How a mountain village in Austria defied the limescale
Winter in the Alps can be harsh, but people in mountain villages are resilient. It can be harsh - if the drinking water isn't harsh too. Take the small town of Großarl in Austria, for example, where the drinking water has a high calcium content averaging 22 °dH. The village's communal waterworks had been trying for some time to find a chemical-free solution to the limescale problem. Finally, they decided to try a BIOCAT limescale protection system from WATERCryst. Today, limescale deposits in the pipes are a thing of the past and the city's many hotels are delighted with the clean, tasty drinking water.
The road climbs steadily and winds along a steep mountain ridge. From St. Johann im Pongau at an altitude of 500 meters, the mountain road leads 10 kilometers up to an altitude of 1,000 meters. Once you leave the rugged cliffs behind, a high valley with forests and pastures opens. And in the center of it all is the mountain village of Großarl. The inhabitants are known for being friendly, honest, humorous - and not to be trifled with. Here, you won't be fooled by anyone or anything. A word is a word - even when it comes to business.
The problems arose at a third mountain spring
In the village and the many hotels in the area, people were not very enthusiastic about the water. Previously, the mountain water was fantastically clean and tasty. But when a third spring was tapped, there were major problems with limescale in the water. The new spring had such a high calcium content that even if you tried to mix the water with water from other springs, you still had major calcium problems. Unfortunately, they were dependent on the water from the third source - and good advice was expensive. Many of the members of the water cooperative run hotels, where the problems with limescale in the drinking water were very visible and costly.
The idea came from a plumbing pioneer nearby
Fortunately for the waterworks, a plumber not far from Großarl had good experience with BIOCAT limescale protection and had a solution to the problem. The owner is a pioneer in lime protection - and was the first to install a BIOCAT system in Austria many years ago. In the meantime, his son had taken over the business and had good experience with BIOCAT.
The good arguments won in the end
It took some persuasion before the plumber convinced the good but skeptical people in Großarl that a BIOCAT system was the right solution. In the end, however, the arguments were convincing: BIOCAT systems offer effective lime protection without chemicals. No maintenance is required until the granulate is replaced after five years of operation. And the automatic thermal disinfection effectively prevents any bacterial growth.