Where does our water come from....?

At the RCPI meeting Petr Smejcky addressed a rather topical subject: Where does the water you drink come from. The subject is topical since last week Prague 6 experienced a water contamination which has now been resolved. Petr took us back to the earliest times when water was taken from teh riven and distributed in wooden pipes throughout the city. The water towers still stand from the time where animals were used to power water raising devices which would fill tanks in the top of the towers. For example, the Šitkovská Water-tower was built in 1588 and served as a water tower until 1881.

 

Approximately 60 percent of Prague water today comes from the Zelivka Dam, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Prague; 30 percent is pumped from underground sources; and the remaining 10 percent is taken directly from the Vltava River (4 times a year). From these sources, the water goes to one of Prague's two waterworks, where it is cleaned and tested before making its way to homes around the city.

 

The club thanked Petr for an interesting and insightful talk which brought alive something we take for granted every single day.