Berliner Wasserbetriebe

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Berliner Wasserbetriebe

logo
legal form Institute of public right
founding 1992 ( merger )
Seat Berlin , Germany
management
  • Jörg Simon, CEO
Number of employees 4,355 (2016)
sales 1.154 billion EUR (2016)
Branch Water supply
Website www.bwb.de

The Berlin Water Works ( BWB ) is a municipal water supply company in Germany . They take care of the water supply and sewage disposal for Berlin and parts of Brandenburg . They also supply electricity through their subsidiary Berliner Stadtwerke .

history

19th century

As the last major European city, Berlin began to build a central water supply in 1852. The city was well supplied with water with 5,600 wells, which is why the new water system was initially controversial and was rejected by the magistrate . However, the well water was contaminated with cholera pathogens - often without the residents noticing.

Building of the Berliner Wasserwerke, pictured in the gazebo in 1858

The English entrepreneurs Sir Charles Fox and Thomas Russel Crampton were commissioned to supply Berlin with water. The company was not commissioned to dispose of the wastewater. The entrepreneurs founded the Berlin Waterworks Company . The main content of the contract was determined by the king: it did not allow the city administration to participate, profits were not allowed to exceed 15% and the Prussian government granted entrepreneurs "special protection in all matters". The term of the contract was 25 years. The contractual partner of Fox and Crampton was Police President Karl Ludwig Friedrich von Hinckeldey . Crampton and William Whitaker Collins planned the facility.

In 1853 the foundation stone for the first Berlin waterworks was laid in front of the Stralauer Tor . On July 1, 1856, it went into operation. A year later, 314 houses were connected to the water supply, in 1859 the number rose to 1,141 houses and the company posted a small profit for the first time. From 1868, the company paid dividends over nine percent.

As early as 1869, the first waterworks was no longer sufficient and had to be expanded. However, negotiations to expand the water network and extend the contract failed. The magistrate wanted to take over the waterworks in order to implement the Hobrecht plan . In addition, an underground water disposal should be set up to get the cholera under control. The magistrate was not interested in an extension of the contract.

Manhole cover with Berlin city motifs

The problem of sanitation was not solved by providing water. In 1866 a cholera epidemic broke out in the city. A commission headed by Rudolf Virchow then began planning a sewer system. In 1873 the construction work began. The city of Berlin prematurely terminated the contract with Fox and Crampton on December 31, 1873. The city built the first 80 km long sewage system within four years. In 1909 the last of the twelve subsystems went into operation. By then, the sewer system had been expanded to a length of 1,029 km and connected to 31,000 properties.

There were other forerunners of Berlin's water supply in the surrounding cities: for example, Charlottenburger Wasserwerke AG, founded in 1878 .

From the 20th century

With the formation of Greater Berlin in 1920, a reorganization was pending, which led to the Berliner Städtische Wasserwerke AG in 1924. In 1937 it was converted into an in-house business. The Berliner Wasserbetriebe was created in 1945 through the merger of the municipal waterworks with other water companies in the city, including the Charlottenburger Wasser- und Industriewerke AG, which had operated the Tiefwerder waterworks since 1914 . The organization was split again in 1949 as a result of the division of Berlin. Several reorganizations led to the separation of water supply, urban drainage and wastewater treatment. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of the city in 1992, all areas were brought together under the umbrella of the BWB. Two years later, the BWB was converted from in-house operation into an institution under public law in order to enable operation in cooperation with private companies. In 2011 the BWB operated 7,870 km of drinking water pipelines and 9,600 km of sewage pipelines.

Drinking water supply

overview

The BWB supply the urban area of ​​Berlin via a 9,500 km long pipe system. In addition, there are cities and municipalities in Brandenburg that are supplied by BWB, but the proportion of the total supply area is very low at 1.5 percent. In order to keep the water pressure constantly high throughout the city, Berlin is divided into four different pressure zones:

  • Northern high city
  • Eastern high city (with book pressure zone )
  • Deep town
  • Southern high city

On average, the company delivers around 585,000 m³ of drinking water every day and disposes of around 602,000 m³ of wastewater. This corresponds to an average annual output of around 220 million m³ of water.

As is usual in Germany, the quality of drinking water in Berlin is very high. Stiftung Warentest and other experts continuously confirm that the quality of Berlin's tap water can be equated with that of mineral water purchased.

Waterworks

The BWB operate nine waterworks that are located in water protection zones near lakes and rivers. The promotion takes place via 800 deep wells, with which only groundwater is extracted. The central waterworks is in the Berlin-Friedrichshagen district , from where the entire water supply in Berlin is monitored and controlled. The other eight waterworks are located in Kaulsdorf , Tegel , Wuhlheide , Stolpe, Spandau , Kladow , Tiefwerder and Beelitzhof . At full capacity, a maximum water discharge of 1.14 million m³ per day is possible. Individual waterworks are switched off during the night between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Sewage treatment plants

Aeration basin in the Ruhleben sewage treatment plant

The resulting dirty water is cleaned in the sewage treatment plants Schönerlinde , Münchehofe , Waßmannsdorf , Ruhleben , Stahnsdorf and Wansdorf . Before the wastewater is fed back into the natural cycle, it goes through various purification stages. A mechanical cleaning is carried out by rakes, sand traps and primary clarifier . Biological cleaning is then carried out using the activated sludge process . Microorganisms remove the nutrients present in the water. All Berlin sewage treatment plants have anaerobic basins for biological phosphorus elimination , as well as denitrification and nitrification basins . After the biological treatment, the treated water is separated from the sewage sludge in the secondary clarifier .

In the Ruhleben sewage treatment plant , part of the treated wastewater is also treated with a UV system in order to further reduce the number of germs. A new plant with a larger capacity is to be commissioned by 2021. A flocculation filtration system for additional chemical phosphorus elimination is also planned. The Waßmannsdorf sewage treatment plant is to be gradually expanded by 2024.

The treated wastewater from the Schönerlinde sewage treatment plant is passed through the surface water treatment plant (OWA) Tegel before it reaches Lake Tegel. Here, above all, phosphorus is removed in order to improve the water quality of the Tegeler See. A similar facility is in Beelitzhof.

The resulting sludge from pre- and post-treatment is dewatered. In the Ruhleben sewage treatment plant, the sludge is then burned in fluidized bed ovens, with steam turbines being driven to generate electricity. In the other sewage treatment plants, the dewatered sludge is rotten and used for biogas production.

In the 2010s in Berlin-Neukölln , a new 700 m³ storage sewer was built to relieve mixed water . This holds back suddenly accumulating mixed water masses, which are caused by cloudbursts, and then sends them to the sewage treatment plants with a delay. By 2020, the total storage capacity of the sewer system is to increase from the current 213,000 m³ to 300,000 m³; a total of 90 million euros is available for these expansions.

Research and Development

Research and development (R&D) have a long tradition at BWB. Technical standards have been developed and implemented in recent years. This includes securing a self-sufficient drinking water supply without chlorine in hygienically perfect quality as well as the trenchless laying of new and removing old pipelines. In addition, R&D has developed biological phosphorus elimination in sewage treatment plants. The budget for all research activities in 2001 was EUR 3.0 million. Of this amount, 85% was self-financed.

Successful collaboration in R&D projects with universities, especially with the TU Berlin , with universities of applied sciences and other research institutions, which is being further intensified and expanded.

The BWB are also involved in research topics at the Berlin Water Competence Center (KWB). The KWB is an international center for water research and science transfer that bundles all potentials of the Berlin universities and research institutions, the Berlinwasser group of companies and Veolia Wasser . This alliance allows the companies and partners to carry out projects in cooperation with the best international and national technology centers.

Special water supply structures

In the waterworks in Friedrichshagen ( Treptow-Köpenick district ) is the museum in the waterworks in a disused machine house . The waterworks began operating in 1893 and was one of the largest and most modern of its kind at the time. In 1987, the museum was opened to the public on the occasion of Berlin's 750th anniversary . The waterworks still supplies Berlin with drinking water today. Another historic waterworks is in Altglienicke. The water tower is the landmark of the district.

education

Currently (as of 2017) around 250 trainees are being trained in commercial and technical-industrial areas or are taking the opportunity to study at the Berlin School of Economics and Law . The training takes place in the dual system - partly in the vocational school or at the technical college , partly in the training company . The trainees are deployed in all areas of the BWB during their apprenticeship. The various locations extend over the entire area of ​​Berlin.

Private participation

Entry of two external companies

The BWB were among the first water supply and wastewater disposal companies in Germany in which private companies were involved on a large scale. The private partners were the French supplier Veolia Wasser (formerly: Vivendi ) and the German RWE group. In 1999, after a global bidding competition, they took part as strategic investors in Berliner Wasserbetriebe and acquired 49.9 percent of both Berliner Wasserbetriebe AöR and Berlinwasser Holding AG: At the public law institution on the special legal structure of the silent Company, at Berlinwasser Holding, which bundles the competitive business of the Berlinwasser Group, via a direct share participation. The state of Berlin secured a so-called golden share to better assert public interests . Berlin and the private shareholders received a contractually guaranteed return on the capital required for operations, which amounted to EUR 3.4 billion.

Opponents of this participation called them "privatization", although the state of Berlin has the voting majority and thus public control. Accordingly, it was a question of partial privatization in the sense of a public-private partnership . The opponents initiated a referendum to reveal the relevant treaties.

Referendum on the disclosure of the contracts

In June 2007, initiated citizens' initiative Berlin water table together with the Berlin Alliance against privatization , the referendum Our water under the title No more secret treaties - We Berlin want our water . The initiators wanted to achieve a formal legal disclosure of all contracts in the area of ​​Berlin's water management. A possible legal action against the State of Berlin was intended to examine whether the target of remunicipalisation set out in the coalition agreement (2006) could be achieved.

On July 8, 2010, the Berlin House of Representatives passed the second law amending the Berlin Freedom of Information Act (IFG) , thereby simplifying the right to inspect files. The administration was obliged to publish contracts with companies that provide services of general interest ex officio - if there is a public interest in information.

By October 2010, the initiative had collected around 280,000 signatures in order to bring about a referendum. The contracts were published by Die Tageszeitung at the end of October, followed two weeks later by the State of Berlin and the “Water Partners Berlin” (RWE and Veolia). In addition, the Berlin Senate saw the sanction clause in the proposed law as a violation of the Berlin constitution . The spokesman for the Berlin water table replied that the Senate's concerns could, if necessary, be clarified by the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin ; In addition, the published contracts are so far incomplete and therefore inadequate.

The referendum took place on February 13, 2011, cost 1.6 million euros and was accepted with around 660,000 votes in favor of 612,000 necessary.

Dispute over remunicipalisation and the adequacy of water prices

Most of the citizens voted in favor of remunicipalising the water utilities. However, Senator for Economic Affairs, Harald Wolf von der Linke, considered the new law unconstitutional and initially only reluctantly pursued remunicipalisation. Wolf was accused of a conflict of interest, as he represents the interests of the state of Berlin as Senator for Economics and at the same time, as chairman of the BWB supervisory board, was responsible for the company's profits.

At the beginning of April 2011, RWE submitted an offer for EUR 800 million to the Senate for the sale of its shares in the water company. Senator for Finance Ulrich Nussbaum saw no possibility of lowering the water and wastewater prices with this buyback price. Senator for Economic Affairs Wolf wanted to buy back the shares “not at any price”. The State Audit Office of Berlin saw a possible buyback "with concern": Such a project entails considerable financial risks. Senator for Economic Affairs Wolf had repeatedly stated that the purchase should be financed seriously.

Acquisition by the land

The State of Berlin acquired the shares from RWE in October 2012 and the shares from Veolia in November 2013; the Berliner Wasserbetriebe are once again fully owned by the state.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Berliner Wasserbetriebe  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ corporate history at albert-gieseler.de, accessed June 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b Berliner Wasserbetriebe: Annual Report 2016. Accessed on April 11, 2018 .
  3. ^ A b c d Hermann Werle: Between common good and profit interest. (pdf) Experiences with the partial privatization of the water industry in Berlin. In: Background materials 13. Bread for the World, August 2004, p. 26 , archived from the original on February 24, 2011 ; Retrieved February 24, 2011 .
  4. ↑ Obituary. William Whitaker Collins , in: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 58, 1879, pp. 340 f. ( Digitized version )
  5. ↑ Klaus Möller, Jens Burgschweiger: Water supply concept for Berlin and the surrounding area supplied by the BWB (development until 2040). (pdf; 2.8 MB) September 1, 2008, p. 4 , archived from the original on May 5, 2011 ; Retrieved May 5, 2011 .
  6. ↑ The sewer network. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, archived from the original on April 18, 2011 ; Retrieved April 18, 2011 .
  7. ↑ Waterworks. In: bwb.de. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, archived from the original on May 6, 2011 ; Retrieved May 6, 2011 .
  8. ↑ Sewage works. In: bwb.de. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, archived from the original on May 14, 2011 ; Retrieved May 14, 2011 .
  9. ↑ a b Ruhleben sewage treatment plant: State-of-the-art technology for wastewater treatment in Berlin. (PDF; 225 KB) Berliner Wasserbetriebe, accessed on April 11, 2018 .
  10. ^ Future location: Waßmannsdorf sewage treatment plant. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, accessed on April 11, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Berlin's lakes reveal deeply. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, accessed on April 11, 2018 .
  12. ↑ From dirty water to Spree water. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, accessed on April 11, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Full pipe for clean waters . In: Der Tagesspiegel , February 22, 2011
  14. ↑ Berlin water table. Berlin water table, archived from the original on February 24, 2011 ; Retrieved February 24, 2011 .
  15. ↑ Berlin Alliance starts three referendums . In: Der Tagesspiegel , June 18, 2007
  16. ↑ Second law amending the Berlin Freedom of Information Act of July 8, 2010. Law and Ordinance Gazette for Berlin, July 22, 2010.
  17. ↑ Sebastian Heiser: The secret water contracts. the daily newspaper, archived from the original on September 13, 2012 ; Retrieved January 23, 2013 .
  18. ↑ Senate discloses contracts for the partial privatization of Berliner Wasserbetriebe. In: berlin.de, the official capital city portal. The State of Berlin, archived from the original on February 11, 2011 ; Retrieved February 11, 2011 .
  19. ^ Website of the water partners Berlin. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012 ; Retrieved September 8, 2011 .
  20. ↑ Sabine Beikler: Referendum: Gearing up for the water table . In: Der Tagesspiegel , January 19, 2011
  21. ↑ Popular initiative for water despite open contracts. In: rbb-online.de. November 23, 2010, archived from the original on January 27, 2011 ; accessed on January 27, 2011 : "According to the constitution, the vote must take place formally, although the treaties are known."
  22. ↑ The water referendum costs 1.6 million euros . In: Berliner Morgenpost , November 24, 2010
  23. ↑ The head of the state vote: 2011 referendum on the disclosure of the partial privatization agreements at Berliner Wasserbetriebe. In: www.wahlen-berlin.de/. Office for Statistics Berlin-Brandenburg, February 13, 2011, archived from the original on February 24, 2011 ; Retrieved February 24, 2011 .
  24. ↑ dpa / bb: Wolf sees no rush to buy the water company. In: Bild Online. Axel Springer Verlag , May 3, 2011, accessed on May 6, 2011 .
  25. ↑ Jan Thomsen, Regina Zykla: The household does not allow a shopping tour . In: Berliner Zeitung , April 8, 2011. "On the one hand, on the supervisory board, one cannot keep an eye on the company's profits and, on the other hand, politicians want to protect the interests of consumers."
  26. ↑ Jan Thomsen, Regina Zykla: RWE makes offer for water shares . In: Berliner Zeitung , April 8, 2011.
  27. ↑ Jens Anker: Longing for cheap water . In: Berliner Morgenpost , May 10, 2011
  28. ↑ Wasserbetriebe - Court of Auditors warns against buyback . In: Berliner Morgenpost , May 20, 2011
  29. ↑ Structure and Development. Berliner Wasserbetriebe, accessed on April 11, 2018 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 57 ″  N , 13 ° 24 ′ 38 ″  E