Drinking water from dams

  • comes from surface water, streams and precipitation in the shore area
  • is more vulnerable and requires larger water protection areas
  • is usually collected at high altitudes
  • requires complex dam structures with appropriate monitoring
  • can buffer drying times with its storage volume
  • is taken at different water depths, in each case at the place with the best quality
  • is a soft water, because it does not absorb minerals through a ground passage
  • must be prepared in a complex and cost-intensive way.

Layering of the dam

In lakes and reservoirs the water layers are arranged vertically. In summer and winter they are strictly separated due to the difference in temperature: the upper surface layer (epilimnion) is followed by the upper layer (metalimnion) and the deep layer (hypolimnion). In spring and autumn the water layers are completely circulated.

Stratification during summer stagnation
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The raw water in the Steinbachtal dam is mainly taken from the lower part of the Hypolimnion due to the consistently good chemical / physical values. The upper withdrawal is only used in late autumn to bypass the thermocline.
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The seven stages of surface water treatment

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