An integrated water management concept to ensure a safe water supply and high drinking water quality on an ecologically sound basis

Abstract

For the city of Berlin and the surrounding areas a growth of the number of inhabitants is expected, resulting in a considerable increase in the water consumption. However, a sufficient quantity and an excellent quality of drinking water in the future can only be guaranteed through more integrated management of water resources. Artificial recharge of groundwater plays a key role in this approach. It includes the infiltration of treated surface water in a direct coordination to water catchment facilities. Investigations show, that other possibilities are: i) the reuse of sewage water, although there are still unsolved judicial issues, and ii) the use of stormwater. For both, an advanced treatment is necessary to meet the stringent quality requirements. Thus, the treatment is shifted more towards the sources of pollution, that means from the treatment of surface water to wastewater and stormwater to obtain an optimum water resource protection. Furthermore, the water is partly returned to the water cycle in order for it to remain within the region. Treated surface water, advanced treated wastewater, purified stormwater and treated weakly polluted combined wastewater from the combined system constitute favourable sources, in combination, for the replenishment of groundwater. Former wastewater irrigation fields in the area could be used. This also prevents re-dissolution of heavy metals in the polluted soil of the wastewater irrigation fields into the groundwater.