managing the treatment process at Ülemiste Water Treatment Plant, as well as renewal and maintenance of water network, are instrumental in ensuring high quality water to our customers. We are delighted to see a reduction in the number of customer contacts regarding water quality year on year.
We work tirelessly to provide our customers and end users with a stable and uninterrupted service. Our proactive approach in preventing disruptions, directly reduces the need for customers to contact the company, and therefore reduces the overall number of contacts. We are also pleased to see that the average water disruption time to individual properties, has further reduced from 3 hour 1 minute to 2 hours 52 minutes.
We continue to make targeted capital investments, renovating and replacing assets based on previous condition surveys and performance data, to ensure the continued reliability of the infrastructure. In the 1st quarter of 2018, we reconstructed the water pipes and sewers on Gonsiori and Tondi streets in collaboration with the City of Tallinn. The Company also completed the reconstruction of a sewer on Tartu Road, close to the Airport, as part of our pro-active network replacement programme.
Low level of leakages
Water losses showed a slight increase in the first three months of 2018, compared to the previous year, 15.19% v 13.73%. This is still an excellent result, with the slight decline in performance resulting from the longer winter, which made leakage detection difficult under the continuous blanket of snow. In addition, we have purchased new equipment to facilitate a quicker detection of leakages and we endeavour to keep up with the latest technologies.
We care for the environment
The issues with the sewerage network have reduced, and the number of sewer blockages dropped to 156 during the first three months. However, we are concerned about the growing trend in the volume of domestic waste ending up in the sewerage network, which has reached record amounts in recent years. As waste in sewers can cause serious and unpleasant blockages, or even lead to environmental pollution, AS Tallinna Vesi continues to make efforts to raise public awareness, as to what can be put into the sewer.
In the 1st quarter of 2018, the treated effluent at Paljassaare Wastewater Treatment Plant was compliant with all stipulated quality requirements. With the purpose to assess the treatment efficiency and the quality of wastewater, we monitor pollutants in both the incoming wastewater and treated effluent. Wastewater laboratory analyses the samples taken from different stages of the wastewater treatment process, and the information received thereby allows us to further improve the treatment efficiency and effluent quality.
High service standards
Besides outstanding operational performance, the Company has set itself a strategic objective to provide first-class customer service. We have set clear and challenging targets, and give promises to our customers, in terms of the speed of our response and problem-solving. Should we fail to keep those promises, we proactively pay compensation to the customer. In the 1st quarter, we had only three cases, when we failed to keep our promise.
We strive to make ongoing improvements with respect to customer service. In order to make ourselves available 24/7 in every channel, we recently updated the Company’s external website. In the future, we plan to make our self-service more convenient, and will soon start using text messages for communicating important information.
| Indicator | Unit | 2018 3 months | 2017 3 months |
| Drinking water | |||
| Compliance of water quality at customers’ taps | % | 99.87% | 100.00% |
| Losses in the water distribution network | % | 15.19% | 13.73% |
| Average duration of interruption to water supply per property | h | 2.86 | 3.02 |
| Wastewater | |||
| Sewer blockages | No | 156 | 195 |
| Sewer collapses | No | 25 | 39 |
| Wastewater treatment compliance with environmental standards | % | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Customer Service | |||
| Written complaints | No | 21 | 9 |
| Customer contacts regarding water quality | No | 14 | 24 |
| Customer contacts regarding water pressure | No | 37 | 38 |
| Customer contacts regarding sewer blockages and storm water runoff | No | 250 | 269 |
| Responding to written customer contacts within at least 2 working days | % | 100.00% | 99.93% |
| Failed promises | No | 3 | 3 |
| Notification of unplanned interruptions to water supply at least 1 hour in advance | % | 96.7% | 100.00% |
Eliis Vennik
Head of Communications
Tallinna Vesi
(+372) 626 2275
Eliis.vennik@tvesi.ee