Waterworks

Nine waterworks supply Berlin and neighbouring areas around Berlin with drinking water. The waterworks are close to lakes and rivers in the water protection zones.

An average of 585,000m³ of drinking water per day is produced for domestic households, industry and trade. A maximum of 1.14 million cubic metres per day are possible. The waterworks operate in a grid. Even if a waterworks fails, this does not result in a localised collapse of the water supply. 

When consumption is low during the night, some waterworks are shut down temporarily. Berlin’s entire water supply is monitored and controlled from a central control room in the Friedrichshagen waterworks. Waterworks, intermediate and booster pumping stations are linked by a close-meshed grid of transport pipelines.

Drinking water preparation

Groundwater is pumped as “raw water” from wells to the waterworks (1) where it is aerated e.g. in gigantic showers (2) so that it reacts with the oxygen in the air. The iron and manganese dissolved in the water are precipitated as minute flakes of rust (3). The flakes are removed from the water as it flows slowly through the sand filters (4). And Berlin’s drinking water is ready for consumption. Disinfection using chlorine, ozone or UV light is superfluous in Berlin, but can be employed if required. The high-quality drinking water is stored in huge tanks (5) and pumped into Berlin’s vast drinking water grid as required (6).