Meet Gorm Walter Høili Pettersen
“Until quite recently, nitrogen removal wasn’t part of the scope when you designed wastewater treatment solutions in Norway. Now, we are busy catching up to save our fjords.”
Gorm Walter Høili Pettersen, Master of Science in Water and Wastewater
Working with water and wastewater treatment is never a copy/paste job. Every project is different, and the process must be designed to match local conditions. There are also a lot of development and themes we have to stay on top of – new legislation and directives, new technical or scientific solutions and so on – for me, as a specialist, that's what makes it interesting and fun to work with.
And then, of course, there is the scale of the projects. Because we have a highly specialised team with extensive experience, we get to work on the big projects. Bigger projects mean more challenges and a higher level of competence with everyone involved.
My educational background is a Master of Science in Water and Wastewater. I did my master thesis as a project with COWI and have worked with water and wastewater treatment processes and technology since. You could say I work inside the walls of the water treatment plant – my mission is to make sure the water doesn’t leave the plant before it has been thoroughly cleaned.
If you are a specialist in water, wastewater treatment, drainage or climate adaptation, we are looking for people to join Gorm and his colleagues in Norway. Check out these open positions:
"COWI has always worked with nitrogen removal, primarily in the inner Oslo Fjord in a Norwegian context but also beyond Norway’s borders. This gives us an advantage and allows me to contribute to saving the Oslo Fjord."
Join Gorm and become part of COWI in Norway
The reality is that Norway faces a significant backlog in wastewater treatment. We have primarily been removing phosphorus and not really focusing on nitrogen. When nitrogen is washed directly out into our fjords, oxygen depletion occurs, which leads to dying fjords where fish and plant life is disappearing.
At COWI, we worked with nitrogen removal before it garnered national attention, and we probably have the best professional competencies in this field. I have colleagues who have worked with nitrogen removal since the 1980s. That’s pretty unique and allows us to identify the solutions we need to correct the mistakes of the past.
My work is done in the detailed design phase and in the early phases of our projects. I’m responsible for designing the process that ensures that the water leaving the plant is thoroughly cleaned. Each project is unique because of the individual local circumstances. Do you have a lot of industrial wastewater, do you get a lot of surface water during heavy rainfall or during thaw periods and so on?
Being part of a team in COWI means that I’m never alone on a project. There’s always someone I can reach out to if I come across a problem where I need help, need a second opinion or need someone to verify my work. The organisation is very flat, and you can ask 'stupid questions' without feeling embarrassed. That gives you the confidence to jump in at the deep end and take on more responsibility and more difficult challenges.
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