The pollution and protection of the inner Oslofjord: redefining the goals of wastewater treatment policy in the 20th century.

The main source of pollution in the inner Oslofjord in the 20th century has been municipal sewage discharges from the city of Oslo. At the beginning of the 20th century, pollution was limited to the coastal waters and the harbor area of Oslo, in the vicinity of sewer outlets. High bacteria content caused a health hazard that city authorities attempted to reduce by constructing a sewerage system, including intercepting sewers and wastewater-treatment plants. Due to population growth, the impact area of increasing wastewater loading expanded. The entire inner Oslofjord was found to be affected in the 1930s. Scientific studies linked municipal sewage discharges to an increase in the algal production. In the 1940s, the bottom layers were found to be anoxic. The Oslo sewerage authorities were aware of the fjord's pollution, but regarded organic matter as the major problem and the activated sludge method as the best solution. The role of nutrients was not commonly acknowledged until in the late 1960s. Phosphorus removal was taken into use in the 1970s, and nitrogen removal was introduced in the late 1990s. Removal of nutrients has resulted in the slow recovery of the fjord.