Our drinking water – A cultural asset that we must protect
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
In Würzburg, everyone notices the bland taste, the stubborn limescale marks and the general hardness of the water. But where does our drinking water actually come from?
Whilst in the city drinking water flows quite naturally from the tap, this natural phenomenon manifests itself in a special way in Zell am Main as part of the local history. Here the invisible becomes visible. Even today, the sound of trickling water and the smell of wet stone can be perceived in the cellars of some houses. Groundwater flows down the walls or collects in well chambers, thus enlivening the spirit of the buildings.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Würzburg has obtained the majority of its drinking water from Zell am Main. The so-called "Zeller Stollen", which serve as water extraction facilities, have so far been protected by a drinking water protection area. And although our drinking water is obtained only around 20 minutes' drive away, the city uses the drinking water from the taps unsuspectingly (or rather unwillingly) as an always available resource.
In Zell am Main, the relationship with water is different in many places. Some residents of the municipality have grown up with water as a special and respected everyday companion. Some played as children in the drinking water protection area and thus experienced largely untouched nature. Water was never merely a resource from the tap for them, but a constant companion in everyday life and a natural asset worthy of protection.
Those who grow up with water in this way experience it not merely as a resource from the tap. It becomes part of everyday life and shapes one's view of nature and the environment. Knowledge of its special nature and respect are passed down through lived experience and the care of this cultural asset. In contrast, the origin of drinking water plays hardly any role for many people in the city. Water appears to be a given. Precisely for this reason, it often goes unnoticed that groundwater is not an inexhaustible resource.
Appeals to save water on particularly hot days are ultimately not enough to convey the urgency in a truly tangible way. That concern about our relationship with nature only grows noticeably with its disappearance and destruction is somehow known to everyone. No one wants to condone this societal behaviour, and yet it is more comfortable to live in ignorance. And it is becoming ever more important. Summers are getting hotter, water is becoming scarcer. Where awareness is lacking, (political) resistance fails. Thus decisions become possible that gradually weaken the protection of our drinking water.
The construction of a gypsum mine – a threat to drinking water
Actually, the water protection area in which the Zeller Stollen are located is supposed to be expanded. However, the Franconia regional government initially decides in favour of building a gypsum plant by the company Knauf, which contradicts the designation of the drinking water protection area. Additionally, the construction of such a gypsum plant would have fatal consequences for ecosystems, habitats and indeed our drinking water. The mine would lie only a few metres below the main aquifer, which would have to be pierced in the process. Through blasting operations in the course of gypsum extraction, cracks and fissures in the overburden become a realistic danger. With the groundwater flowing through them, around 25 litres of drinking water per second would be lost, and thus around 20% of our drinking water. The ever scarcer water would ultimately be even less.
The mine would also have fatal consequences for the environment. Blasting, interventions in the subsurface and the strain on nature and landscape would significantly impair species and nature conservation. Consequently, important ecosystem services are lost with the loss of biodiversity. However, the pollution and thus unusability, as well as the loss of some quantities of drinking water, affects us very personally.
This example shows what far-reaching consequences political decisions can have for our most important resource. And yet public participation by citizens remains largely absent.
Precisely because water usually remains invisible in everyday life, its need for protection easily slips from view – with consequences for our actions and societal decisions. For why else would there be no outcry, engagement and the need for more conscious handling of this natural resource?
Perhaps awareness begins precisely with a sceptical look at the taken-for-granted nature of our resources. Protection of our drinking water begins where we turn on the tap quite naturally – by asking ourselves where this water actually comes from.
Personal recommendation – For everyone curious about where our water comes from: Zell offers a detailed insight into local history and drinking water supply in the Wassermuseum Zell am Main with a publicly accessible, historic pump room. https://museen-in-bayern.de/museen/detailseite-museum/wassermuseum
*The information about (the residents of) Zell was gathered as part of several interviews conducted for an ethnographic research project. The content on mining comes from a wide variety of internet articles (Federal Nature Conservation Association, etc.), supplemented with content from an interview with the department head of TVW (Trinkwasserversorgung Würzburg).
Sources:
https://www.bund-naturschutz.de/wasser/trinkwasser-bayern/wuerzburg-gipsbergwerk-odertrinkwasserschutz (As of: 13.07.2026)
Water protection instead of gypsum extraction: secure the Zell tunnel now!
(As of: 13.07.2026)