Berlin calls for water saving: New waterworks planned

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  Water stands in the filter hall at the Tegel waterworks.

• Bettina Jarasch (r, Greens), Berlin Senator for the Environment, Transport, Climate and Consumer Protection, and Frank Bruckmann, CEO and CFO of Berliner Wasserbetriebe, hold glasses of different waters during a tour of the Tegel waterworks in the pipe cellar.

In view of increasing drought and heat, the Senate is calling on people in Berlin to save water. «Berlin has been supplied by its own groundwater for over 100 years, and we will have to do something to keep it that way,» said Environment Senator Bettina Jarasch (Greens) on Wednesday.

Gardens should not be watered during the day because of evaporation and pools should be covered. Rinse water without soap can be used for watering, short showers are better than baths. Jarasch said that bans have not yet been envisaged. As a last resort, however, they are conceivable. «We are currently examining whether the legal options available to us are sufficient.»

Less water expected due to climate change

Some Berliners are already using water more consciously, as the Wasserbetriebe conclude from their data. They assume that more gardens are watered at night with the help of timers. The times are over when people called for more water consumption so that the pipes would be flushed sufficiently, said Jarasch. The Senate assumes that Berlin will have less water in the future due to climate change. In addition, more people live in the region than before.

«Masterplan Wasser» as a future strategy for Berlin's water industry

The state government therefore plans to publish details of a «Masterplan Wasser» shortly. According to this plan, two new waterworks are expected to be built in addition to the current nine sites - in Jungfernheide and in Johannisthal. Sewage treatment plants are to receive additional purification stages. However, water prices will remain stable at least until 2023, as Wasserbetriebe boss Frank Bruckmann said during Jarasch's visit to the Tegel waterworks. «But at some point we will have to moderately increase the prices for water and wastewater.»