Fredet vand - engelsk
Møllebakken. Vandværket.
Tunø Vandværk.
Tunø Vandværk 2.
Vandtank.
Intro
The drinking water on Tunø is now top quality, but this was not always so.
The drinking water on Tunø is now top quality, but this was not always so.
During the 1970s, nitrate contents in the drinking water had risen to about 60 mg/l compared to a safety threshold of 50 mg/l. The reason was intensive market gardening combined with the dry sunny climate on Tunø.
In 1990, for the first time in Denmark, protective zones were implemented around the Tunø waterworks. No artificial fertilizers or pesticides were allowed inside these zones.
This secured clean ground water free of nitrates and pesticides.
The safety zone consists partly of a grassy area and partly of set-aside farmland totalling about 12 ha. Most of the water pumped up by the waterworks is formed below this area, and the waterworks supply a population of some 100 people plus the countless tourists visiting during summer.
The islanders decided in favour of this cheap solution, effectively dismissing the alternatives which were either a piped water supply from the mainland or a hi-tech water purification plant. The project has been very successful and Tunø now has clean drinking water.
The first common water supply on the island was established in 1911. The water was pumped up by a windmill into a water tank located on Møllebakken (Mill Hill) near the church.
Once a new artesian well had been built, however, the old water tank got a new lease of life as a socialising spot for the island’s youngsters. They renovated it and it is now a drop-in centre. In 2003, Tunø children staged an exhibition of their own works. Since then, regular shows have been held in the Water Tank.