Water supply and wastewater disposal are central tasks of municipalities and municipal facilities in Germany.

In the area of drinking water supply, this includes water extraction and treatment, transportation and distribution as well as metering and billing. The tasks of wastewater management include surface drainage, wastewater discharge and transportation, wastewater treatment and sludge disposal.

High-quality standards in water management lead to a high level of supply reliability. In addition to the initial effects of climate change, current challenges facing the industry include the detection and treatment of pollutants and trace substances in water as well as conflicts in water use by agriculture and industry.

Rising concentrations of nitrate and active pharmaceutical ingredients in drinking water and extreme weather events place high demands on the maintenance of a high-quality water supply.

Due to intensive agricultural use in Rhineland-Palatinate and highly industrialized regions in the state, water resources are subject to great pressures.

Even if the groundwater bodies in Rhineland-Palatinate are largely in good condition, greater efforts are still needed in some regions to improve groundwater quality.

Finally, the water industry offers attractive potential for greenhouse gas-free energy production. Wastewater treatment plants can already be converted from energy consumers to energy generators through appropriate efficiency measures.

And the rivers, such as the Moselle, also supply renewable electricity through hydropower. After Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate ranks third in Germany in terms of the amount of electricity generated from hydropower plants.