Vienna Orders Water-Saving Measures – Daily Consumption Rises to 580 Million Liters

Background: Consumption at Record Levels

Despite the strain, the city's water reservoirs are currently well filled. Due to the exceptional weather conditions, forward-looking action is nevertheless required, the authority explained. The city first wants to save on its own: all departments should curb water consumption wherever this is possible "without significant restrictions."

At the same time, the city addressed specific recommendations to residents, businesses, and institutions. "To ensure supply security, the City of Vienna is taking precautionary measures to reduce water consumption," officials said. These include, among other things, temporarily refraining from filling pools, skipping vehicle washes, and using household appliances as efficiently as possible.

Measures for Households and the City

Water use is also being reduced in public spaces: "Among other things, street cleaning will temporarily be carried out without water." Irrigation of green spaces will likewise be limited, as MA 31 explained.

The background to the measure is not only increased demand. Heavy rainfall expected after the heatwave could also severely impact supply. "During heavy rainfall, springs can become turbid and must temporarily be taken offline from the supply system to ensure the high quality of drinking water," the authority explained. That is why precautions are necessary, even if this sounds paradoxical.

Risk from Severe Weather

Vienna obtains a large share of its drinking water from spring catchment areas in Lower Austria and Styria. If these springs were impaired by severe weather, supply would have to be temporarily ensured from the city's water reservoirs, which would need to be sufficiently filled for that purpose. It is precisely this buffer capacity that the city wants to preserve through the saving measures.

The authority emphasized that these are precautionary steps and that supply is currently secured. How long the measures will remain in place will depend on further weather developments. Should the situation escalate, further steps cannot be ruled out.

Overall, the record summer shows how strained water supply in a major city can be during prolonged heat. According to MA 31, Vienna consumes a multiple of the usual daily average in such phases – a trend that is rising if heatwaves become more frequent in the coming years.