Climate change, heat and drought have an impact on public water suppliers. Bottlenecks are still the exception. From an industry perspective, investment is necessary to ensure this remains the case.
According to Deutsche Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches e. Five (DVGW). And it was too dry. As a result, 2022 will experience a dry spell like in recent years. So how can you ensure a safe drinking water supply in Germany? So the bottleneck or limit is still the exception? DVGW’s short answer is: invest.
For example in the “transformation” of forests – such as in Ferch, southwest of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam. Young copper beech, birch and Douglas fir (a type of pine) grow there. A new mixed forest of conifers and deciduous trees is being created, old pines were felled for this purpose.
Forest conversion benefits groundwater
Energie und Wasser Potsdam GmbH (EWP) started this bioforest conversion in 2020 to capture more groundwater. Softwoods like pine are evergreen and require water year-round. Deciduous trees, on the other hand, appear mainly in summer. Studies have shown that the water infiltration under mixed forest is significantly higher than that under coniferous trees. This may bring about ten percent of the groundwater. As a result, EWP has invested almost 1 million euros in forest rehabilitation and new water wells.
EWP provides drinking water to approximately 195,000 people in Potsdam and neighboring towns. The current supply is sufficient. However, due to high temperatures, drought and growing population in the Potsdam metropolitan area, the demand for potable water is expected to increase.
still drinking water supply safe
The DVGW has also seen an increasing demand for potable water. The supply situation remains secure. This is the result of a survey of member companies. Only 1 percent experienced a power outage. Nine percent are temporarily restricted, such as watering home gardens.
Ninety percent of the water companies surveyed said they could have guaranteed drinking water supplies without restriction. However: Nearly one in five water suppliers surveyed (19%) experience water bottlenecks. For example, because a well or spring has temporarily dried up or a dam has not been sufficiently filled.
Berlin is planning a new fountain
“But it is also clear that more needs to be done at different levels to adapt the water supply to future needs,” says DVGW board member Wolf Merkel. New mining areas, new dams, groundwater needed Expansion of reservoirs or long-distance pipelines and interconnection systems between different water suppliers.
Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) wants to invest around 6 billion euros by the end of 2030, including nearly 130 new wells, maintenance of the pipeline system and especially better sewage treatment plants.
one Circular Economy for water
Because drinking water production in the capital does not depend entirely on rainfall. Treated (i.e. cleaned) wastewater already accounts for 20 percent of Berlin’s drinking water supply. Treated wastewater is returned to the city’s river, canal and lake system, from where it seeps into different soil layers and returns to groundwater reserves. “Circular economy,” says BWB board member Christoph Donner.
BWB provides approximately 215 million cubic meters of drinking water to the capital’s more than 3.8 million residents each year. In principle, the supply situation is considered robust: Berlin benefits from the Havel-Spree river system and the Warsaw-Berlin-Moscow glacier valley, which generally ensures a high water table.
promote thrift
But Berlin is also feeling the effects of the ongoing drought. In 2022, rainfall will be only 68% of the average. The result: The water table dropped by 75 centimeters, Donner said. So, like the umbrella group DVGW, he called for water conservation.
Merkel, a member of the association’s board of directors, also asked: “Does drinking water always have to be used for certain purposes, such as the growing needs of industry or agriculture?” The association advocates the use of other water qualities here or the reuse of water.