Kühnhausen sewage treatment plant in Erfurt
The way of pasta water
There is water supply and sewage disposal. The latter is necessary because of the way we use water: pure water becomes contaminated water. For the average person it is usually a short episode. A challenge for the city of Erfurt's drainage operations.
Anyone in Erfurt who fills their pot with water from the tap to cook pasta and then pours the water down the sink is thinking more about the pasta than the pasta water. Casting starts a process that requires considerable effort. The pasta water doesn't just disappear down the drain. A journey begins through a gigantic system. Through underground pipes, along with other wastewater that has been treated in various ways, it reaches the place where it is freed from the consequences of cooking pasta.
Welcome to the Kühnhausen sewage treatment plant, the largest of its kind in Erfurt:
The facility is located on the northern city limits. That makes sense. Pasta water from Möbisburg, for example, flows to Kühnhausen, but the other way around would not happen voluntarily. So if you want to collect and clean Erfurt's wastewater before leaving the city limits, you've come to the right place in Kühnhausen. This happens in several stages. These have one thing in common: In order to filter all kinds of objects, sand and chemical impurities from the water, pumps and channels are required
Anyone who falls into the water would not be alone. In Kühnhausen, an army of microorganisms breaks down the remaining contaminants biologically. These in turn have to be removed again in further tanks.
Our pasta water, and we know that this isn't just about cooked pasta, looks like this:
This is clear water. The contamination caused by the pasta cooker has been largely reversed here. Then it goes over a canal into the Gera.
The Kühnhausen sewage treatment plant supplies itself with the necessary energy. In the digestion towers that can be seen from far away
Most of it produces methane, which is used to generate electricity and heat. The towers have another advantage. For example, if you drive up here as part of a tour of the sewage treatment plant, you will have a wonderful view of Erfurt from a height of 32 meters:
