Wasserwerk Zell

Wasserwerk Zell stands in Zell am Main, near Oberzell Abbey and the Main, with a single-storey solid building. Its gabled roof carries detailed stonework, including a medallion-like ornament dated 1899. Construction took place between 1899 and 1902, creating an industrial heritage monument for regional drinking-water supply.

Three Norbertusheim spring tunnels, built between 1900 and 1912, extend about 1,700 metres through the surrounding area. More than 150 individual springs feed the system, producing between 118 and 250 litres per second. Gravity carries the water into a suction tank, where chlorine, four activated-carbon filters, phosphate and silicate prepare it for distribution. Deep wells also contribute groundwater, while continuous monitoring checks turbidity, organic substances, electrical conductivity and pH. Since 1900, the supply has served Zell am Main and Würzburg through the Stadtwerke Würzburg AG network.

The surrounding drinking-water protection zone covers about eight square kilometres on both sides of Hettstadter Steige. An ecological zone converted much intensively farmed land into extensive grassland, supporting 42 Bavarian Red List plant species. The waterworks combines a 1899 roof ornament with tunnels, filters and calcareous grassland protecting groundwater.