Haltern waterworks, Industrial waterworks in Haltern am See, Germany

The Haltern waterworks is a facility for processing and storing drinking water between the Lippe River and Haltern Reservoir, using large basins to clean the water. The entire installation functions as one connected system where water flows through several stages before reaching homes.

The facility was built in 1908 to provide clean water to the growing population in the region. In the following years, additional structures like the Stever dam were added to expand the system and make it more reliable.

The site lies on the Route der Industriekultur, on the themed route Industriekultur an der Lippe, and can be visited by prior arrangement. Gelsenwasser AG opened an information centre on water extraction here in 1996. The 26 infiltration basins cover 335,000 m², about the size of 47 Bundesliga football pitches.

The site is best visited on guided tours, which show how the different parts of the facility work together. It is advisable to wear comfortable shoes since there is much walking across the grounds.

What is special here is that water is filtered underground through sand and stays there for about six weeks before being used. This natural filtering system is part of a method people have used for a long time to clean water in a traditional way.