Water supply

The water supply is concerned with the measures to provide the necessary drinking water and process water.

In technical terms, this is the construction and operation of nuclear installations

• For the recovery of raw water, such as from wells (see also groundwater), spring water, surface water from lakes, rivers or ponds, harvesting rainwater in cisterns
• For processing the acquired raw water to drinking water or industrial water
• For water distribution, such as water pipes, elevated tanks, pumping stations, booster stations.
• For fire water supply
• For hot water supply

In organizational terms, the corresponding structures for the implementation of such actions must be created. This can be individuals and companies or legal entities. Furthermore, special structures to ensure public water supply were introduced in individual states. In Austria these tasks assume the water cooperatives and water boards, in Germany the municipalities or water boards or privately organized utilities, most of which are mostly in communal ownership. In Switzerland, the water supply is mostly also organized communally. The technical scope of the water supply is based in Germany on the DVGW regulations and Austria on the ÖVGW rules.

In coastal drylands and the desalination of sea water to supply water to contribute.

History

About ancient to medieval water supply see ponds and water-wheels.

In Germany, Hamburg was in 1848 the first modern water supply, Berlin followed in 1855, Magdeburg, 1859. Most other cities followed in the 1860s and 1870s. In England, a water supply has already been established in the 1840s, Vienna was in 1873 a first high source line from the territory of the Schneeberg. A second spring water pipeline from the area of ​​high Schwab followed 1900 until 1910. This aqueduct has a length of around 170 km.