From 1914 onwards, the Royal City of Prague, and the formerly independent municipalities of Vinohrady, Karlín, Smíchov and Žižkov, began taking water from a reservoir tank at Flora that was supplied from waterworks at Káraný. Today, this drinking water source supplies not only Prague but also Brandýs nad Labem–Stará Boleslav, Čelákovice, and a number of other, smaller communities, with a production capacity second only to the Želivka River.
But why is the water from Káraný so interesting, apart from the health benefits it offers thanks to its natural purity and optimal mineral content? Well, it is in fact a mixture of three different sources – water from artesian wells, from natural (riverbank) filtration, and from artificial infiltration – and this groundwater has some rather unique properties. The crucial issue for groundwater is that the surroundings are free of pollution, and the region around the lower reaches of the Jizera River meets this requirement. Because the raw water has already been naturally filtered, drinking water production is also a less demanding process.
The treatment plant’s biggest building houses powerful pumps and its essential control room, while smaller buildings are home to an iron removal plant for the artesian water and disinfection technology.
In the second half of the 19th century, the inhabitants of the Royal City of Prague faced repeated epidemics due to the poor quality of their water. Although the Vltava River water from the two original waterworks in Podolí was only classed as “utility water”, it was often used for drinking anyway. On top of that, a large proportion of the groundwater wells were contaminated because the city was not equipped with adequate sewers. Ultimately, this prompted the idea of establishing a new drinking water source and distribution system.
However, heated discussions about the real necessity of this project and the right location then dragged on for almost a quarter of a century before the Káraný region was chosen for its exceptional groundwater quality. In 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph I signed the “Act for the Establishment and Operation of a Common Waterworks and a Common Water Supply System for the Royal City and Adjacent Municipalities”, and the water treatment plant was eventually put into trial operation in 1912, with full service starting two years later. Its capacity at that time was around 850 l/s.
...the Káraný Water Treatment Plant is the only source that supplies groundwater to Prague?
If you’d like to learn more, continue to the other parts of the treatment plant...
