The Puster Valley

The Puster Valley is located in the western part of the Periadriatic Seam, which separates the Southern Limestone Alps from the Central Alps (and also most of the Limestone Alps from the central gneiss and slate peaks of the range’s central section). Half of the valley drains to the west (to the Adriatic via the Isarco River), and the other half to the east (to the Black Sea via the Danube). The watershed lies in the shallow valley floor (the Toblacher Feld). The Rienz-Rienza river flows through the western Puster Valley (also known as the “Green Valley”). The Drau/Drava river flows through the eastern Puster Valley into Tyrol. The eastern part of the valley is called the Hochpustertal (High Puster Valley).

East of Sillian, the Puster Valley leaves the Peradriatic Line (which moves into the Gail Valley) and turns to the northeast towards Lienz.

The towns of the Puster Valley are located between 750 and 1,180 meters above sea level. The most important of these towns in the western valley are Toblach, Welsberg, Olang, and Bruneck-Brunico; the most important in the eastern valley are Innichen, Sillian, and Mittewald.

The largest tributaries of the Rienz river form the Antholzer Stream, the Ahr, the Pragser Stream, the Gsieser Stream the Gader, the Pfunderer Stream, and the Lüsen Stream. The largest side valley of Puster Valley is the Tauferer-Ahrn Valley. The Drava’s largest eastern tributaries are the Sextner Stream and the Villgraten Stream.

Our water comes directly from springs or groundwater. It is pumped to our households by barrels through a pump station. It is so clean that we do not even need to treat it before it is distributed. The sewage is normally purified by a water treatment plant.

Prices

What for?	How much water?	How much does it cost per cubic meter?
Household	Up to 180 cubic meters a year	0.325 cents
Agriculture		0.43 cents
Industry	Less than 300,000 cubic meters a year	0.575 cents
Industry	More than 300,000 cubic meters a year	0.325 cents
Reseller		0.280 cents

We pay approximately 1.18 euros for every cubic meter of sewage that our households produce.