10. January 2020 | 05:50 CET
E.ON, iWater Group, K+S - Water as a safety factor
Clean water is a high social good. In water management, different standards apply to safety depending on the use. For example, the requirements for drinking water supply and wastewater disposal are particularly high, as these areas are part of the critical infrastructure in Germany. In this context, utilities and plant operators are subject to particularly high IT security standards. An impairment caused by a cyber attack could possibly lead to supply bottlenecks and disruptions to public safety.
time to read: 1 minutes by Mario Hose
Water is a precious commodity
Water supply is not a matter of course. The hot summer months in 2018 and 2019 have led to water shortages in isolated regions of Germany. Overall, the water supply in the middle of Europe is sufficient, but at the same time distributed differently.
If the climate continues to warm up, it will be necessary for society, politics and business to pull together. The supply of drinking water has priority over all other uses of water and therefore the networking and cooperation of suppliers and consumers is extremely important.
Clean water without residues
A modern society with existing infrastructure and extensive technologies in use nevertheless has to overcome extensive challenges in water supply. Even small amounts of residues of pharmaceuticals, chemicals and pesticides can have an impact on people and nature.
The increase of microplastics in the water cycle creates demand in the market for environmental technologies. Today, sewage treatment plants can filter out more than 95% of microplastics. The rising energy, material and personnel costs for the increasingly complex water purification are usually passed on to the customers.
Causes of contamination
The production of energy from hydropower is one of the cleanest ways of generating electricity. The E.ON Group makes use of this possibility and can therefore offer its customers environmentally friendly electricity. The advantage is that, compared to other power plants, no water is needed for cooling.
The iWater Group has developed environmentally friendly solutions to purify water while reducing the use of antibiotics in factory farming and pesticides in agriculture. The potash and salt producer K+S has challenges with saline waste water, which can lead to pollution of surface water and groundwater, especially at low water levels.
