Styrian water suppliers plan links to secure future drinking water

Water suppliers in Styria met in Lannach on Thursday to discuss drought and ways to safeguard drinking water supplies, ORF reports.

This year’s hot summer pushed water resources in many Styrian municipalities to their limits. Fire brigades were sometimes called out up to 10 times a day to help prevent shortages. The dry conditions are still affecting the region: in Edelschrott, a municipality in western Styria, several private wells have dried up, increasing demand on municipal springs. Planned deliveries are intended to cover the shortfall.

At the meeting, representatives discussed strategies to prepare for similar conditions in the long term. New partnerships between water associations are among the measures under consideration. Franz Krainer of the Leibnitzerfeld water utility said four major suppliers had formed the Transportleitung Steiermark Süd water association this year. It is intended to bring water from Graz to Leibnitz and help secure supplies for decades to come.

Participants also discussed the decline in private wells and the need to raise public awareness about water use. Gernot Klammmler, managing director of the Graz-based water management company AquaConsol, said people were more accustomed to adjusting their electricity use to when their solar panels generated power than to managing water consumption. He suggested the relatively low price of water could be one reason.