BU Austria 2023

150th anniversary of Vienna's water supply

In Vienna, you can drink high-quality Alpine spring water simply by turning on the tap. But this wasn't always the case. The population of the Austrian capital relied on domestic wells for drinking water until the 16th century, when a pipeline was finally built after a major fire showed that there wasn't enough water to prevent such disasters. In the mid-19th century, the poor quality of Vienna's drinking water led to epidemics of typhus and cholera.

In 1873, Vienna's first spring water pipeline began bringing fresh water to the capital from the Schneeberg-Rax-Schneealpe massif southwest of the city. Conceived by geologist and city councillor Eduard Suess, the construction of the water pipe was an impressive feat of civil engineering involving thousands of workers, but took just three years to complete.

Built to improve and secure the drinking water supply, thus ruling out any new health risks for the population, the water pipe now supplies Vienna with 220 million liters of spring water every day. During its 24-hour journey, the water passes through more than 30 aqueducts from its source to the Rosenhügel reservoir in Vienna, from where it is distributed via a vast network of pipes. Not only is the water of exceptional quality, as it flows solely by gravity, but the system that feeds it is also environmentally friendly.