It's a sunny spring afternoon and we decide to hike from home to our neighboring Dorf (village) "Emmetten" which lies at an altitude of 774 metres above the southern shore of the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) between Beckenried and Seelisberg.
About halfway up, we turn a corner and Lukas points to a small nondescript building on the side of the road. "That's the water supply station of Beckenried". He starts to explain a bit and suddenly the manager comes out and asks us if we'd like a tour of the small station.
But of course!!! It's been an uphill hike all the way, with more to come (we need to climb up to 910 m.a.s.l before we can descend to Emmetten), so a break is extremely welcome. Moreover, utterly delicious and totally safe - the Beckenried drinking water is sourced from natural springs and groundwater, so I'm eager to know more of the supply details.
He explains that the Supply to Beckenried is sourced a 100% from Natural Spring water, but if needed, the supply can also be 100% guaranteed with Groundwater. Spring water from the mountains flows over gravel, stones and soil absorbing precious minerals like Magnesium and Calcium. Shortly before it leaves the ground, the water from the spring is captured into pipes (1). It then flows via a settling basin (2) into a reservoir (3) and from there into the supply system (4).
Due to the strict regulations concerning water quality, we can not only drink water straight out of the taps, but also out of the lake without second thoughts!!
The supply system in numbers:
- 4 reservoirs with a total storage volume of 1,638 m3 or 1,638 million liters of drinking water
- 5 pumping stations
- 7 Natural spring sources
- 1 groundwater pumping station
Electricity from drinking water: Two potable water power plants are installed in the water supply which produce ~ 410,000 kWh of electricity from the drinking water each year.
Our totally unexpected and enlightening 30 min tour comes to an end. I tell the manager "I truly relish our pure and delicious drinking water" as we thank him for his time.
Refreshed from the break, we continue with our scenic hike.... Green rolling hills accented with yellow-pink blooms, cowbells, fluttering butterflies, buzzing insects, blue skies....
Spring is oh-so-beautiful in Switzerland!!!
