Groundwater management – effective and flexible

In the last 20 years, the groundwater resources in Berlin have risen back to the same level as before the start of industrialisation. In order to counter this effect, Berliner Wasserbetriebe employ measures such as adjusting the pumping rates.

The groundwater resources in Berlin are now at the same level as before the start of industrialisation 150 years ago. At the same time water consumption in Berlin has halved due to the migration of the manufacturing industry and the installation of modern household technologies. Added to this is the fact that the extensive rainfall last year that totalled more than 40 percent above the multi-year average and which continued in January saturated the soil with water and caused the groundwater level in the Spree and Havel valleys to rise by a further 40 to 80cm. As a result, damp cellars have been reported in various parts of the city – even in areas far away from waterworks which cannot be influenced by the water pumping there.

Water pumping rates are being adapted and groundwater enrichment reduced

For Berliner Wasserbetriebe, the corresponding possibilities are limited by the volume of drinking water sold. Nevertheless, Berliner Wasserbetriebe have taken measures as far as possible in the catchment area of the nine waterworks to locally limit the rising groundwater level. These measures include a change in the distribution of the delivery volumes between the waterworks. They also include the further reduction of the groundwater enrichment practiced in two of the works (Tegel and Spandau) to an absolute minimum reasonable level. In the process, water from the Havel is seeped away near the wells in the forest in order to support the local water balance, prevent sensitive agricultural eco-systems from drying out and fix contamination in the subsoil, preventing it from reaching the wells. At the Spandau and Tegel waterworks, the water delivery volumes were therefore increased and the enrichment volumes reduced, enabling the groundwater level could be lowered.