Norrvatten is a municipal council owned by 14 different urban municipalities in the northeast sector of Stockholm. They are the following: Danderyd, Järfälla, Knivsta, Norrtälje, Sigtuna, Sollentuna, Solna, Sundbyberg, Täby, Upplands-Bro, Upplands Väsby, Vallentuna, Vaxholm and Österåker.
Norrvatten's highest authoritative organ, the federation's council, determines the price of the water every year payable to the municipal alliance upon delivery from the federation's pipelines. The price today is 2.95 SEK per cubic meter, i.e. about 0.03 SEK per litre. It is up to each and every district to determine the price per cubic metre of water charged to the customer.
During 2010 Norrvatten delivered approximately 43 million cubic metres of water. The largest customers are the private households in the municipalities, about 500 000 users. Water is also delivered to companies, industries and hospitals.
Norrvatten's water is of the highest quality. The untreated water (the water pumped in) comes from lake Mälaren and Görvälnfjärden. The water is stored and worked up in the Görväln plant, which technically is one ot the most advanced water plants in Sweden.
The quality of the untreated water can vary considerably between the different seasons of the year, but from a hygienic standpoint the water from lake Mälaren is of superior quality. Technically the water is medium hard, bordering on soft (6 dH). When using the water for laundry and washing up purposes you should dose the suitable detergent according to the soft water cycle thus ensuring a lower consumption of it as well as giving a better laundry and dishwashing result. Overdosing the detergent will in turn produce a less good result.
The main pipeline is about 260 km long and has six pumping stations and eight reservoirs. In order to guarantee that the water delivery is constant, there is a circular feeding of the water. This means that if Norrvatten is forced to turn off the water in one pipeline, water can be pumped from another.
Norrvatten has its own laboratory, accredited by SWEDAC, the board of accreditation and technical control, in 1994. The standard set by “Livsmedelsverket” – the National Food Department - stipulates that an authorised laboratory has to be able to undertake examinations of its own drinking water. The authorisation ensures that the laboratory is impartial in regards to the production and distribution department of Norrvatten. This makes the analytical reports from the laboratory more accurate and trustworthy for the authorities.