Ageing water pipes threaten supply and strain Tirol budgets

Ageing drinking water pipes are causing major losses and costly repairs for municipalities across Tirol, ORF reports, after last summer exposed the limits of local water supplies.

In Höfen, in Reutte district, cast-iron pipes that are 60 to 80 years old have rusted and corroded. More than half the water pumped from springs to a storage reservoir was lost through the old network: of 154,000 cubic metres, the municipality could bill for only 66,000, according to Mayor Rüdiger Reyman.

The municipality must now repair breaks and cracks at seven locations before a full renovation. The work is also needed for hygiene reasons.

Karl-Josef Schubert, president of the municipal association, said Höfen’s situation reflected problems faced by many municipalities. Stefan Wild of Tirol’s water management department said old drinking water networks, spring infrastructure and reservoirs would need repairs or replacement in the coming years. The department advises municipalities to inspect and maintain their systems.

In Gnadenwald, a municipality carrying out repairs after heavy rain was followed by contamination in its water system, part of an old pipe network in the centre is being renovated at a cost of about 250,000 euros. Mayor Heidi Profeta said the expense was difficult to cover without subsidies and that municipalities might eventually have to consider raising water fees.

Tirol estimates that renovating old drinking water pipes in municipalities will cost 40 million euros next year. Last summer, spring flows in several municipalities fell by half, prompting calls to conserve water.