Water Management System of Augsburg
Augsburg’s Water Management System documents the 800-year development of the city’s water supply system, which is unparalleled worldwide; from the Middle Ages to the present day. From the separation of clean drinking water from process water in the 15th century to the use of water power as a fuel and the continuation of old traditions with the help of new technologies today.
Augsburg’s water management system is based on a functional unity consisting of 22 elements, which are based on a sewer network. The natural conditions with three rivers and numerous springs are extremely favourable. The system is a unique example of a municipality’s water management, developed over some 1000 years and still operated for the benefit of the population today.
The system’s main tasks were the supply of essential drinking water, process water for energy, hygiene and disposal and its strict separation. At the Hochablass, the water of the river Lech is still diverted for most of the canals. As process water, it was mainly used to set mills in motion. Drinking water was piped to the town from the spring area in the south of the city. It was transported to the upper town via water towers with pumping stations. In modern times Augsburg was famous throughout Europe for its effective water management and the city celebrated this extraordinary achievement around 1600 with the construction of three monumental fountains.
From 1879, the system was in the service of modern hygiene. Drinking water was now obtained from the groundwater, and a new waterworks pumped it throughout the city using pressure vessels used for the first time for this purpose. The demand for water power increased due to industrialisation and led to a further expansion of the sewage system. The numerous power stations along the waterways date from this period. A further, completely new use was added in 1972: for the Olympic Games in Munich, an old canal was converted into the world’s first white-water canoe course. Augsburg’s water management system stands for the fundamental importance of the element water. Due to the diverse use of water resources, the system embodies the exemplary careful and sustainable management and the responsible use.
Augsburg’s Water Management System
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019
From the selection criteria
The Water Management System of Augsburg has generated significant technological innovations, which sustained Augsburg’s leading position as a pioneer in hydraulic engineering. The strict separation between drinking and process water was introduced as early as 1545, long before research into hygiene matters established as a fact that impure water was the reason for many diseases.
The Water Management System of Augsburg illustrates the use of water resources and the production of highly pure water as the basis for the continual growth of a city and its prosperity since the Middle Ages.
Information and Contact
City of Augsburg
World Heritage Office
Karolinenstrasse 17
86150 Augsburg
Phone +49 821 324-3073
welterbe@augsburg.de
- www.instagram.com/wassersystemaugsburg/