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City of Offenbach

Starting signal for the creation of the municipal water concept

28.10.2022 – Water consumption has risen, while at the same time groundwater levels have fallen due to lower precipitation. Securing the drinking water supply is therefore becoming an ever greater challenge.

In Offenbach, drinking water is supplied exclusively via groundwater by the Zweckverband Wasserversorgung Stadt und Kreis Offenbach (ZWO). From 2016 to 2021, there was only little precipitation and water consumption increased due to very warm summers, some of which started in spring and extended into the fall. Due to climate change, it is to be expected that extremely dry years such as 2018 to 2021 will occur more frequently in the future. "The lack of precipitation leads to a drop in groundwater levels. Unfortunately, this trend has also continued in 2022," explains Mayor Sabine Groß.

Daily consumption and so-called peak consumption have risen sharply in terms of both amount and duration. As a result, 99% of the ZWO's water rights were utilized and the groundwater levels could only recover very slowly or not at all. The supply of drinking water is therefore becoming an ever greater challenge in a rapidly growing region such as the Rhine-Main area.

Municipal water concept for Offenbach

There is to be a municipal water concept for the city of Offenbach am Main. The project started with an initial meeting at the end of September at the invitation of the Zweckverband Wasserversorgung Stadt und Kreis Offenbach ZWO in Dietzenbach district hall. "We are working together with the ZWO on a municipal water concept. The aim is to take stock of the water supply and water use," says Mayor Groß. To this end, all current uses of drinking, process and rainwater within the town are being considered. This includes households, industry, commerce, agriculture, sports grounds and green spaces. Forecasts are drawn up for future water use. From this, a water balance is drawn up for today and the years 2030 and 2050. As part of the creation of municipal water concepts, it will also be examined where drinking water can be replaced by rainwater, for example," says Mayor Groß, explaining the commitment of all municipalities in the special-purpose association. There will also be a regional concept for its entire supply area. Mayor and head of the climate department Sabine Groß attended the meeting together with employees from the city administration.

The objectives, content and next steps for the development of the municipal water concept were presented at the event.

From October to December 2022, discussions will take place on data collection in the municipalities. The initial results of the work will be discussed in a second round of talks between the ZWO and the municipalities at the beginning of 2024. The final concept is expected at the end of 2024.

"The availability and sustainable use of water as a resource are essential for safeguarding the livelihoods of the population, biodiversity and further social and economic development in the region. Fundamental decisions made today will shape the management of water resources and the safeguarding of water supplies, and therefore also the region, for a long time to come. The issue of water availability is already acute in the Offenbach district. For example, the ZWO was unable to secure the supply for a planned new construction area in Seligenstadt. Without this security of supply, new construction projects cannot be implemented. This clearly shows that we need to focus intensively on the issue of water supply security. I would therefore like to thank the Ministry of the Environment of the State of Hesse, which supports the creation of municipal water concepts," says Groß.

Background

At the end of September 2022, groundwater levels in Hesse were at a very low level at 39% of monitoring stations (previous month: 60%). Around 22% of monitoring sites had below-average groundwater levels (previous month: 22%). Average groundwater levels were observed at 31% of monitoring sites (previous month: 13%). Above-average or very high groundwater levels were recorded at only 3 percent and 1 percent of monitoring sites respectively (previous month: 0 percent and 1 percent respectively ). No current data was available at 4% of the monitoring sites. Compared to the previous year, groundwater levels at the end of September were lower than a year ago at 79% of the monitoring stations.

Further information:

Office for Environment and Climate

Stadt Offenbach am Main - Kaiserpalais
Kaiserstraße 39
63065 Offenbach

Notes on accessibility

S-Bahn lines 1, 2, 8, 9 (Offenbach Marktplatz stop) Bus lines 103, 104, 108, 551, 41 (bus stop Rathaus)

Further information

KOMM parking garage, IHK Offenbach parking garage, Rathaus parking garage, public parking spaces on the banks of the Main

Opening hours

Monday - Friday:
09:00 - 12:00

and by appointment

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Explanations and notes