Drinking water for Prague is supplied from three directions: from the Želivka Water Treatment Plant in the south-east, from Káraný in the north-east, and from the Podolí Waterworks by the Vltava River in Prague. Water is first pumped into distribution reservoirs, and from there is redistributed to smaller reservoir tanks. Water towers are no longer used for storage. Today’s reservoir tanks are constructed underground, and covered over with soil and grass.
Reservoirs are spread around the city so that there is a sufficient supply of drinking water in every part, while maintaining an even level of pressure in the system. But the main task of these reservoirs is to balance out the difference between the regular inflow of water and the very irregular offtake of water across the city. From the reservoirs, water is first distributed by water mains, which then progressively branch, like the veins and capillaries in the human circulatory system, into smaller and smaller pipes, all the way down to the very thinnest that end with connections to supply points, i.e. individual houses or plots of land. Here the amount of water use is metered, and customers then route the water around their own premises.
Water from the individual sources gets mixed up within the distribution system. In some parts of Prague the water comes from only a single source, while in other areas the residents drink a mix from all three sources. But no ordinary person could possibly notice a difference in the taste of the water from the various waterworks. The utmost care is taken in the production of drinking water at all three treatment plants, and it goes without saying that all the relevant standards must be met. Production and control involves both treatment plant personnel and many automatic management systems. These are fed with data from numerous detectors and sensors, installed in a total of 69 reservoirs and 51 pumping stations.
The first steps towards supplying Prague’s population with drinking water from public supply systems can be seen in the middle of the 14th century. It was then that the idea of a water management system was first conceived, and procedures were defined for laying pipes and taking off water from public or private drinking fountains and reservoirs. Many water towers were built at that time to serve as reservoirs and help distribute water around their vicinity. One by one we see the construction of the Petržílkovská Water Tower to supply the Lesser Town, the Staroměstská Water Tower for the Old Town, and the Šítkovská and Novomlýnská Water Towers to supply Prague’s “New Town” development.
Over time, new water sources and transportation technologies were sought, as well as new materials for pipes. The functionality of the water towers was compromised by frequent floods and fires, and the wooden pipes deteriorated. In the 19th century, Prague strove to keep up with European water industry trends, and this led to the gradual development of centralised drinking water sources. The result was the construction of the Káraný Waterworks, supplying Prague’s water distribution system. Later, in the 20th century, the Podolí and Želivka treatment plants were also added to the system. When Prague was connected to the Želivka supply tunnel, a gravitational supply ring was built that ran around almost the entire perimeter of Prague.
... the total volume of all Prague’s reservoirs is almost 760,000 m3? That’s roughly twice as much water as the whole Džbán Reservoir.
If you’d like to learn more, continue to the other part...
