The Quality of Finnish Surface Waters and Future Trends

Finland's water resources are abundant and can be considered adequate to meet needs except in some coastal areas. This abundance was previously considered so obvious that water resources were used carelessly, without a thought to the harmful changes in water quality caused by the reckless use of lakes e.g. for discharging waste waters. In the late 1950's people finally perceived the rapid deterioration of Finland's beautiful lakes. An administration for water pollution control was established and a new Water Act was passed at the beginning of the 1960's. Since then the fight for clean waters has continued with varying success. What is the state of Finnish surface waters now, and what are the prospects for the future?