The site

The facility is located near the town of Slussfors in Storuman municipality in Västerbotn Län. This is fairly far north in Sweden and close to the Norwegian border. The facility is close to European route 12, which runs from Umeå, Sweden to Mo i Rana, Norway.

The waterway connected to the facility starts in the mountains bordering Norway (Hemavan), and terminates in Umeå at Bottenviken. The waterway is dammed on several locations for hydroelectric power, and the culture site itself is on a hydroelectric reservoir. This in turn means that the water level may vary considerably through the year with respect to water stocking and depletion for power production.

The temperature of the water varies between a maximum of 18ºC during the summer and a minimum of 0.5ºC during the summer. Although some freezing occurs around the culture site during the coldest winter periods, there is usually ample current past the site, which prevents freezing-over.

The reservoir water is oligotrophic (low nutrient concentrations), and the addition of waste nutrients from the culture facility is considered to have a positive ecological effect on the waterway.