IKB director as guest

“White gold” – the focus was on water in Innsbruck

Around 12,000 households in Innsbruck are supplied with water.(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger)

MC Tirol once again hosted a Jour Fixe. This time, the focus was on water. A director of IKB gave a presentation on the subject. This also included some thought-provoking figures.

The topic of water in Innsbruck was the focus of the Management Club Tirol (MC) on Wednesday. Chairman Helmut Lutz invited Thomas Pühringer, CEO of Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe AG (IKB), to the lunchtime jour fixe. He gave a presentation entitled "Water, white gold in the 21st century and securing Innsbruck's drinking water supply".

He also had some impressive figures in his glass of water.

When it comes to water, it is not the individual consumers that are counted as customers, but the building as a whole.

Thomas Pühringer

Around 12,000 households are supplied
"Before the drinking water flows out of the tap, it is used to generate electricity. The power plant for this was put into operation in 1953. It is a so-called black-start power plant that can start itself up."

Around 12,000 households are supplied in the state capital. "With water, it's not the individual consumers that are counted as customers, but the building as a whole," Pühringer clarifies.

MC Chairman Helmut Lutz (left) invited Thomas Pühringer, CEO of IKB, who gave a talk on the subject of water.(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

Mühlau spring as the centerpiece
The Mühlau spring is at the heart of the project. "In Innsbruck, we have medium-hard water that does not require any treatment. Around ten million cubic meters are supplied to households every year," the director calculates.

Also interesting: although construction sites are always necessary to ensure the best possible supply - much to the displeasure of motorists - the loss of water from the source to the sink is only five percent. "In London, for example, the loss is 50 percent. More water is lost there than ultimately reaches the consumer," says Pühringer.

Real water consumption per capita and per day in Austria is 135 liters.

Thomas Pühringer

Virtual consumption at 4700 liters per capita per day
Other interesting figures and some that make you think: An impressive 2000 liters of water flow out of the renovated drinking water tunnel in Mühlau every second. "The real water consumption per capita and per day in Austria is 135 liters. If you include virtual consumption - the water we need for food, clothing, cell phones and cars - it is 4700 liters per day."