Water management in Berlin
Berlin's complex and technically demanding water management ensures excellent drinking water quality and very clean waters.
Several best practice examples are already in use in the city, such as the "offshore" mixed water storage unit in the Spree River, the retention ground filter for rainwater treatment or the many gray water recycling and rainwater harvesting systems in homes and offices.
Facts and figures
- Berlin has a sewage network with 164 pumping stations, about 9,750 km of sewers and more than 1,000 km of penstocks.
- The capital supplies itself with drinking water from regional resources and feeds its wastewater after appropriate treatment into the local water supply.
- Berliner Wasserbetriebe (BWB) is the largest water supply company in Germany.
- Messe und Kongress TAUSENDWASSER als Branchenfachveranstaltung in, mit und für die Hauptstadtregion
- The specialist congress InfraSPREE is the industry summit and the network meeting for water management and technical infrastructure in Berlin and Brandenburg
- Wide range of technology offered by a large number of innovative medium-sized companies
- Multidisciplinary and internationally-oriented research landscape
- Comprehensive networking and excellent cooperation opportunities
Interdisciplinary research
Berlin's universities and research institutes are important partners for companies in the water industry. More than 20 departments from 5 faculties are working at the TU Berlin, pooling their different skills for a future-oriented, urban water management.
The Berlin Center of Competence for Water (KWB) is an international center for water research and knowledge transfer and links the research activities of the Berlin universities and research institutions, the Berlinwasser Group, Berlin SMEs, the administration, and the environmental services company Veolia.
The Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries is the largest German center for ecosystem research on inland waters.