Water rights in Treuchtlingen: Altmühltaler is causing a stir!

Water rights in Treuchtlingen: Altmühltaler is causing a stir!

The city of Treuchtlingen is at a crucial turning point in its history, because with the takeover of Altmühltaler by Aldi Nord, water rights will change fundamentally from 2026. These changes not only bring potential economic benefits, but also raise questions that directly affect citizens. NN.de has reported that Aldi Nord is planning to relocate Altmühltaler from the city center.

With the new regulation, Altmühltaler, which bottles around 250 million liters of mineral water annually, could adjust its current withdrawal authorizations. The company is currently allowed to draw 250,000 cubic meters of water from the Sandsteinkeuper. But there are environmental changes to be made: Altmühltaler has already drilled two new wells in the iron sandstone and has applied to increase the extraction from this area to 200,000 cubic meters, while the extraction from the sandstone Keuper is to be reduced to 50,000 cubic meters.

The debate about water

In the context of these developments, the discussion about water supply and use is becoming increasingly intense. A citizens' initiative called “Water Group Treuchtlingen” recently organized a water walk to draw attention to the issue. The focus is particularly on the approximately two hectare site on which Altmühltaler Drinks GmbH has its water tanks. During the walk, Anna Dischinger and Dorothee Bucka explained the important function of the red-clad water tanks that temporarily store water.

The initiative sharply criticizes Altmühltaler's free extraction of water and demands that the company pay an appropriate price for the resource. In addition, the income should flow into social projects in the city, which is the goal of the initiative. Mayor Kristina Becker (CSU) would like to find a compromise in this regard that harmonizes the interests of the citizens as well as those of the company and environmental protection. BR.de reports on these tensions.

Legal basis

But in order to understand how deeply rooted the problems and challenges are in water supply, it is worth taking a look at the legal basis in the area of ​​water management. According to water law, which is regulated at EU, federal and state levels, human interventions in water bodies must be carefully considered and monitored. Official permission is required for large impacts, and property ownership alone does not give the right to use water resources. Stmuv.bayern.de explains the different types of water permits that apply to companies like Altmühltaler.

The coming months will be crucial for the water supply in Treuchtlingen and the relationship between citizens, the city and companies. It remains to be seen how the city administration and the citizens' initiative will react to the upcoming changes. The government's planned water cent, a type of fee for water extraction that already exists in other federal states, will be a further building block in this discussion.