Complete renewal

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Preserving the beauty of Lake Wörthersee for visitors and locals was an important reason for the work of the Wörthersee-Ost water association and the construction of the drainage system almost 60 years ago.

(Bild: tinefoto.com | martin steinthaler)

To ensure that the water quality remains high, around 40 million euros will be invested in the renewal of the canal system and flood protection in the Wörthersee region from winter onwards.

"The founding of the Wörthersee-Ost water association many decades ago ensured that the water quality of Lake Wörthersee remains protected. Now we are facing another important milestone in safeguarding this water quality," says Christian Scheider, who is not only mayor of the provincial capital, but also chairman of the Wörthersee-Ost water association and the Glanfurt water association.

Twelve municipalities

The Wasserverband Wörthersee-Ost is an association of six Wörthersee municipalities and six municipalities surrounding Klagenfurt. The wastewater from these municipalities is disposed of via a joint collection sewer system.

The sewer system of the water association comprises around 154 kilometers of pipes and 40 pumping stations - the largest is located at Kropfitschbad - and leads to the sewage treatment plant in Klagenfurt. In addition, there are over 1500 kilometers of sewer networks in all member municipalities with over 300 smaller pumping stations.

Six Wörthersee municipalities and six surrounding municipalities are affected by the construction work. "It's a huge project," says Scheider. "Everything is affected, from the renewal of the lake pressure pipes and the Klagenfurt sewage treatment plant to the Glanfurt flood protection project."

The wastewater comes together in the Wörthersee lake pressure pipeline and is routed to the wastewater treatment plant, which is already 50 years old and is also to be renewed. "This should ensure that the wastewater can be discharged even during floods," says Scheider.

From this winter until the end of 2028, all work on the 40 million euro project should be completed and the wastewater system should once again be state of the art.

Anniversary: 60 years of the water board
The Wasserverband Wörthersee-Ost water association is celebrating its first six decades next year. "The founding members were Klagenfurt, Krumpendorf, Pörtschach, Maria Wörth and Viktring," recalls Managing Director Ingolf Herold. "Back then, there were problems with blue-green algae, which was rampant. German media were already writing that you shouldn't travel to Lake Wörthersee because of it. So we had to do something. But the south shore road was too rocky, so the pipes were laid at the bottom of Lake Wörthersee. They are still there now. The project was a success! But now it needs to be renewed."