First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline

The First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline (I. Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung) is a major part of Vienna's water supply and was the first source of safe drinking water for that city. The 95 km long line was opened on 24 October 1873, after four years of construction. Today, it delivers 62 million cubic meters of water per year (53% of Vienna's total supply in 2007). The water comes from high springs in the Rax and Schneeberg areas in Southern Lower Austria and Styria.

Vienna's water supply originally came from private wells. In the absence of a functioning sewer system, the quality of the groundwater went from bad to worse, triggering disease and epidemics. Reinforced water pipes were built, but these primarily benefitted the wealthy and large institutions. Most of the population had to rely on spouts or fountains attached to wells.

The first water pipe that provided greater coverage was built in 1803-1804, bringing water from Hütteldorf. Vienna was growing too fast for the supply to be sufficient so, in 1836, the Emperor Ferdinand Aqueduct was built. It provided artificially filtered water from the Danube Canal. Initially, the water quality was acceptable, but the effects of the filtering gradually diminished and the health risk returned. Demand also continued to exceed supply.

During the late 1850s, several projects to divert water from other sources were proposed, and studies were made to calculate the amount of water that would be required. These studies considered not only drinking water, but industry, irrigation, road sprinkling, fountains and bathing facilities as well.

A primary consideration was that the water should originate at a high altitude, so that gravity, rather than pumps, would be sufficient to the task. The Traisen was considered first, and rejected, because of high water temperatures during the summer and concerns about its purity. The Pitten, Schwarza and the Leitha were subsequently rejected for similar reasons. The Fischa was rejected because of concerns about the companies that used the river as a power source and the possibility of contamination from ammonia-based fertilizers. Attention finally turned to the area between Rax, Schneeberg and Würflach.

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