Wastewater treatment has not been implemented in Greenland at this point in time. So, all wastewater is led out to the sea untreated, at the shore where all the settlements are placed. In some parts of he towns, sewers have been installed. It can be challenging to install sewers in arctic places, due to the surface bedrock and the permafrost that that may thaw if it gets in contact with the warm sewage. And also there is a risk of freezing of the sewage inside the pipes. There's this special thing when the sewage is transported into the sea water during winter time because the surface sea water can be cool it down to below zero degrees due to the high salt content and sometimes the sewage freezes inside the pipes because the sewers has a lower salt content than the seawater. Therefore in many places it has been chosen to cut off the pipe above the surface of the sea and the sewage is let out in the open air. Nowadays, however, many of the sewers are actually installed below the surface, because it has been observed that this gives lower maintenance costs. The sewers need to be insulated, due to the heat loss and in some places it is also necessary to heat the sewers with electricity to keep the sewers fluid. In most places it has been chosen to use gravity to transport the sewage, as opposed to pumping. This leads to the outlet of sewers at several points, rather than collecting all the sewage in one big sewer and leading it out at one point. In the part of the towns that is not piped and in the small settlements, honey buckets or septic tanks are used. The content from these are collected by municipal professionals and they let out the sewage to the sea, near by the settlements. in the places where the sea water is frozen during winter time, they sometimes leave the honey bucket bags on top of the ice, waiting for the ice thawing to come. In other places they leave the honey bucket bags at the waste disposal site, waiting for a more permanent solution. Wastewater contains nutrients and organic matter. It has been evaluated that due to the low population density and large recipients, these constituents do not pose an environmental threat to the sea around Greenland. It may be a problem, however if the sewage is let out to small closed basins or fjords, that local eutrophication occurs. Also, it may happen, due to the high tide in Greenland that wastewater is dragged into the nearby shoreline when it is let out during the high tide and there it becomes visible for the local population, with floating items on the surface, which may be an issue for their life quality, but also for the impression of the tourists that visit the settlements. Apart from containing organics and nutrients, wastewater also contains microorganisms parasites and even antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can pose a health threat to the local population. it has been documented among rural natives in Alaska that the occurrence of hepatitis A and many other diseases is much higher if they have honey buckets and limited access to clean water as opposed to when they live in homes with sewers. In Sisimiut, Greenland, it has been documented that antibiotic resistant bacteria are present in shellfish found in the sea nearby the town. And it has been necessary to ban the sale of fish caught nearby the town, due to health reasons. There is a big wish from the Greenlandic municipalities to get a more adequate wastewater solution, and there are some experiments being done to try to find a solution that fits these small and cold communities.
