Water resource management

Water management refers to the management of water by humans. One can distinguish four areas:

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the issues of water management by the respective nonprofit organizations are: German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste, represented Austrian Water and Waste Management Association and Swiss Water Management Association.

Water management

Lakes and rivers as surface waters are managed in Europe since Roman times. Purpose they are designed so that

The various objectives of water management in the use of the waters be coordinated with the Water Management Plan.

Since the end of the 20th century, carried out in former times water structural changes in Germany will also be scaled back, straightening be repealed, rivers may meander again. These restoration measures affect above all a positive effect on flood protection, since natural river systems reduce the peak flow ( flood peak ). In this case, however, the flood duration is prolonged. In this connection, the fluid dynamics is important.

The management of underground waters, ie groundwater, is usually done in the context of drinking water or stormwater management.

Drinking water

This refers to the extraction, treatment and distribution of drinking water in human settlement areas. The WHO has created a guideline for drinking water quality ( Guidelines for drinking- water quality ).

The drinking water is subject in many developed countries the official monitoring.

In part, the municipalities in Germany only a supervisory role or even the duty, to make the water supply itself operationally. Among other things, due to tight municipal budgets, it is in recent years increasingly to privatization in water supply and sanitation sector.

Industrial water

Industrial plants, power plants, agriculture and other commercial users need large amounts of process water. Since lower, or other requirements in terms of quality, composition and temperature of these waters, is used for such purposes in some cases Promoted water without or with little processing overhead.

Wastewater management

The wastewater management includes the collection, propagation by sewers and wastewater treatment and disposal of the degradation products.

Stormwater management

The collection, if necessary, treatment and infiltration of rainwater into the ground water or the retention of storm water prior to discharge into surface waters are tasks of stormwater management. Measures for rainwater management are often in conjunction with a planning area of seals such as Building construction or road processed.