Water Supply Birg And Schilthorn: Second Stage Under Construction

This summer, the Schilthornbahn will implement the second stage of the new water supply for Birg and Schilthorn. Last year, supplies were secured from Schiltalp to Birg. A second pressure line is now being laid up to the Schilthorn. The work must be completed before the main work on the SCHILTHORNBAHN 20XX project.

Efficient water transport, energy saving, security of supply, extinguishing water reserve: for the new construction project SCHILTHORNBAHN 20XX, the search for a sustainable water supply for the Birg and Schilthorn stations was a must. The previous supply was very resource-intensive, as the drinking water had always been transported up to the Schilthorn from Mürren in a laborious process with tanks on the cable car cabins. The drinking water is now taken from the Mürren water supply in the Schiltalp and pumped with a pressure line into a first reservoir at the Birg station. This first stage was carried out in the summer of 2022 and has been successfully in operation since last autumn. Work is currently underway on the second stage in which, in a second pressure stage, the water from Birg is pumped into the existing water reservoirs on the Schilthorn. In order to avoid coordination and space problems on the Birg and Schilthorn, the water supply must be completed before the main construction work on the new cable car.

Electricity and water

In contrast to the first stage, this year three lines will be laid in the 2.2-kilometer-long ditch: in addition to the drinking water line, a new gray water line will be laid, which will be connected to the existing line from Birg down the valley. At the same time, the Lauterbrunnen power station is laying a second power line to ensure a redundant energy supply on the Schilthorn in the future.

Good logistics planning as a prerequisite

A 200 meter long channel has already been dug from the Schilthorn summit. The difficulty with this work is not only dealing with the steep and impassable terrain, the material logistics must also be carefully thought out: All transports from Stechelberg run via the material cable car specially set up for the SCHILTHORNBAHN 20XX project up to the Schilthorn. From there, helicopters and tracked dumpers are used. The aim is to complete the lines by autumn before the first big snowfalls. The total cost of the Birg and Schilthorn water supply project is around CHF 3 million.