Swimming spots|The bottom of the swimming ponds known as Vaarala’s “riviera” will be designed to be safe. A child drowned in one of the ponds about a year ago.
Helsinki and Vantaa’s swimming area project is progressing on the border of the cities.
Three of the groundwater ponds created from gravel extraction decades ago are located on the Vantaa side, and the pond called Rutika is located in the Jakomäki area of Helsinki.
The cities have been planning together to improve the swimming and camping opportunities of the four ponds for years. Now we are at the stage where the land has been taken over by the cities, and the renovation can begin.
The ponds have been used as swimming spots for a long time, but they are not official swimming spots and are not considered safe because the bottom suddenly deepens. A year ago, a school-age child drowned To the lake in Helsinki.
Vantaa the southernmost pond, as well as Helsingin’s Rutikka, is specified for swimming in the joint plan of the cities.
Vantaa’s two smaller and shallower ponds have been especially popular with dog walkers. They are treated as natural conditions.
The swimming ponds are to be dredged in such a way that the bottom of the ponds can be shaped to be safe.
For dredging, you need a permit according to the Water Act, which can take about a year to obtain. The dredging is done first, and then the other construction sites listed in the plan.
“More clean sand will also be brought to the beach,” adds Vantaa’s landscape architect Petra Tammisto.
Vantaa is reserving a total of two million euros for renovating the paths in its own area, building sewer and electricity connections, lighting, guidance and dredging. The amount does not include buildings.
On the Vantaa side, there would be a service building with cloakrooms, toilets, showers, social and storage facilities, an outdoor shower, a fitness center, but also benches and bicycle parking.
On the Helsinki side, on Rutika’s beach, in addition to similar activities, parking spaces are planned, and preparations are being made there for the construction of a possible winter swimming pier.
Helsinki will decide on the allocation during the fall.
Ponds were very popular swimming spots after the wars and still in the 1960s, when the population of the nearby area grew rapidly.
At that time, they were in the public’s mouth under the name Vaarala Riviera, among other things. Over time, aquatic plants have taken over the shallowest ponds, trees have taken over the sandy lands and the paths have worn away.
Clear groundwater rises in the ponds created in Soranoto. Groundwater purity is to be maintained with protective measures.
Read more: The forgotten “River of Danger” awaits swimmers in Vantaa – The owners of the ponds are Fazer and Westerkulla manor, with whom the city must first come to an agreement
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