Water catchment system
We draw most of the water we need to produce drinking water from Lake Ülemiste. To secure our water supplies, we have also built a water catchment system that includes the Paunküla and Soodla reservoirs.
Environment and responsibility
We care about the entire water cycle
We are the largest water utility in Estonia, keeping the daily lives of a third of the population fresh – we bring clean drinking water to your table and return properly treated water back to nature.
It's important to us that the freshness around you lasts into the future. That is why we use water and energy sparingly to minimise our environmental footprint.
We are the Sustainable Company of the Year for 2025. This proves that our actions have an impact, and that we are on the right track.
The journey of water at Tallinna Vesi
We borrow from nature and return as clean.
Drinking water production
We produce 90% of Tallinn’s drinking water at the Ülemiste Water Treatment Plant, where we treat more than 26 million cubic metres of water each year.
Groundwater use
About 10% of Tallinners get their drinking water from groundwater wells. We also treat the groundwater to ensure it is always clean and fresh.
Pumping stations
Water and groundwater pumping stations help to supply water through pipes to homes and businesses and ensure sufficient water pressure. Wastewater pumping stations help to transport all wastewater to the Paljassaare Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Pipes
Clean drinking water is supplied to homes through more than 1,200 kilometres of water pipes that run underneath Tallinn. Once used, wastewater is transported to the Paljassaare Wastewater Treatment Plant through a public sewerage system, that includes almost 1,200 kilometres of sewer pipes.
Stormwater
In Tallinn, both combined and separate sewer systems are used to drain stormwater. In a combined sewer system, both stormwater and wastewater are transported to the wastewater treatment plant, where we thoroughly treat them before returning into the sea. In a separate sewer system, stormwater is returned directly into the sea.
Wastewater treatment
At our wastewater treatment plant, we treat about 40% of the municipal wastewater collected in Estonia with the utmost care and even higher efficiency than the standards require to keep our Baltic Sea clean.
Electricity from wastewater
The combined heat and power plant at Paljassaare uses biogas generated during the wastewater treatment process to produce all the heat and half of the electricity needed at the treatment plant.
Clean Baltic Sea
We are working hard to improve the water status of the Baltic Sea, which is particularly vulnerable to human impact. As a result, the treated effluent parameters outperform the limit values required by law by almost twice.
Our environmental footprint
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amount of wastewater treated per year- Our environmentally sustainable actions have made us stand out and in 2025 we received the Sustainable Company of the Year title.
- We are constantly working to reduce our customers' environmental footprint.
Environmental aspects and targets
Our business has a direct impact on the environment around us. This is something we are aware of every day. That is why we have identified the areas where our operations can have the biggest impact on nature. We set ourselves clear environmental targets based on these areas and regularly monitor our progress towards these targets to minimise our footprint.
Sustainability
Clean drinking water and proper wastewater treatment not only affect the daily lives of people in Tallinn and the neighbouring municipalities, but also the quality of life in the entire Baltic Sea region. That is why we take it into account in our management and in our day-to-day operations.
Social and governance information
Minimising our environmental impact is important to us, but we also care about the working environment and safety of our employees and partners, the quality of the services we provide and our contribution to the community. In addition, we maintain a high quality of management by implementing a range of management systems and adhering to high standards of business ethics.
Principles on sustainability
Our principles on sustainability provide clear direction: what values we uphold and how we make decisions based on them. In this way, we can ensure that the water we protect today remains a source of vitality and freshness also for generations to come.
The climate is changing. We act.
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of stormwater pipes- We contribute to mitigating climate change by producing heat and electricity from biogas generated during wastewater treatment at the Paljassaare combined heat and power plant.
- The changing climate affects our business, in particular through intense droughts and rainfall.
Carbon footprint
For the first time, we calculated our carbon footprint in 2020. Since 2022, we are doing it every year.
For the calculation of the carbon footprint, we use the internationally recognised and most widely used greenhouse gases reporting standard "GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard". Read about our carbon footprint in the Environmental Report.
Climate Impact Reduction Plan
We have set targets to reduce the climate impact of our business.
- Our company is carbon neutral by 2040 at the latest.
- By 2030, we have reduced our GHG emissions from scopes 1 and 2 by at least 50% compared to 2020.
- We only use electricity from renewable sources and have replaced natural gas with heat from renewable sources by 2030.
- We produce at least 50% of all the electricity and heat we need ourselves by 2030 at the latest.
- We have reduced our heat and electricity consumption by at least 10% by 2030 compared to 2020.
We invest in a sustainable tomorrow
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supported with water tanks during the year- Tap water is an eco-friendly choice. Fresh drinking water is available from public taps across the capital throughout the summer season.
- We also support sports and community events, by providing public events with free water tanks.
- For example, we provided the participants of the Song and Dance Celebration with fresh tap water, thereby preventing the production of tens of thousands of plastic bottles.
- We gain and share environmental knowledge by actively participating in the Green Tiger initiative.
