Vienna sewer system
The Viennese sewer system comprises an approximately 2,400 km long sewer network , which forwards all of Vienna's wastewater to the main sewage treatment plant of the Simmering disposal company , at the lowest point in Vienna. This is around 220 million m³ annually. The network of house sewers is 6,300 km long. Around 400 of the 700 employees in the former municipal department 30, which has been operating as the municipal company Stadt Wien - Wien Kanal since 2009 , are responsible for the maintenance, clearing and control of the sewer system.
The operational area includes, among other things, some operational branches for different areas of Vienna as well as for the main collecting ducts; the areas of chemistry with testing and authority tasks including laboratory; Fleet and workshops with specialists for special vehicles such as B. Channel TV; Pumping stations and special systems including their complete control via the PW-LDS on the Danube Island; plus the overhead tasks such as control, contract management, billing, etc. in the head office.
history
In 1739, Vienna was the first city in Europe to be fully canalized. However, epidemics kept coming back because the residents of the suburbs dumped their waste and sewage into the Wienerwald streams , which, however, were also used for washing, and wells brought the polluted groundwater to the surface as drinking water .
Once at a cholera - epidemic between 1830 and December 1831 some 2,000 people died, the city were vaulted and gradually all the major streams creek channels converted. With the two collecting canals running parallel to the Vienna River , the first large sewers were built, which flowed into the Danube. Nevertheless, there were still regular deaths from contaminated water, not least because when it rained, water overflowed from the canals into the Vienna River, which itself was repeatedly good for flooding and in any case polluted the groundwater. Especially since 1873, when the city received a nationwide water supply through the first Viennese high spring water pipeline , the amount of wastewater increased rapidly with the progressive connection of Viennese households to the drinking water and sewage system. Since this meant not only hygienic problems, especially during floods, but also an enormous odor nuisance, measures were required quickly.
Between 1893 and 1894 the left main collecting canal was built on the northern bank of the Danube Canal , between 1894 and 1904 the much larger right main collecting canal on the southern bank of the Danube Canal, and from 1895 the Vienna River was regulated. In the course of this construction work, on which around 5,000 people found work, on the one hand the Vienna Stadtbahn was built parallel to the river , and on the other hand the two Vienna river collecting canals, which flow into the right collecting canal , were expanded. In the event of heavy rainfall, the two Vienna river collecting canals can still overflow through numerous overflow channels into the Vienna today, but a relief channel is currently planned to solve this problem.
Lease
In 2002, Vienna leased the right to use the sewer system in the 21st and 22nd districts to a US investor for 99 years ( cross-border leasing ). For this, the city received an advance rent of around $ 500 million. At the same time, the City of Vienna concluded a sublease agreement with this investor for a period of 35 years and leases this right of use back. For this, an amount that is several percent lower than the investor's rent is paid annually, since the investor leaves part of his tax savings to the City of Vienna in accordance with the contract. Investment subsidies from the American state are also shared among themselves. According to the contract, after 35 years the city will buy back the sewerage system by paying back the rent for the remaining 64 years. Both sides benefit from the use of US tax law in the amount of 4.5 to 7 percent of the capital employed. With the advance rent received in advance, the city can finance investments - for example in the sewer network. However, all possible risks and loss of income during the 35-year contract period, such as changes to US tax law that would prohibit such contracts, are borne by the City of Vienna, which also provokes criticism from parts of the opposition as well as the fact that the contract has around 1500 pages is strong, is written entirely in English, may not be stored in Austria and is bound by the legal situation of the state of New York .
The six collecting channels
Five collecting canals collect the water from all mixed water canals and streams in Vienna and direct most of it to the main sewage treatment plant in Simmering . Only the Liesingtal collecting canal directs a large part of its collected wastewater into the Blumental sewage treatment plant. When it rains, the collecting canals quickly become overfilled and excess mixed water is channeled into the Vienna River, the Danube Canal or the Danube. Even during clearing / cleaning work, the water of most canals has to be passed over several times a year, which means that an average of over 3.5 million kg of BOD 5 , around 11 million m³ of waste water, enter the environment every year . This is to be reduced to a minimum through various measures over the next few years.
The Vienna river collecting canals
The two Wien River collecting canals, the left one runs along the northern bank of the Wien River, the right one along the southern bank, have a catchment area of 5,800 hectares, of which 2,500 hectares are impermeable areas (streets, buildings, squares) and flow from west to northeast. Even when there is little rain, mixed water flows into the Wien River via the 63 rain overflows. The annual pollution load diverted averages 940,000 kg BOD 5 . The construction of a relief channel in the river bed is intended to remediate this situation.
The left Wien river collector has a length of approx. 15 km up to the city limits and flows into the right Wien river collector at the Stubenbrücke . This in turn begins at the Lainzer Tiergarten , has a length of 12.5 km, and flows into the right main collecting canal. The profile sizes for both collectors are 0.80 / 1.20 m at the upper end and 1.90 / 2.50 m at the confluence with the right main collecting channel. Because of the steep slope, apart from the clearing of the gravel catches, clearing measures due to deposits are rarely necessary.
Since the two canals were built after a cholera epidemic in 1830, they are also known as the cholera canals .
Left main collecting duct
The left main collecting canal runs along the north side of the Danube Canal and has a catchment area of around 1,050 hectares, of which 600 hectares are impermeable areas. It drains Districts 2 and 20 and is 9.9 km long. The profile sizes are 1.50 / 2.00 m in the upper area, and 2.20–2.45 / 1.90 m in the lower area up to the Ostbahnbrücke . From there, the left main collector runs through a so-called twin profile , i.e. two pipes, each with a diameter of 2.55 m to the flood pumping station or Danube Canal culvert , from where the wastewater is pumped under the Danube Canal into the right main collector. In rainy weather, mixed water that cannot be passed on is channeled into the Danube Canal via the rain overflows. Because of the slight gradient, deposits form on the canal floor. On an average of 40 days a year, clearance work leads to discharges of 60% to 100% of the dry weather runoff (= building sewage) at different locations. In total, around 1.9 million m³ of wastewater with around 604,000 kg of BOD 5 pollutes the Danube Canal each year . By coupling the left with the right main collector, these should be reduced in the future.
Right main collecting duct
The right main collecting canal runs on the south side along the Danube Canal from west to east for 16.6 km. At the upper end of the Schreiberbach in Döbling , the canal measures 1.10 / 1.65 m, at the lower end at the main sewage treatment plant it measures 5.00 / 4.20 m. It drains districts 1 , 3 , 9 , 11 and 19 . Its total catchment area covers around 13,000 hectares with a share of 5,300 hectares of impermeable areas. A total of 18 Vienna Woods streams drain into the right main collecting canal, partly by means of the Vienna river collecting canals on both sides. 14 collecting channels also open into these, with rain overflows for the mixed water discharge channel being situated at the inlet points.
Because of the low gradient, the canal has to be continuously cleaned of deposits at the bottom. On an average of 70 days a year, 60% to 100% of the dry weather runoff is channeled into the Danube Canal via the rain overflows due to the rain. As a result, it is polluted with an average of 4.2 million m³ of wastewater or 1.8 million kg of BOD 5 . By connecting the left and right main collecting ducts, it should be possible to avoid these discharges in future.
Left Danube collecting canal
The total catchment area of the left Danube collecting canal is 4,054 hectares, of which 1,200 hectares are impermeable areas. It runs along the northern bank of the Danube over a length of 11 km. The profile sizes of the twin profiles are 2.14 / 2.40 m to 5.30 / 3.10 m each. Normally only the left tube is flowed; the right half of the profile is only put into operation when the flow rate is more than 3 m³ / s. The left Danube collecting canal, which drains districts 21 and 22 , which is steadily growing in population , was designed for the discharge of a maximum mixed water flow rate of 63 m³ / s.
At the end of the left Donausammelkanal there is a fall structure to the culvert under the New Danube . For each of the two profile pipes there are two cascading shafts, of which the first shaft leads to the wastewater culvert and on to the wastewater pumping station on the Danube Island, from where the wastewater runoff is in turn continuously conveyed via the Danube culvert to the main sewage treatment plant.
If the sewage treatment plant inflow is loaded by mixed water inflows from the rest of the sewer network, the output of the wastewater pumping station is throttled and a dam operation is initiated in the left Danube collecting canal. After the inflow canals have been filled, the rainwater pumping station begins to lift the incoming mixed water into the Danube.
Liesingtal collecting canal
The total catchment area of the Liesingtal collecting canal is approx. 4,240 hectares with a proportion of 970 hectares impermeable, of which approx. 3,500 hectares are disposed of in the separation system, i.e. H. Rainwater is fed separately and can therefore be fed directly into the Liesingbach . The Liesingtal collecting canal is 20.5 km long and has profile sizes from 0.70 / 1.05 m to 2.80 / 2.30 m. Except for the areas downstream of the Blumental sewage treatment plant, which drain into the main sewage treatment plant in Simmering, the wastewater is fed to the Blumental sewage treatment plant.
Wiental Canal
The Wiental Canal with a length of 3.5 kilometers was built at a depth of about 30 meters below the Wien River between Urania and Ernst-Arnold-Park. Its main task is to absorb the mixed water (rainwater plus wastewater), which previously flowed unexplained via the Vienna River into the Danube Canal and further into the Danube during heavy rainfalls.
With a capacity of around 110,000 cubic meters, it serves as a retention basin, which, depending on the free capacities of the main sewage treatment plant in Simmering, is emptied there via the main right-hand collecting sewer RHSK.
Stream channels
In today's Vienna, stream channels play an important role in the disposal of wastewater. The Roman military camp Vindobona already used streams for sewage disposal, which were probably quickly blocked. As early as the first third of the 18th century, the urban area of Vienna was almost entirely canalized. However, the suburbs and suburbs used the adjacent streams and watercourses to drain away rubbish and faeces. Due to the increasing density of buildings and the use of the spring water as drinking and industrial water, the watercourses were no longer able to adequately remove the increasing amounts of faeces. In addition, heavy rain, especially in spring, led to flood disasters that were sometimes devastating. The rubbish that was washed up, including animal carcasses , often triggered epidemics , including the plague .
Despite the increasing sanitary and health problems, it took a catastrophe to remedy the grievances. This occurred in February 1830 as a result of a large ice rush that flooded the Danube and subsequently backed up the tributaries and caused them to overflow their banks. The result was a devastating cholera epidemic that killed 2,000 people. As a result, the construction of two collecting canals running parallel to Vienna began in the 1930s . In addition, the canalization of the manure watercourses within the line wall began. The Ottakringerbach was built from 1837 onwards , followed by the Als from 1840 to 1845 and the Währingerbach in 1848 . The first stage of expansion ended with the discharge of the Döblinger Bach in 1850. However, the construction usually ended at the line wall , the surrounding communities could not finance such construction projects. This only changed after the suburbs were incorporated, which was decided in 1890. Another huge sewerage project was carried out in the now new districts. From 1891 to 1903, 17 million crowns were invested in the expansion of drainage systems. The streams in the suburbs were converted into stream channels or main collecting channels. In the catchment area of the Danube Canal, this particularly affected the Krottenbach , Nesselbach, Arbesbach , Dornbach and the still open parts of the Als and Währinger Bach. In the catchment area of the Vienna these were again Lainzer , Ameis and Ottakringer Bach. Until the beginning of the First World War , the construction of the brooks was extended further and further towards the city limits.
Life underground
Since the completion of the Viennese sewerage system coincided with the rapid growth of the city, when many could not find the work they had hoped for or were homeless for other reasons, the possibility of refuge underground was soon discovered. Since the sewer system is largely accessible, in the main sewers also not stooped, and the sewer system has many branches and also chambers and corridors that remain dry even when it rains, the sewer system provided a shelter for many, which was the basis for survival, especially in the cold season. In the 1910s, two journalists, Max Winter and Emil Kläger, dared to visit the strotters and the homeless and justified social reporting with their reports in the newspapers .
When the municipality of Vienna set up the “Canal Brigade” to expel illegal canal residents in 1934, the number of these quickly fell. Apart from the Second World War and the post-war period, when numerous secret agents of the Allies knew how to use the sewer system of the divided city for themselves (which is where the famous film The Third Man was made), the sewer system is largely insignificant as an emergency shelter today. The main reason for this is the numerous social institutions, which were built during the “ Red Vienna ” period, when the Social Democrats ruled the city and started numerous social projects.
Filming location and tourism
Triggered by the world-famous film “ The Third Man ” and the novel of the same name, underground Vienna initially became interesting for further filming. Occasional guided tours organized by MA 30 demonstrated the public interest, which private organizers also joined.
In 1979 the film The Secret of the Iron Mask (English original title The fifth musketeer ) was shot under the direction of Ken Annakin with Ursula Andress , Sylvia Kristel and Beau Bridges in Vienna and the surrounding area. The canal network and the vaulted Vienna River represented a secret passage from Versailles Palace ( Schönbrunn Palace ) to the Bastille ( Kreuzenstein Castle ) and in the canal there was also a duel between the two twin brothers Ludwig XIV and Philippe. One of the two eventually fell into the raging floods of the Ottakringer Bach and was carried away.
In 1985 part of the music video for the title Jeanny by the Austrian singer Falco was shot in the Vienna sewer system.
An episode of the Austrian crime series Kottan investigated with Lukas Resetarits also played in the Viennese sewer system , and " Kommissar Rex " investigated in the 13th episode ("Unter den Straßen von Wien") also underground.
After a long time it was only possible to visit the sewer network sporadically, the adventure world The Return of the Third Man was opened on June 1, 1999 . Acting performances interrupt the imparting of knowledge about the history of the sewer system in Vienna and the work of the employees working here. Just in time, in October 2002, the 50,000. Visitors counted, because the construction work on the Wiental Canal began in spring 2003 and the tours were temporarily suspended from November 1st, 2002.
During this break, the concept was revised and, together with private partners, a so-called “3rd Mann Tour ”. MA 30 continues to organize its underground tours, as part of a city tour, original locations are visited, in Vienna-Wieden the private “Third Man Museum” can be visited and / or the film can be viewed in the original English version in the Burgkino.
As part of its canal tour below the Esperanto Park near the Secession , Vienna Canal mainly shows the robbery chamber that was the main location for the above films - with the exception of the Kottan episode. Through recordings from different angles, chases and long walks through the extensive canal network were simulated again and again in a confined space.
The occasional private canal tours are not allowed here and are limited to other canal sections.
On the occasion of the Criminale , which was held for the first time in Vienna between April 16 and 20, 2008 , two readings were held in the sewer system.
literature
- Glück Alexander, La Speranza Marcello, Ryborz Peter: Unter Wien - In the footsteps of the Third Man through canals, tombs and casemates. Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-86153-238-7 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.wien.gv.at/umwelt/kanal/. Retrieved August 15, 2016 .
- ↑ 27th meeting of the Vienna City Council on April 23, 2004. Post number 48, verbatim minutes, page 25 ff.
- ↑ Overview plan ( 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.
- ↑ The Secret of the Iron Mask in the Lexicon of International Films
- ↑ fernsehserien.de
- ↑ wien.gv.at
- ↑ wien.gv.at
- ↑ wien.gv.at
- ↑ ORF website ( page can no longer be accessed , 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.
- ^ Website of the Criminals
