Stockholm was founded at the point where the waters of Lake Mälaren emerge into the Baltic Sea. Lake Mälaren is the water source of the water works of Stockholm. The Lake also receives water from one of the sewage treatment plants. The outlet from the two other sewage treatment plants are in the inner part of the archipelago. During 1968-73 the treatment was improved, after which the phosphorus load to the receiving water significantly decreased. The total P concentration in the surface water has decreased since 1970 and phosphorus has replaced nitrogen as the most limiting nutrient throughout the entire archipelago within 50 km from Stockholm. To further reduce the eutrophication a continued reduction of the phosphorus load is most effective. For the Baltic proper as a whole, where primary nitrogen limitation is present, it is important to reduce the supply of nitrogen to the greatest possible extent. The treatment plants in Stockholm are located in subsurface rock-chambers. The treatment includes mechanical, biological and chemical treatment. In the mechanical stage the sewage is treated in screens, grit chambers and primary sedimentation. The biological stage is a conventional activated sludgeprocess. For the chemical precipitation ferroussulphateis added before the screens. The sludge is stabilized in anaerobic digesters and dewatered in centrifuges before disposal on farmland. To meet more stringent requirements on nitrification and nitrogen removal several projects are going on to optimize the nutrient removal. The aim of these investigations is to improve the plants' performance within the existing plant.