Elze-Berkhof waterworks

Ornamental gate of the old Elze waterworks

Access to the waterworks

The Elze-Berkhof waterworks is located east of Elze (Wedemark) in the northern part of the Hanover region . It was created in 1968 by merging the Elze waterworks, which went into operation in 1911, with the Berkhof waterworks , which went into operation in 1930, and supplies the Hanover region as one of three waterworks alongside Fuhrberg and Grasdorf with around half of the drinking water it needs.

location

The plant is located around 25 kilometers north of Hanover. The water extraction site in the protection of the large forests of the Rundshorn forest is located in the Aller valley area , the Fuhrberger Feld water protection area .

The groundwater is pumped here from a depth of about thirty meters with eighty vertical and four horizontal filter wells. Three protection zones, each with a different level of environmental protection, protect the well water from contamination.

Protection zone I denotes the area in which the wells are located, which is excluded from any other use. Protection zone II is defined by the outer boundary from which the water flows to the well within fifty days. The boundaries of protection zone III enclose the entire water protection area of Fuhrberger Feld .

Water extraction and purification

The downpour in the Fuhrberger Feld area takes about thirty years for the water to reach the wells of the waterworks via the groundwater channels. The path of water through the ground is an effective filter for all types of contamination; at the same time, the water is enriched with natural substances. Iron and manganese compounds and dissolved gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbonic acid are removed from this by the treatment process in the waterworks. The drinking water obtained flows into large clean water tanks and is transported from here to households in Hanover and the surrounding area by powerful centrifugal pumps with a peak output of 100,000 cubic meters per day.