Viennese sewage treatment plant: 45 years of environmental protection and energy innovation!

Viennese sewage treatment plant: 45 years of environmental protection and energy innovation!

Simmering, Wien, Österreich - Wien is celebrating an important environmental protection project: The "main sewage treatment plant in Vienna" in Simmering has not only been seen as the largest environmental protection project in the second Republic of Austria since its commissioning on June 30, 1980, but also has a decisive influence on the protection of Viennese waters, the environment and the climate. Climate and environmental councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky emphasizes how essential the sewage treatment plant is for the city and its citizens.

With a capacity of around 6,000 liters per second and an annual treatment of 200 million cubic meters of wastewater, the sewage treatment plant cleans all sewage from the city. It acts as a "eco-power plant" and has been producing more energy from renewable sources for five years than it consumes. It has a degree of intake of around 113 % in electricity and 170 % in heat, which was realized by the E_OS project.

milestones and developments

The history of the sewage treatment plant is characterized by significant milestones: the foundation stone was laid in 1970, followed by the foundation of the disposal companies Simmering GmbH in 1976. An expansion by a biological cleaning level between 2000 and 2005 and the commissioning of large -scale heat pumps for district heating in 2023 are some of the latest developments. The sewage treatment plant has cleaned around 8.7 trillion liters of wastewater for over 45 years, which corresponds to more than the double volume of the Attersee. She treated the legacies of around 50 billion people.

The city of Vienna has made significant investments: around 750 million euros flowed into the construction, the expansion and conversion of the system. The wastewater monitoring of the sewage treatment plant has gained an additional meaning, since it has been providing essential information for health authorities since Corona pandemic and is considered exemplary in Europe.

progress in waste management

In order to meet the challenges of waste management, the EU provides for a recycling rate for plastic packaging of at least 55 % by 2030. In Austria, a nationwide deposit system for plastic bottles and beverage cans will also be introduced in Austria from January 1, 2025. This complements the already existing efforts to avoid waste and strengthening the circular economy in Vienna, where the separate collection and recycling of materials are regarded as a key elements to reduce resource consumption and CO2 emissions.

Further strategic measures, such as the doubling of the capacity of the biogas plant and the recovery of phosphorus from sewage sludge, are planned. The city pursues the goal of further expanding the environmentally friendly practices and technologies and thus ensuring sustainable use of waste.

The Viennese sewage treatment plant and the associated waste management projects therefore stand not only for technological progress, but also for the commitment of the City of Vienna, a sustainable and sustainable environmental policy.

More about the history and developments of the sewage treatment plant can learn interested parties in the current film and in the magazine "Clear Text History", which are provided on the Ebswien website.