When Vienna’s drinking water supply arrives in the city, it has already travelled up to 150 kilometres – without a single pumping station. What many people don’t know is that the water also generates a considerable amount of electricity on its way to Vienna. Water from Vienna’s spring water mains powers a total of 16 hydropower plants, which together generate enough green electricity to fully supply a town the size of Wiener Neustadt. Eleven of these power plants are located in the catchment area of Vienna’s 1st and 2nd spring water mains. Of the remaining five, three are located in Vienna and two in Gaming in Lower Austria. The natural hydropower of Vienna’s drinking water supply has been harnessed to generate green energy since the early years of the 20^th century.

Drinking water supply takes precedence

A prerequisite for the construction of drinking water power plants is that the quality of the source water is unaffected. This is guaranteed by the use of special “drinking water compatible” materials and equipment. In addition, the continuity of the water supply always takes precedence over the production of electricity. All the power plants driven by Vienna’s spring water mains are therefore equipped with a bypass.  In the event of a power plant shutdown, this redirects the entire volume of water to bypass the turbines, thereby safeguarding Vienna’s water supply at all times.

Smart use of potentials

The drinking water power plants in Vienna and in the area surrounding the city’s two spring water mains make an important contribution to the generation of renewable electricity and thus to the implementation of the Smart City Wien Framework Strategy. The latter envisages that by 2030 30%, and by 2050 70% of Vienna’s final energy consumption will originate from renewable sources. The drinking water power plants demonstrate how smart solutions can help to leverage existing potentials, which is one reason why further drinking water power plants are to be installed.

The majority of the drinking water power plants are operated by Municipal Department 31 – Vienna Water, while the others are managed by Wien Energie and Siemens subsidiary Hochquellenstrom Vertriebs GmbH respectively.

Contact

Vienna Water (MA 31)

E-Mail: astrid.rompolt@wien.gv.at

Website: Vienna water power plants