Frequently asked questions on domestic water issues

If you have questions concerning drinking water or some other household water matter, we are happy to help. Below, you can find the answers to most frequently asked questions.

Drinking water

Is drinking water hard or soft water?

The lime content of water is low, which means that it is soft. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, the hardness of water varies between 2.7 and 4.5 °dH, depending on the water treatment plant.

When water is soft, less detergent is needed than with hard water. Therefore, you should measure out the detergent based on the instructions for soft water. What is the pH of drinking water? The basicity of water, i.e. pH, is around 8.3. This means that water is a slightly alkaline liquid. Neutral pH is 7.0. How much fluoride there is in drinking water? No fluoride is added to drinking water in the HSY’s region. Drinking water processed from surface water includes at most 0.1 mg/l of fluoride – not enough to help with taking care of your teeth. According to the Household Water Decree, the largest allowed content of fluoride in drinking water is 1.5 mg/l.

Why is chlorine added to water?

The water treatment plants add bound chlorine to water in order to maintain water’s high micro-biological quality in the water pipe network. Approximately 0.35-0.5 mg/l of chlorine is added to tap water. Chlorine is used up in the water pipe network and its concentration decreases gradually. Chlorine is preserved better in cold than warm water. This is why the concentration of chlorine is often larger in winter than in summer. The amount of total chlorine in the tap water of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is usually around 0.03-0.5 mg/l.

Why is drinking water sometimes greyish and cloudy?

Greyish colour or milky cloudiness in water is air, which erupts from slightly warm water as small bubbles. The water will clear from bottom upwards in a few minutes, if left standing. This phenomenon is natural and harmless. It almost always occurs in hot water.

Where are well and lake water samples examined?

Well and lake water samples by private persons are examined in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area by the shared laboratory of the region’s cities, Metropolilab, tel. +358(0)10 391 350. Opening hours from Mon to Fri between 8 am and 4 pm, address Viikinkaari 4.

Why does water taste bad in the morning?

Water has been standing in the building’s pipes for the whole night, and if water consumption is low in general and the pipes old, the water may taste musty due to bacterial action. Allowing the water to run for a while helps.

What to do when tap water is brown from time to time?

If the water is brown, let it run heavily from all taps for about ten minutes and keep an eye on changes in the water quality. If the water becomes clear after letting it run, it is safe to drink it again.

If the water does not become colourless and clear after running it, please contact the property manager or maintenance company who will check the condition of the water coming to your house. During the disturbance it is important, above all, to check the water quality coming from the tap nearest to the water meter to make sure there is nothing wrong with the water supplied to your house.

In most cases the brown colour of the water results from iron-rich sediment loosened from the pipelines of the house. Sometimes rust can run into the water during repair work on the water supply network and water supply stoppages.

Rust can stain your laundry and block the aerator nozzles fixed to the tap outlets. If the washing machine is on when a stoppage in the water supply occurs, stop the machine and turn off the water tap connected to the washing machine. Do not turn on the washing machine before the tap water is colourless and clear

Water consumption and use

What should I do, if there is no hot water?

The supply of hot water can sometimes disrupt suddenly, and it is often caused by a disturb-ance in the property’s own heating system or the district heating network. HSY is not responsible for the supply of hot water, and in any defects concerning it, you should contact the company in charge of your property maintenance or district heating.

How much washing detergent should I measure out for a household appliance?

In the HSY Water Services’ supply region, household water is soft. You should therefore measure out the washing detergent in accordance to manufacturer’s instructions for soft water. Correct measuring is important, as many people use too much and too strong washing detergents in household appliances. A too large dose may even weaken the results.

Washing detergents also include many substances that increase the environmental burden, and although most of them can be removed during the wastewater treatment process, they may cause eutrophication in dispersed settlements and regions with summer residences.

Should water softeners be used in household washing machines and dishwashers?

In our water supply region, household water is soft. Separate water softeners do not need to be used in household appliances.

Should I try to save water?

Water should be used in a reasonable manner. Finland does not lack for clean drinking water, but also the heating costs of consumed warm water should be taken into consideration, in particular. Short showers, washing machines with full loads and modern, water-saving appliances are part of the everyday life of a responsible consumer.

Can I pour food waste into the sewer?

No, you cannot. Sewer is only intended for conducting wastewater, and no solid waste should be poured into it, as it could block the sewer.

Furthermore, grease and oil from food are prohibited, as are sanitary pads, paper towels, diapers, condoms, cotton buds and cotton, tights, medicines, paints and other chemicals. In addition to these, you should never flush toilet paper shells or fibre cloths down the toilet, even if they are labelled as “flushable”.

Toilet paper does not cause blockages, as it disintegrates in the sewer.

If I drop an object to the toilet bowl or into the sewer, is it possible to get it back from the wastewater treatment plant?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to find objects dropped into the sewer from the wastewater treatment plant. An object dropped into the sewer could have stuck to any pipe bend along several kilometres from the property to the wastewater treatment plant. If it ends up at the treatment plant, it is still impossible to track it down among all the waste processed from the water.

If a piece of jewellery falls into the sink, it could be stuck to the drain trap, from which it can be recovered.

How much water does one person consume?

The average water consumption per person is around 170 litres a day for people living in high-rise building apartments, 150 litres a day for those living in terraced houses and 135 litres a day for people living in single-family homes.

How much water does one dripping tap consume?

A leaky tap may increase water consumption up to 30 cubic metres a year, increasing the water bill by around 70 euros. If there are several leaky faucets, the amount of extra costs could be raised to thousands of euros. Water leakages are often quite cheap to repair, for example by changing the seals of taps or toilet bowl’s tank.

Water meters

How often the water meter should be replaced?

HSY replaces the water meters once in a decade. This ensures the correct water meter readings. Fixed-term replacement of water meters is free of charge for the customer.

You do not need to order the maintenance service, as we will take care of the matter. You can recognise our maintenance staff by their HSY uniforms and staff ID cards. If you are not home when we come to replace the meter, we will leave you a call-back request. You can agree a new time for replacing the meter by calling the water meter maintenance services.

What is the error margin of water meters?

Water meters are included in the Act on Measuring Instruments and the allowed error margin is +/- five percent. We will notify you of exceptionally large consumption quantities, but it is recommended that you read your water meter at least once a month.

Why is there water under the water meter’s glass?

The meter is a wet dial meter, with water from the network under the pressed class.

Water rates

Why do the prices of water services increase?

The municipal federation’s Board of Directors decides the rates of HSY usually in October, in connection to the budget negotiations. The change of water rates is based on the Section 23 of the Act on Water Services and the section 4.2. of HSY’s general supply terms of water services.

In accordance with the law and the supply terms, the water services have the right to change the fees and the structures of the price rate when, for example, an essential change in the conditions occurs. Such a change occurred when the water services of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa merged into HSY Water Services in 2010. When the water services merged, their rates differed very much from each other, which is why HSY’s Board of Directors decided to unify the rates.

The supply terms allow us to raise the water fees also when a significant change takes place in investing costs. The increase in water fees, therefore, also covers the new, necessary plan and network investments. They also pay for the notable redevelopments that secure the operational stability of water services.

Where can I found out more about water fees?

The current water fees are available. The page has separate calculators for water rate and the connection cost. In addition to this, the phone number of our customer service is included in all the water bills sent to our customers. By calling the number, you can find out more and order a written brochure of the water rates.

How is the basic water rate calculated?

The amount of basic rate (B) (€/month) is calculated as follows:

B = s * p * BAJ
p = property factor (0,5-3)
BAJ = fixed basic rate (€/month) within floor area classes (from A to J)
s = service factor

All factors of the formula are available in the publication HSY rates 2016.

The fixed basic rate (€/month) within the floor area classes (from A to J) is determined on the middle of each class by multiplying the floor area with the unit price of the basic rate € /m2/month, i.e. euros per floor area metre in a month, and the property type-specific factor (0,5-3).

Since 1 January 2016, the unit price of the basic rate is €0.0156/floor area metre / month.

Service factors (s)
Water, wastewater and rainwater combined	s = 1.0
Just water	s = 0.4
Just wastewater	s = 0.4
Just rainwater	s = 0.2

The basic rate property types and their factors (p)
Detached or semi-detached house	3.0
Terraced or linked house	2.7
Block of flats	2.5
Industrial building	2.2
Commercial building	2.0
Office building	1.8
Public building (primary use: other than as an office)	1.6
Sports and exercise halls	1.3
Warehouses, industrial warehouses and car parks	1.0
Special cases (parks, fields, tunnels, fountains, etc.)	0.5

Floor area	Payment class	Floor area applied for calculating the basic rate, p-m2
0–100	A	100
101–250	B	175
251–350	C	300
351–500	D	425
501–1000	E	750
1001–2000	F	1500
2001–4000	G	3000
4001–7000	H	5500
7001–10 000	I	8500
>10 000	J	15 000

For example, payment class C: BAJ = 300 p-m2 * €0.0156 /p-m2/month = €4.68 /month (without VAT)

Nevertheless, the basic rate of a water consumption location is, regardless of the floor area, at least as much as in the lowest payment class (A), calculated on the basis of a floor area of 100 m2. The maximum basic rate can be as much as the highest payment class (J), calculated on the basis of a floor area of 15.000 m2.

If the property is later extended so that its floor area increases and puts it into a new payment class, the basic rate is determined based on the new payment class.

VAT will be included in the prices in accordance with the current value added tax percentage.

Example: Single-family house, floor area of 200 m2. The property receives water, wastewater and storm water services from HSY.

p = 3 (determined based on the property type) BAJ = €2.73 /month (payment class B, 101-250 p-m2, VAT 0%) s = 1 (water, wastewater, storm water)

Without value added tax: B = 3 * €2.73 /month * 1 = €8.19 /month

With value added tax (24%, starting from 1 January 2013): B = 3 * €3.39 /month * 1 = €10.17 /month

The sum for the whole year’s basic rate can be determined by multiplying the monthly sum without VAT by 12 and the amount of value added tax: B = €8.19 /month * 12 months * 1.24 = €121.87

The final sums may differ somewhat due to rounding of the numbers.

How much tax money goes towards the HSY Water Services?

None. Our water services are covered by water rates. It includes the basic rate, charges for used water and the connection fee intended for new customers.

The basic rate covers the maintenance of the pipe network as well as the water treatment and wastewater treatment plants. The charges for used water cover the costs incurred due to water and wastewater treatment. The connection fee helps to cover the implementation costs of water services, i.e. the construction of new network.