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Berlin's water supply needs good management



Together with Brandenburg's suppliers and the environmental administrations of both states, Berliner Wasserbetriebe wants to secure the drinking water supply of the future and advocates a resource-saving use of water in the region.

13.04.2023 – At its annual press conference, Berliner Wasserbetriebe promises to continue to push ahead with Berlin's transformation into a climate-resilient metropolis. The extreme heat and drought of the past year ensured that drinking water sales remained at the level of the previous year (215.3 million m3) at 215.5 million m3. In view of a growing population (3.85 million people, growth in 2022: 75,000, rising trend), this is not a bad result, but it is far from relieving the burden on drinking water resources.

Due to the lack of rain, the volume of wastewater fell slightly: by 12.5 million cubic metres to 248 million cubic metres (previous year: 260.5 m3). "Berliner Wasserbetriebe, as an important company in public services, is the guarantor that Berlin will continue to be supplied with sufficient water of the usual high quality despite the challenges posed by climate change and the growing population," assured Stephan Schwarz, Senator for Economic Affairs and Chairman of the Supervisory Board. "The sustainable and careful use of water as a resource, including through comprehensive water management, will continue to play a decisive role in Berlin's further development into a climate-resilient city in the future."

At EUR 401.5 million (2021: EUR 397 million), capital expenditure is roughly at the previous year's level, but below plan. This would be due to the aftermath of the Corona pandemic and the war-related global supply chain problems, as well as delays in approvals and tenders.

Water use per capita decreases

Due to the climatic development, the groundwater levels in the catchment areas of the nine waterworks have fallen further in large areas, in some cases by more than 75 cm compared to the long-term average, report the Berliner Wasserbetriebe. "The natural water reservoir underground allows us to bridge a few dry years, but in the medium term the reserves have to be replenished."

This is one of the reasons why Berliner Wasserbetriebe has been calling for careful use of water as a resource for some time under the motto "Water does not come from the tap". With some success: water use in the household has fallen: from 118 litres per capita to 113 litres per capita. In the course of the year, however, it became apparent that this savings success had been achieved mainly since September. The main reason for this is the changed way people deal with warm water.

Wet Midnight Peaks

In the summer months, on the other hand, Berliners used more water than in 2021, but at a different time: "midnight peaks" were registered in the waterworks for the first time, i.e. an increase in water use at night. The water companies attribute this to increased automated garden irrigation. "These changes in consumption behaviour are a good start, but they are not yet enough to effectively relieve the resource," says Christoph Donner, CEO of Berliner Wasserbetriebe since the beginning of the year. "Of course, we are also making a contribution to this, for example by keeping our infrastructure up to date and continuing to work with our partners in Brandenburg in the Drinking Water Supply Metropolitan Region Initiative to manage water across state borders."

Treated wastewater is an important resource

"Under difficult conditions, we invested almost 100 million euros in the cleaning quality and performance of our sewage treatment plants in the past financial year – and thus in the future viability of the regional water cycle that we manage," Donner continues. "Our treated wastewater is already a sought-after resource and is becoming increasingly important as such. We are convinced that we need to make much greater use of the treated wastewater in the region to support the entire water cycle. This helps our resource, the waters and the urban greenery in equal measure. That is why we will vigorously push ahead with the goal of equipping all our wastewater treatment plants with further wastewater treatment by 2027." well  


source : Climate crisis, water crisis: Berlin's water supply needs holistic management - energiezukunft

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