Are you thirsty? – An investigation into Munich’s drinking water

By Sophie Gong

Supervisor: Dr. Susanne B. Unger

I first heard of Munich's water supply infrastructure through my foundational course, "Siedlungswasserwirtschaft," at TUM. I then learned that Munich does not extract water locally from "below our feet" but rather from another district (Landkreis). Questions that came to my mind were: Do people from Munich know this? Do people from Landkreis Miesbach, where the extraction happens, know this? How do they feel about this? Ever since the water supply infrastructure was established, there have been discussions over it.
With this poster exhibition, I aim to present a comprehensive exploration of how water significantly influences various aspects of our lives, going beyond the conventional ways we perceive it in our daily lives. To illustrate this, I chose the topic of the Munich drinking water supply dispute.
First, I introduce the history that shaped Munich's current drinking water supply landscape.
My objective was to capture a nuanced snapshot of people's diverse perspectives, opinions, and personal connections with water. To achieve that, I designed a combination of in-depth interviews and surface-level survey questions to guide me through the variety of human experiences associated with the water dispute.
The in-depth interviews served as a critical component in gathering first-hand accounts and insights from individuals directly impacted by the Munich water supply dynamics or who work in the field of water infrastructure. Simultaneously, the goal of my survey was to find out how differently people from Munich and the Mangfalltal area value drinking water, with the monetary value set as my measuring parameter.
Overall, surveys showed that residents in Miesbach valued drinking water more than Munich residents. There is a feeling of needing to be understood and considered by both sides, especially when it comes to conflicts of interest in the water protection zone expansion and communication about that. Depictions in media are not supported by either side. What everyone has in common is an appreciation for water as a resource. Everybody called water "selbstverständlich," meaning that it is being taken for granted and a given at the same time.
I went into this project looking to find significant differences in personal relations to water between Munich and the Miesbach district. I end this project with a newfound understanding of just how deeply water permeates all of our lives, regardless of where we live.