Water bodies

Janakkala has 65 lakes, each with a surface area of at least one hectare. About half of the lakes are 10 hectares or smaller. The lakes of Janakkala belong to the Kokemäenjoki water system. The waters from Janakkala flow westward into Lake Vanajavesi and ultimately drain into the Gulf of Bothnia near Pori.

The condition of water bodies is monitored and restored in collaboration with the municipality, the Vanajavesi Center, the ELY Center, local communities, and lake protection associations. Some environmental permits include obligations to monitor surface or groundwater.

In the regional water management plans established under the Water Management Act, the quality categories of water bodies, pollution factors, and methods for reducing pollution are defined. The goal is to improve the condition of polluted waters to as close to their natural state as possible. The responsibility for drafting the plans lies with the ELY Center, and the work is conducted in collaboration within the water management cooperation group.

Lake water quality services

The Kokemäenjoki Water Protection Association maintains a lake water quality service, which provides water quality information about those lakes for which the association has conducted lake surveys. The lakes are classified according to the quality classification of small water bodies. In addition, a lake wiki online service  is being developed and published in cooperation with authorities and citizens, providing basic information about all of our lakes that are at least one hectare in size. Many lake protection associations have their own websites, where information about water quality and the association’s activities can be found.