waterworks / water treatment plant
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waterworks
A technical facility where drinking water is treated from raw water, such as groundwater or river water, and fed into the public supply network.
Das örtliche Wasserwerk garantiert eine hohe Qualität des Trinkwassers.
The local waterworks guarantees high-quality drinking water.
The word is made up of 'Wasser' (water) and 'Werk' (plant / works). The component '-werk' means 'factory' or 'facility' in this context. So a 'Wasserwerk' (waterworks) is literally a 'water factory'.
Das neue Wasserwerk versorgt die gesamte Region mit sauberem Trinkwasser.
The new waterworks supplies the entire region with clean drinking water.
The ending '-werk' is used for many types of industrial and utility facilities. If you recognize this structure, you can also understand other words more easily, such as 'Heizwerk' (heating plant), 'Klärwerk' (sewage treatment plant), or 'Kraftwerk' (power plant).
Das Kraftwerk an der Küste erzeugt Strom aus Windenergie.
The power plant on the coast generates electricity from wind energy.
Careful: in English, 'waterworks' can colloquially mean 'crying' or 'tears'. The German 'Wasserwerk' refers only to the technical facility for water treatment and never has this figurative meaning.
Eine Führung durch das Wasserwerk ist für Schulklassen sehr interessant.
A tour of the waterworks is very interesting for school classes.
wastewater treatment plant
'die Kläranlage' and 'das Wasserwerk' are both technical facilities that have to do with water. The important difference is the direction: in 'die Kläranlage', dirty wastewater is treated before it goes back into rivers or lakes. In 'das Wasserwerk', water is treated so that it can be piped into homes as drinking water. The words can be confused because both facilities treat water. Memory tip: 'die Kläranlage' cleans wastewater; 'das Wasserwerk' supplies drinking water.
Das Wasserwerk versorgt mehrere Dörfer mit frischem Trinkwasser.
The waterworks supplies several villages with fresh drinking water.
In der Kläranlage wird das Abwasser der Stadt gereinigt.
The city's wastewater is treated at the wastewater treatment plant.