Improvement of the surface water quality in the Berlin region

The waterbodies of the Berlin region are intensively used for different purposes. High importance is given to the water supply to gain drinking water from groundwater and bank filtrate and for the recharge of groundwater. For these applications a good surface water quality would be an advantage, but the water bodies are loaded with treated sewage, stormwater and combined sewer overflow. This leads to quality problems in the water bodies, especially eutrophication, requiring scientifically based water quality targets for phosphorus. Measures for the reduction of eutrophication in rivers and lakes are presented in this paper, illustrating two different situations, that have been achieved through Berlin's efforts at reducing phosphorus loading.