Olympic stadium saves drinking water at 2006 Football World Cup

The Olympic stadium in Berlin was one of the largest stadiums used in the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany. The stadium’s water management also set a new standard during the World Cup. At its centre is a subterranean cistern which can hold 1,400 cubic metres of rain water – mathematically speaking, enough to thoroughly water the complete playing field ten times. At 21 metres in diameter and 11 metres high, it is still one of the largest cisterns in the world of European football.

Around half the rainwater which falls on the 42,000 square metres of stadium roof reaches the cistern. The other half is infiltrated through an infiltration ditch, thereby led back into the natural water cycle. Three pumps with a capacity of around 90,000 litres per hour deliver the filtered rainwater from a storage tank to the irrigation system. The rainwater serves to water the playing field and the large green areas around the stadium. This saves the operator an estimated 15,000 cubic metres of drinking water annually and lowers water consumption costs considerably.

© Photo: BMU; Bernd Müller, 2005

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