Drinking water network

Drinking water network is a water distribution system that is used exclusively to supply drinking water .

Components of this system are water pipes , devices for producing the necessary water pressure, measuring and monitoring devices. In some cases, water treatment systems are also viewed as part of the drinking water network.

In England, the first water supply was set up as early as the 1840s. A drinking water network comparable to today's standards was built in Hamburg in 1848 .

In Germany and Austria, the quality of drinking water is regulated by the Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). To avoid mix-ups and possible health hazards, water taps - z. B. historical wells in cities, washing water taps on trains of the Deutsche Bahn - are specially marked. This special marking can be done by a sign with the inscription “No drinking water” or a corresponding symbol.

More than 99% of the population in Germany are connected to a drinking water network. The drinking water is used for nutrition, for washing, for flushing toilets and for watering gardens and agricultural areas, but also as service water for commercial and industrial companies. There is no restriction or ban on the use of drinking water. Conversely, no rainwater or other external water may be fed into drinking water pipes.

Due to their geographical location and precipitation situation, Germany, Austria and Switzerland are so rich in water that the water demand can mostly be met locally or regionally and so far there has been no need to install two separate systems, namely gray water and rainwater on the one hand and drinking water on the other.

In 2000, a research project commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economics examined the competition between neighboring supply companies and the possibilities of liberalizing drinking water supplies, similar to those in the electricity and telecommunications sectors. The final report was presented in July 2001.

Ownership in Europe

France

In France , private sector water management has a long history. As early as the 19th century, as a result of the Industrial Revolution , the water supply of many communities was placed in the hands of listed companies. After the Second World War , during the reconstruction in the 1950s, many municipalities entrusted the maintenance and expansion of the infrastructure for the water supply to private companies, who can set the water price for it. While contracts in the 19th century were very long-term and lasted up to 99 years, they are now limited to 12 to 30 years. As a result, corporations supported by banks were formed, which today operate worldwide.

England

Thames Water , a private company founded in 1989, supplies drinking water to Greater London , the Thames region , Surrey , Gloucestershire , Wiltshire , Kent and several other areas in England . The average daily output is 2.6 billion liters.

Germany

water meter

In Germany there are more than 6,000 public drinking water suppliers and around 6,000 sewage disposal companies. Most of them are run by smaller municipalities. More than 90% of the water supply in Germany is in municipal hands. Around 15% of the 1,266 larger drinking water suppliers are self-owned ; 16% special purpose associations ; 63% proprietary businesses that are either public, mixed, or private owned. 6% of the drinking water suppliers are water and soil associations . Only 3.5% of the drinking water suppliers are privately owned. No information is available on the proportion of businesses in mixed ownership, an increasingly common form of ownership. Many drinking water suppliers are companies that also offer electricity, gas and / or district heating and generate most of their turnover in these areas.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BMWi / Evers et al. 2000 ( PDF )
2. ↑ Blue gold  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. TV documentary by Damien de Pierpont (Belgium, France 2007) for Arte  
3. ↑ Everything in flux. In: sueddeutsche.de. May 17, 2010, accessed June 19, 2018 . 
4. ↑ http://www.bdew.de Profile of the German water industry 2005, p. 7-14